Staff News January 2023
January 31, 2023
New Hires
- Ganga Bahadur, custodial services worker, North Grounds Zone Custodial
- Juan Carlos Betancourt-Nava, senior operator/pipe layer, Utilities
- Adrian Coyle, finance associate, Finance
- Adriana Diaz-Cacho, custodial services worker, E&G Custodial Services — Newcomb Zone
- Damien Jones, recycling worker, Recycling Services
- Thinley Lama, custodial services worker, North Grounds Zone Custodial
- John Lee, senior carpenter, North Grounds Zone Maintenance
- Seda Ergoz Mandirali, recycling worker, Recycling Services
- Vincent Pace, carpenter, Central Grounds Zone Maintenance
- Lori Pedersen, executive assistant to the AVP/CFO, CFO Office
- Jason Pendleton, plumber, Central Grounds Zone Maintenance
- Ramesh Rai, custodial services worker, North Grounds Zone Custodial
- Stephen Scott Roberts, finance associate, Finance
- Matthew Waddill, operator/pipe layer, Utilities
- Tina Zambrano, custodial services supervisor, E&G Custodial Services
Transfers & Promotions
- Beth Bossinger, Design Services senior draftsperson, Capital Construction & Renovations Design Services
- Michael Pouliot, custodial services manager, E&G Custodial Services
Organizational Announcements
Facilities Management's Service Desk team is now known as the Customer Support Center. This new name better encompasses all of the ways the team supports FM and the greater UVA community.
Educational & Professional Accomplishments
Brett Shifflett, architect associate with Capital Construction & Renovations Design Services, completed his Master of Architecture degree through Southern Illinois University.
Ashley Grooms, facilities services coordinator with Programs & Informatics, completed her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Liberty University.
Compliments from Customers
Otis Hackett: Otis' professionalism, dedication, tenacity and tireless efforts on behalf of the Medical Center, our patients and staff are well known. His ability to lead highly diverse teams across multiple trades whilst navigating complicated projects and even more complicated end-users, all the time managing multiple schedules, competing interests, and strained logistics and supply chains place Otis as a master of his craft and a model to which others in his profession should esteem. Otis exceeds all expectations and overcomes obstacles, limitations and setbacks so effortlessly and so frequently that it often seems reasonable, though perhaps this is unfair, as to allow one to expect the impossible on each and every project. Often the performance of his duties costs Otis time away from home, his family and friends. He is often called on to take on the most difficult projects and those on evenings and weekend. The UMA Clinic Refresh is but a small example of this. Otis provided a schedule of 1.5 months for completion of this much needed refresh. We were excited about the speed of this proposed timeline. But when additional manpower became available, Otis worked nights and weekends across at least two shifts and was able to deliver the project in approximately 3-weeks. If this weren't enough, Otis had a personal matter on the morning of December 9, the day we were to start the project, most of us in the same position would have called out and appointed a second. Otis showed up at 5 p.m. for phase 1, and in an hour the demolition was about complete for the first three phases. In conversation about the UMA project, Otis told me that, “As I got to thinking, the nurses didn't want to be here anymore than we did over the holidays and I just wanted to finish this project up early for them as a Christmas present from me.” His present was well received by everyone on that unit and I invite everyone to go and see the results for themselves. We are fortunate to have excellent leaders in HSPP and Otis and his peers are all excellent at what they do. But Otis, in particular, is deserving of praise as we move into the new year. If the University were able, I would recommend that they clone Otis and make him a trainer for every project manager that comes into the fold. With tremendous gratitude for a job well done! — Michael Payne, UVA Health Facilities Planning & Capital Development
Construction & Renovation Services hospital gift shop project team: I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the entire team who worked on the Gift Shop HVAC project prior to the holidays. They made a complex process with innumerable moving parts look simple. No small accomplishment under the best of circumstances, their efforts are all the more appreciated given the challenges of supply chain, limitations of access and limitations of resources related to the holidays. Please accept our sincerest gratitude for their great work and professionalism. — Michael Payne, UVA Health Facilities Planning & Capital Development
Best Wishes to FM Retirees
Richard Barbour, zone manager of Health System Physical Plant Zone 1 South, retired Dec. 14 after 45 years of service. Richard first joined the University in 1978, entering the UVA Apprenticeship Program as a plumber apprentice in 1986, learning the trade and graduating in 1990. He progressed through the ranks to his most recent role as zone manager, which he served in for 15 years. Richard received the Leonard W. Sandridge Outstanding Contributor Award in 2020 for his dedication to UVA Medical Center operations, in particular through unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Check out photos from Richard's retirement gathering.
Carl Shifflett, trades utility senior worker in the Sign Shop, retired Dec. 16 after 23 years of service. Carl was first hired in July 2000 and worked in what was then known as the Upholstery Shop, building and repairing furniture. Carl later moved into his role in the Sign Shop, manufacturing, installing and repairing signage all over Grounds. During the early days of the pandemic when PPE was in short supply, Carl stepped up and used his sewing skills to create hundreds of face coverings that were provided to Facilities Management staff.
Bruce “Sonny” Beale, superintendent of Recycling, retired Dec. 16 after 35 years of service. Sonny first joined UVA in Landscape Services, later working in what was then known as the Central Tool Room, and eventually joined Recycling. He was promoted to his most recent role in May 2005 and has been instrumental in the University's sustainability efforts. “If you thought of recycling, if you thought of sustainability, anything ‘green’ that was good for the University, Sonny was involved in it, really from the beginning,” said Associate Director of Grounds Rich Hopkins. Sonny and his team received multiple awards over the past two decades for their efforts to expand recycling at UVA. In his free time, Sonny is active in the community — coaching youth sports, leading Boy Scouts and assisting local refugees with adjusting to life in the U.S., something that he and his wife, Debra, were recognized for in 2009 when they received the Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award. “The time I've had to get to know and learn from refugees here in Charlottesville has been really meaningful,” Sonny said during a retirement gathering. “I've learned as much from them as they've learned from me.” Check out photos from Sonny's retirement gathering.
Bret Gentry, construction project manager with Construction & Renovation Services, retired Jan. 13 after 20 years of service. Bret first joined the University as an electrician for Athletics, later transferring to the FM Fire & Life Safety Group as a fire alarm technician. He spent his last approximately 10 years in Construction & Renovation Services completing multiple projects at the JAG School and the Alderman Road complex as well as the Fralin Museum of Art.
Scott Martin, systems integration & development manager with Operations, retired Jan. 13 after 38 years of service. Scott first joined FM in the Systems Control Center in 1985, where he managed a project to establish the first direct digital control systems to several buildings and developed the first computerized emergency procedure/callback system. Over the years, he took on more responsibilities, leading the Systems Control Center, Building Automation Systems, Metering and Geospatial Engineering Services. Scott has been involved in developing information and reporting related to buildings (including utility consumption), utility plant systems, Title V and other regulatory permitting, greenhouse gas emissions, and research and clinical related information for FM, consultants, researchers, staff and students. He developed the first FM-related web site, which was for utility outages, and was involved in many IT-related initiatives over the years, including overseeing efforts to ensure Y2K compliance for building automation and fire-monitoring systems. Scott also assisted in most emergency-related events over the years including hurricanes, derechos, micro-bursts, snowstorms, droughts, and more — keeping a cot and blanket in his office. Check out photos from Scott's retirement gathering.
Submit a staff news item for the next issue of the On Grounds newsletter.