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Wm. “Shorty” Schwartz President, TAPPA
Hello TAPPA!
Whew!
Well, this year’s conference is over, but the planning for next year’s event, TAPPA 2023, in Denton, TX has already begun. I want to thank each and every one of you for attending this year’s conference. It surpassed our expectations and I hope yours as well. It was so great to see all the familiar faces and I was especially pleased seeing and meeting all the new members and first-time attendees.
I took the task of thanking our business partners personally and I know I shook a lot of hands in the process. If I did not make it by your booth to do so, I apologize. I will strive to do better at next year’s event.
I’d also like to include a “by the numbers”, showing what we were able to accomplish at this year’s event.
We had over 325 attendees (facility managers and business partners), with 34 institutions represented at the event! All in all, this event set the stage for next year’s event, giving the organization a much-needed boost.
Wm. “Shorty” Schwartz President, TAPPA
President (William) Shorty Schwartz, Texas State Round Rock
Vice President Chad Crocker, University of North Texas
Secretary/Treasurer Mike Wheeler, University of Houston
Past President David Reynolds, Retired
Director Terry Pritchett, Texas State Technical College
Director John Burke, University of Houston - Victoria
Director Sean Childers, Texas Tech University
Director Thomas Shewan, University of Texas
Director Magda Alanis, University of Houston
Director James Norcom, III, University of Houston
Junior Business Partner Jeff Simpson, Kurita Water
Senior Business Partner Alan Stilts, PBK
At the 2022 TAPPA Annual Conference last week, Association President William “Shorty” Schwartz announced the winners of this year’s honors:
The award for the Business Partner Distinguished Service Award was presented to Gordian, which was represented by Keith Macejeweski. The award honors an organization that has served the TAPPA membership as a consistent and exemplary source of services or products while voluntarily supporting the mission of TAPPA. Gordian was recognized for both its unwavering support of the TAPPA mission through the years, and especially during the pandemic, as well as its commitment to assisting higher education institutions improve their facilities to facilitate educational missions. Use this link to Gordian’s website for more information about this business partner: Facility and Construction Cost Data, Software and Expertise | Gordian
The winner of the Facilities Management Distinguished Service Award was Mr. Mike Wheeler, CEFP, FMP, LEED AP from the University of Houston. Mike is the Director of Projects & Technical Service, Facilities Services. The award is presented to a Facility Manager who promotes education and other professional activities through serving as a role model and mentor. According to David Oliver, University of Houston Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities: “Mike Wheeler has proven his unquestionable commitment to the Facilities Management profession by mentoring multiple staff members that have grown and developed into future leaders. He has represented the University of Houston, TAPPA and the Facilities Management profession at the highest level."
Finally, the Stars Across Texas Award was presented to the University of North Texas. This award is designed to recognize and advance excellence in the field of educational facilities while providing the Facility Managers the opportunity for national recognition for their outstanding achievements in facilities management. This rigorous, seven-part award submission is based upon criteria from APPA – Leadership in Educational Facilities national award standards focusing on leadership; strategic and operational planning; customer focus; information and analysis; development and management of human resources; process management; and performance results. This is the second award of this recognition to the UNT Facilities team which first won the award in 2019.
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Magda Alanis is the Executive Director of Finance Business Operations and Compliance within Facilities/Construction Management Department. She oversees Finance, Call Center 24/7, IT, Contracts, Supply Chain, Campus Key Services, Communications, Electronic Access Control and Compliance at the University of Houston.
She has over 28 years of government and operational experience. She earned her Executive Masters of Business Administration from the University of Houston and Certified Public Manager from Sam Houston State University.
She previously worked for the Water and Sanitary Sewer industry at the City of Houston, as Chief of Staff and led the Operations and Programs Support section, with an oversight of Facilities, Streets, Sidewalks, Driveways, Landscape Restoration, 24/7 Houston Citizen’s Call Center, Innovation Team, Finance, IT, HR (1600~ emp), Procurement, Public Environmental Education/Customer Engagement, Public/Customer Concern Response, Fleet, Uniforms.
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The University of Nebraska system partnered with state legislators to come up with an innovative solution, hashing out a deal that would yield more funding and cover 40 years of maintenance costs. The goal: to used bond sales to address a capital renewal backlog totaling $800 million. (Inside Higher Ed)
Cloud-based and mobile friendly, fintech solutions are expected to streamline how contractors pay and get paid. (CONSTRUCTION DIVE)
A building condition assessment identifies risks and opportunities so facility executives can develop long-term capital plans that help them reach their goals. (Facility Executive)
As more companies and schools require employees to return to working onsite, organizations must find ways to transform workplaces into more modern offices and hubs. Technology is a major component of that transition. (Tech HQ)
Cybersecurity firm Sophos recently released its annual State of Ransomware report which revealed that ransomware attacks nearly doubled in 2021 from the previous year. The survey included 5,600 IT professionals across many sectors. (Campus Technology)
As the pandemic threats decrease, facility cleaning managers are looking back at how cleaning was handled over the last two years, what processes they’d like to see disappear forever and best practices they hope will continue. (Clean Link)
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APPA invites you to submit for consideration programs presenting solutions for improvement, sharing of continuous improvement strategies, or innovative approaches relevant to facilities professionals throughout the educational community. Each of us is experiencing triumphs on campuses, striving for excellence, and embracing change at an exponential pace. Be a part of the APPA 2022 Virtual Facilities Summit by sharing your knowledge with a proposal submission by May 18, 2022.
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