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What an adventure this has been to serve with the TAPPA Board of Directors! I have always had a great amount of respect for Facility Directors, but after these past couple of years, my admiration has grown even more.
In our profession, there’s never a dull moment and that probably won’t change. But whether through a worldwide pandemic, a TX Snowmaggedon with power outages, or a tornado or storm that comes through a campus, I watched these Directors adapt, be resilient and make it possible for their institutions to run smoothly. They are to be commended for the job they do every day – even when it is incredibly challenging!
First, I would like to thank the TAPPA Business Partners for voting me into this board position. It has been a wonderful experience to be involved in many of the planning aspects around the Conference and board strategic plans, despite the craziness in 2020 and not having had the opportunity to meet in person.
Secondly, I would like to thank the TAPPA Board of Directors for their hard work, support and dedication to the profession. Over the past two years, I have seen first-hand, the servant leadership and caring professionals who are part of TAPPA. The commitment from the board is demonstrated not only for the support of TAPPA, but also in facilities each and every day.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be involved in TAPPA. It has been a wonderful experience to work alongside this group! CMP Management has been a great partner as well.
I would like to wish the board and the TAPPA members a successful Virtual conference. I really do look forward to seeing everyone in person at the 2022 Conference in Houston next April.
TAPPA Members,
Wow! What a presidential term I’ve had. COVID denied us our conference in 2020 and your board and the management team have rallied to find ways to connect our community ever since. We’ve launched webinars with round table discussions on a number of subjects near and dear to you from mechanical systems management, to COVID. Most recently, it was a successful discussion on responses to and lessons learned from February’s snow and crazy freezing weather. We took time the last 2 years to modernize our employment links on the TAPPA webpage – take a look at https://jobs.tappa.net/ – and we just released a monthly newsletter, which you can access through the website at any time including our previous newsletters https://www.naylornetwork.com/tappa-nwl/index.asp. In our spare time, we have worked on how to pull together a virtual conference scheduled for April 26th - 28th. It is shaping up nicely and the response from Facility Managers across the state has been fantastic with unexpected numbers of registrants.
Join us at our Annual Business Meeting during the Virtual Conference to be a part of the new board induction for the upcoming year. Here are the current members of the TAPPA Board of Directors:
President
David Reynolds
University of North Texas
Vice President
(William) Shorty Schwartz
Southwestern University
Secretary/Treasurer
Mike Wheeler
University of Houston
Past President
James Norcom, III
University of Houston
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John Burke
University of Houston Victoria
burkej@uhv.edu | 361-485-4550 |
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Background into the field of Facility Management
I started my Facilities Services career in the custodial services at a gas station in high school. Then I enlisted in the United States Air Force where I was part of Civil Engineering specializing in HVAC. From there I attended Coastal Bend Community College where I received an Associates of Science in Agriculture. Then on to Texas A&M University-Kingsville and a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture Teaching option. During this time I worked for Texas A&M Research and Experiment Stations doing building and grounds maintenance along with livestock management. Then hiring on with the University of Houston Victoria as an entry level maintenance technician and working my way up to Director, giving me just over 30 years in the Facilities Services field.
How has TAPPA contributed to your career?
The University of Houston Victoria is located in a smaller community (a population less than 100,000) and not having but a handful of vendors and contractors, TAPPA has helped me find new and innovative ways to take care of items in our ever changing world of facilities. Along with this, the TAPPA family has helped me at times of need. During natural disasters and a structural fire, I reached out to the TAPPA family for suggestions and guidance. Never have I been let down. The networking and sharing experiences with others in TAPPA has been a large role in my career, but the biggest part that has helped me is the positive attitudes and motivation towards everyone in the TAPPA organization.
Personal Tidbit
My hobbies are working on my small farm where I raise cattle, hogs, and chickens. With the occasional rabbits, quail, or any other animal that my family brings home. Then helping coach my son’s baseball teams and my daughter’s tee-ball team. Last would be woodworking, from cutting boards to livestock barns I just enjoy doing work that can be seen for years to come.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The thing I enjoy most about my job is the ever changing environment. Very seldom has one day gone the same as the day before. Next would be the learning opportunities that present themselves daily. The other thing is everything we do in Facilities Services transfers to our homes and communities after hours to help others.
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Faculty and student researchers from the Mechanical Engineering department at UMass Lowell are working on a pilot project they say will help the university identify and prioritize cost-saving repairs and energy-efficiency projects on campus. (Environment+Energy Leader)
PHOTO CREDIT: UMass Lowell
As facilities managers or the people under them retire or move to other organizations, the biggest challenge is to replace those employees with new hires who will keep their departments humming along.Here are some tips and advice from experts on how to prep your successor to hit the ground running. (Facilities Net)
As part of a surge in new housing projects for freshman and sophomores, there is increasing demand for double occupancy rooms and suite-style arrangements in both new construction and renovation projects. (Building Design+Construction)
When selecting HVAC equipments for new and retrofit student housing projects, several factors are driving the popularity of this versatile technology. Student comfort, system management and sound levels are among the leading factors driving colleges, universities, and developers to investigate and install Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems. (Multi Housing News) PHOTO CREDIT: ISTOCK.COM/alacatr
Environmental, health, safety and quality (EHSQ) software is a technology that manages an organization’s regulatory compliance, enterprise risk, and corporate sustainability data and activities. These are not only important from an ethical standpoint, but it's also sound for business. (Quality Mag)
The transition to predominantly online learning at colleges and universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been widespread across the nation. But as more higher education institutions prepare for a full reopening in the fall, new and innovative access control and secured entrance options are becoming more important. (Security Magazine)
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TAPPA is excited to introduce the use of new technology to continue to deliver quality education and networking opportunities for our members throughout the State of Texas. The 2021 Virtual Conference will consist of a three day live virtual event complete with business partner speed dating, virtual exhibit bingo, virtual exhibit hall, and networking time ending with wonderful events on both Monday afternoon and Wednesday evening. Stand out from the competition and leverage your company as an industry leader during our virtual event. This event will be held Monday, April 26 through Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Make sure you pencil us into your schedule. You won’t want to miss these speakers and the virtual networking opportunities!
There’s still time to Register
Make sure to take a look at our agenda outlining the fantastic Educational sessions and toolbelt offerings for our Facility Members!
View Agenda
Register Today
Sponsorships are Available!
Don’t miss out on a sponsorship opportunity to network and connect with the TAPPA membership.
Sponsor Benefits & Application
Virtual Demo
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