Posted on Friday, June 26, 2020
Although COVID-19 caused the campus to suspend on-site classes in March, it was all hands on deck for the folks at National Management Resources.
The company, that handles campus maintenance and facility management for the college, suddenly had the all-important task of making sure the campus was safe for faculty, staff and remaining students during a pandemic.
“We were deemed essential personnel by Gov. (Brian) Kemp,” said Michael Coniglio, Director of Physical Plant for National. “We continued working without taking our foot off the gas, despite having a depleted staff.”
The housekeeping employees were extremely busy from Day 1, often working seven days a week.
“They came in on the weekends to hit high-touch surfaces such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets and sinks in heavily used buildings that remain open and dormitories where we have access,” said Coniglio.
Other touchpoints include exercise equipment, athletic equipment, vehicles, golf carts, self-serve food and beverage dispensers and entertainment equipment.
The staff has been trained in COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols. All sanitizing and disinfecting are performed with CDC-recommended cleaning products.
“During this period, Tonya Parsons and her staff have deep-cleaned, disinfected and scrubbed every single restroom on our 800,000-square-foot campus,” Coniglio said. “The floor techs have extracted and deodorized most of the carpets that are accessible to clean.”
Attention has now turned to the dormitories, giving them the same deep-cleaning and sanitizing process.
Meanwhile, National’s maintenance department has been able to work on projects that otherwise would not have been done because of the normal volume of work orders.
“We have completed considerable exterior and interior painting and repairs to entrances at Banks Hall, Smith Hall, Quillian, Candler Cottage and Pitts Dining Hall, to name a few,” he said. “We have also painted several handrail sections and done some roof repairs, all while providing quick responses to work orders that do arise.”
The Hill’s legendary beauty has been well tended during the quarantine.
“The landscape department has done significant pressure washing throughout the campus, including the library plaza, Chapel, Banks Building, Pitts Dining Hall, Smith Hall and Turner Hall, to name a few,” Coniglio said. “They have renovated the annual flower beds for the summer plantings, done extensive pruning of overgrown shrubbery and performed some preventive maintenance on the section of The Thread that runs through the campus.”
Tara Sikes, Work Control Coordinator, and Karen Ely, Events Coordinator, also helped by planting flowers and pressure-washing buildings, Coniglio said.
Coniglio said he is very proud of his staff and their hard work.
“Their efforts have been exceptional,” he said. “All while keeping up with the day-to day operations of a 125-acre campus.”
A farewell parade for President Dan McAlexander and First Lady Celeste Myall will be from 4-5:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of Lamar Dodd Art Center. Participants are urged to drive by and thank Dan and Celeste for their dedication to the college and community and wish them well in retirement. During President McAlexander’s tenure, the college has seen significant advancements, like the creation of the new Ida Callaway Hudson Lab Sciences Building, the beginning of the Wilkinson Family Servant Scholars Program and the launch of several new majors. First Lady Celeste Myall has been beside him, taking on numerous leadership and support roles, contributing countless volunteer hours to efforts like 3D Journeys, the Youth Symphony and more. Thoughts and appreciation also can be shared through a call, card, email or video. Emails and videos can be sent to President@lagrange.edu or LaGrange College, President’s Office, 601 Broad St., LaGrange, Georgia 30240. His last official day in office is Tuesday.
LaGrange College had 96 student-athletes earn USA South Academic All-Conference honors for the 2019-20 academic year. Included in the total were 10 student-athletes who had a GPA of 3.99 or higher. LC had 80 receive academic all-conference honors during the 2018-19 academic year.
July faculty and staff birthdays
1 – John Cook
2 – Carol Yin
5 – Braxton Ford
6 – Deb Hall
7 – Janet Craft
Brianna White
9 – Lucinda Muncy
10 – Kim Barber Knoll
Brian Hunter
14 – Kelly Ansley
24 – Sharon Livingston
Joseph Miller
27 – Jon Ernstberger
28 – Jackie Belcher
Beth McClanahan
29 – April Butler
With an expanded menu of majors and minors and exciting new faculty members on board, fall 2020 will offer more learning opportunities for music-minded students than ever before. Here's a preview.
Susanna Baxter to serve as second woman president of LaGrange College – Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 19, 2020
LaGrange College to mark Juneteenth holiday – LaGrange Daily News, June 18, 2020
LaGrange College coach finds his calling – LaGrange Daily News, May 29, 2020
LaGrange College Leadership Council welcomes new members – LaGrange Daily News, June 5, 2020
LaGrange volleyball coach ready for challenge – LaGrange Daily News, June 11, 2020
Anderson thriving at LaGrange College – LaGrange Daily News, May 12, 2020
Category: College, Academics, Students
Keywords: National maintenance virus COVID-19
