The last few years have been very active for the Campus Keepers crew which consists of Phoebe Papadi, Glenn Mans, Larry Alsobrook, Erick Smith, Andy Frenock, Connie Caldwell (Climate representative), new members Vicki Davis and David Dale, and our fearless staff liaison Shanna Swiers. Phoebe leads a subgroup called the Space Cadets which organizes and facilitates efficient use of all our storage spaces for the many important items we use regularly, but maybe not every day. Carol Barron just finished up in December with her valuable role as UCG Construction Project Manager. Over the last few years Carol shepherded us through many renovation and repair projects and thankfully passed the torch to Shanna. We are lucky to have had Carol, and her many years of construction experience get us through that busy time.
Thinking about repairs and renovations, there is lots going on. We had some serious excitement between Christmas and New Years with a random break in an old irrigation line that no one knew about. Larry Alsobrook noticed it and Shanna spent hours during her vacation resolving the situation. Meanwhile, please check out the youth room renovation. It was completed with many volunteer hands (RD Bonnaghan, Glen Mans, Carol Barron, and many others) making the work go smoothly. Coming soon: The south wall of Reimer Hall may be stabilized by the time you read this (RamJack Florida). It was ever so slowly tilting away from the building and before we can fix the divider wall between Reimer and the West Wing we needed to stop the movement. Finally, the water supply to our entire church campus is on the schedule for a major upgrade in February. There will hopefully be no disruption in any of our activities, coffee service and bathrooms being pretty important. I will definitely be praying for a speedy and no-surprises project by Clark’s Plumbing.
Drainage in the courtyard and parking areas has been a major focus for Larry and Glenn. It’s not something most of us notice until we have to walk through a puddle or deal with water lapping at our doorstep. Larry and Glenn have been working with shovel and pick to make sure stormwater runs off into the low spots where it soaks into our sandy soils. It’s definitely a work in progress and I’m confident we will continue to make improvements.
I am grateful for the efforts of everyone who pitches in during landscaping clean-up days, blowing leaves out of the courtyard, painting, cleaning, noticing what needs repairing, all the little and big activities that keeps our UCG campus a safe and welcoming space for members and guests. Your gifts of time and resources make it all possible.
Happily, in service,
Erick Smith, Chair
Campus Keepers (formerly Buildings and Grounds)
Thanks to all those Campus keepers❣️