Pats on the Back for this calendar year below!
Recognize a co-worker for a job well done by submitting a Pat on the Back. Pats on the Back are published in the Dispatch, on the bulletin boards and on ERIN. Send your POBs to fscustomerrelations@illinois.edu or turn them into Customer Relations & Communications in Room 147 of the Physical Plant Services Building.
Submissions may be edited for style and clarity.
October 2025
October 24, 2025
Jeff Deem, Building Maintenance
Jeff responded quickly and found us the best and most economical route to get our lights working again. Jeff is not only extremely competent, he is also very personable and practices outstanding customer service. We are always happy to see Jeff when we have a problem with our lights.
Patrick Funkhouser
Police Training Institute
—
Katie Balch, Customer Relations & Communications
The ultimate Pat on the Back to Katie for getting the photos for everybody listed on the Leadership Directory page on our website, so all the photos there are updated and with new gray backgrounds. https://fs.illinois.edu/leadership-directory/. To get literally everybody, 100 percent of everyone on there, with updated photos is an amazing undertaking, plus, they all look great!
Thanks
Travis Tate
Customer Relations & Communications
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Katie Balch, Customer Relations & Communications
Travis Tate, Customer Relations & Communications
Just wanted to send a note that the Fall 2025 Insider is so great—really clever ways to celebrate F&S. I loved the Alma coloring page and the video game POV section. And also loved the shoutout to the new branding projects installed! We were really thankful for F&S’s excellent service and support for those projects.
Great work!
AUGUST SCHIESS
Assistant Chancellor of Digital Strategy & Development
Strategic Communications and Marketing
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Sylvia McIvor, Utilities & Energy Services
Mike Larson, Utilities & Energy Services
Amber Perfetti, Utilities & Energy Services
Paul Foote, Utilities & Energy Services
The F&S UES booth had an outstanding turnout! Mike’s high-energy spirit fueled plenty of “Power the Bike” competitions. Over at the energy efficiency side, Amber proved to be everyone’s favorite “study buddy,” while Paul drew the crowds in with his gummy bear strategy.
An impressive 172 attendees took the quiz, with 166 qualifying for the drawing of four solar power banks. We’ll be sending a follow-up email to all who stopped by and will use a random generator to select the 4 lucky winners.
A big thank-you to everyone who helped make this event such a fun and successful day!
Thanks,
Robert Roman
Director, Utilities & Energy Services
October 17 2025
William Coyne, Building Services
Khadijah Davis, Building Services
Virginia Hall, Building Services
Carla Ogle, Building Services
Tracy Osby, Building Services
Larry Powell, Building Services
Brad Stevenson, Building Services
Mallory Summers, Building Services
We can’t thank you and your team enough for the incredible effort on Sunday and Monday to prepare ISTC for today’s congressional visit and media event! The entry, conference room, and labs all look fantastic and made an excellent impression for such a high-visibility event. We’re truly grateful for your dedication and attention to detail in making this visit a success.
Thank you again, for going above and beyond!
Shari
SHARI E. EFFERT-FANTA
Associate Director for Facilities and Safety
Prairie Research Institute
October 10, 2025
Leonard McFarland, Building Services
We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful custodian, Leonard, for his exceptional services to the LIFE Home throughout the year. He is friendly, reliable, and always willing to help. Feel free take our feedback of complete satisfaction with his work performance.
Scott GUMBEL
Facility Operations Specialist
Applied Health Sciences
October 3, 2025
Sean Blanchard, Building Maintenance
Andy Burnett, Building Maintenance
Eric “Cable” Davis, Building Maintenance
Brad Eichelberger, Building Maintenance
Ryan Glazic, Building Maintenance
Eric Hasselbring, Building Maintenance
Luke Hooper, Building Maintenance
Ian Martin, Building Maintenance
Dawn Rambole, Building Maintenance
Matt Tatman, Building Maintenance
Len Tran, Building Maintenance
Curtis Wayne, Building Maintenance
Bob Weeks, Building Maintenance
Kevin Westray, Building Maintenance
Bruce Zindars, Building Maintenance
It is my experience in our industry that there is one unanimous consistency across all jobs, trades, environments, etc. that everyone fields; and it is complaints. Unfortunately, we don’t yield enough positives and praises, even though they are on every job we come across! This email is to show gratitude, appreciation, and share praise on a few F&S shops that I have thoroughly enjoyed working with, and whose communication, execution, thoroughness, and care has been top notch.
When Dave and Randy hired me, they tasked me to work with Newmark Civil and Environmental Engineering and help them turn their building and a lot of their projects around. While we have done several jobs for them (supported by your crafts and trades), this summer we began a full-scale overhaul of their administration suite to the tune of $400k+. We completely gutted the entire space and overhauled every aspect of it. The support, communication, and execution I received from the Carpenters, Painters, Mill Shop, Sheetmetal, Laborers, and a few select others was outstanding and the standard that I expect on all jobs and the standard that I set when I was hired into F&S.
I am a huge proponent of taking accountability when mistakes are made. Complacency kills in all lines of work but especially in our profession of construction/project management. However, I’m an even bigger proponent of praising individuals when they go outside the normal boundaries of what is asked of them. We teach and lead people how we want them to follow us and treat us.
- Eric “Cable” Davis – Ironworkers. Not on this job, but on two other jobs. He is absolutely knocking it out of the park and all my clients are beyond pleased with his communication and customer service.
While there were plenty other shops on this project, and plenty of other Crafts and Trades employees, these are a few of the ones who performed exceptionally well and deserve the recognition.
I am currently working towards another large, in-depth project at Henry Administration Building where we will be looking to remodel the entire President’s suite on the third floor, 17 rooms in total. I am looking forward to bringing these individuals and their respective shops/crews with me into this next project, where I know they are going to continue to excel and meet the/my standard that should be unanimous throughout F&S.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Respectfully,
Addison Boyd
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT COORD II
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Montez Harris, Transportation
Monique Settles, Transportation
Mike Carlson, Transportation
I wanted to let you know that we appreciated the drivers yesterday to Chicago. It made the long day so much easier. Montez was great!
Both groups, UIUC and UIS, commented on the ease and appreciated that they didn’t have to drive after a long day. The quick side pull over to let UIS folks out was perfect!
Thanks again for all that you do!!
Sonja J. Bean
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
University of Illinois System
September 2025
September 26, 2025
Crystal Holzinger, Building Services
Pete and Tracy,
My apologies for reaching out directly, but I’m not certain who the interim BSW Supervisor is for our zone following Joe Ash’s retirement.
It is my understanding there is currently an open bid for the second BSW assigned to the Natural Resources Building (0109). While I am not familiar with all aspects of the internal bid process, I would like to formally request that our temporarily assigned BSW, Crystal Holzinger, be permanently assigned to NRB.
Since Gaddis’s tragic and untimely passing, Crystal has been nothing short of exceptional. She stepped into a difficult situation and has consistently delivered high-quality service. Crystal demonstrates a strong work ethic, pride in her work, and a commitment to maintaining a clean, welcoming environment. NRB is particularly challenging due to its age and size, yet she proactively addresses issues, prepares spaces for high-profile visits, and goes above and beyond in managing dust and debris from ongoing restroom renovations. Staff across the building regularly note her cheerful personality, professionalism, and dedication.
I respectfully ask that you consider this recommendation to permanently assign Crystal to NRB. She exemplifies the type of employee Pete highlighted in the recent Honest Conversations: reliable, proactive, and committed to high standards. If I could clone her for the rest of the building, I certainly would.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Shari
SHARI E. EFFERT-FANTA
Associate Director for Facilities and Safety
Prairie Research Institute
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Bill Buesing, Building Maintenance
Bill does a wonderful job incorporating safety into the tasks this shop performs. Bill recently led the charge on a pre-work safety evaluation of a lab with unusual hazards. He pulled the team together for a pre-work assessment where hazards and controls were identified and used to construct a work plan. This forethought is a wonderful representation of a ‘Safety First’ culture. Many thanks to Bill and those who helped to contribute.
JOSHUA HELLMER
Safety & Environmental Professional
—
Good afternoon,
I hope this message finds you well.
I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for the incredible support we’ve received from the Facilities & Services (F&S) staff who assist our areas. Their dedication and hard work have been instrumental to our success over the past year.
Without their expertise, customer service, integrity, and commitment, the impact on our research and teaching operations would have been significant. Thanks to their ongoing efforts, we’ve been able to maintain and advance the mission of the School of Chemical Sciences.
In particular, I’d like to extend my gratitude to the following individuals who have directly supported our research initiatives:
- Deran Huss –(Steam)
- Jay Gramlich –(Steam)
- Les Siefert -(Pipefitter)
- JB Henning -(Plumber)
- Chris McCartney –(Sheet Metal)
- Aron Cochran –(Sheet Metal)
- Georges LeFaivre –(Sheet Metal)
- David Lansford (Shop 55)
- Zach Abbott (Temp Control)
Thank you again to this F&S team above for their outstanding service and unwavering support.
Sincerely,
Karla Southern
School of Chemical Sciences
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Al York, Building Maintenance
Brad Eichelberger, Building Maintenance
Donna McClure, Engineering Services
Mike Brown, Engineering Services
Dan Sweikar, Building Maintenance
Jerry Dinnin, Customer Relations
Al,
Thank you for bringing this to our immediate attention and taking the time to go on-site first thing in the morning to shown me the problem. It all started by Steam Distributions response.
Brad,
Thanks to you and your team for responding immediately to secure the space, assess the space for repair, and implementing a repair plan.
Donna,
I’m so grateful you were at your workstation at 7AM this morning to provide an immediate expert assessment of the spaces.
Mike,
Thank you for arriving first thing to assist with a safety evaluation of the affected areas.
Dan,
Thank you for arriving in a timely manner to secure the elevator and allow Donna access to inspect the shaft.
Jerry,
You are an invaluable resource for getting out information to the campus community in real time and the fact that you are on-site at 6AM to assist is amazing.
This isn’t breaking news to anyone, but as you can all see by this response to this incident F&S has an unbelievable talented group of employees who have yet to showed me a problem that they couldn’t solve. Anytime a customer has presented me with an issue, dilemma, or down right emergency that needs a solution, I have always given them the same reply; “Impossible just takes 15 minutes longer”. This is due to all you’re KSA’s and dedication to F&S and the University.
My heart felt gratitude,
Gregory A Moen
SUPVR OF BUILDING CRAFTSMEN
—
Travis Huls, Utilities & Energy Services
I would like to recognize Travis Huls for his outstanding service. The Procurement Office is having issues with humidity, and I caught Travis on his way into his office early in the morning. He came down within two hours and was able to trouble shoot the problem. We appreciate his quick follow up.
Leslie Miller
Procurement Officer Specialist
September 19, 2025
On Thursday we do the ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of the National Center for Biofoundry Applications in the newly renovated space at the IGB. We will be celebrating with President Killeen, Chancellor Isbell, Provost Coleman, and Vice-Chancellor Martinis. The space is beautiful, and I want to take a moment to recognize the outstanding contributions of the Facilities & Services (F&S) crafts and trades staff.
Thanks to a $15 million award from the National Science Foundation, Illinois has established the National Center for Biofoundry Applications, one of only five centers funded nationwide. This center will house a futuristic automated lab to significantly accelerate experimental timelines for both academic research and industry applications, particularly in testing novel combinations of gene products such as proteins and enzymes.
A key requirement of the NSF award was to launch the Biofoundry within one year of funding. Under the leadership of Jesse Southern, Director of Facilities at the IGB, and in collaboration with Richard Dillingham at F&S, your team successfully transformed a tiered classroom into a state-of-the-art facility in just six months—from concept to completion (January to June 2025). This remarkable achievement exemplifies the dedication, craftsmanship, and efficiency of the F&S team.
As with all major accomplishments at our university, this success was made possible through teamwork and collaboration. We are proud to recognize the exceptional work and professionalism of your F&S crafts and trades staff in making this vision a reality.
Engineering & Architecture – Michael Halm, Kristi Cler, Eric Peterson, Cody Bainbridge, Joseph Youakim, Lisa Peacock
Coordination – Richard Dillingham
Shop 02 Carpenters – Eric Hasselbring, Sean Ritter, Ian Martin, Matthew Tatman
Shop 07 Laborers – Brad Eichelberger, Steve Griswold, Andrew McGraw, Josh Rushing, Riley Jones, Kurt Trame, Victor Vasquez, Chad Daly, Austin Eichelberger, Eric Tempel, Felipe Carmona
Shop 37 Operators – Andrew Moore, Mark Stine, Jason Ward, Shawn Hadler
Shop 25 High Voltage / fire alarms – Brian Johnson, Chuck Stiner, John Watson, Brad Albers, Matt Warren, Chris Dietz, Brett Shilts, Chad Bolser
Shop 55 Controls / ADA Card access– Bill Buesing, Jeff Revell, Norman Mueller, James King, Brandon Ellison, Dustin Pierson, Ted Burgin, Brandon Ellison, Ryan Logsdon, Josh Dodds
Shop 03 Electricians – Todd Woods, Larry Lusfeldt, John Mingee, Keith Grob
Shop 23 – Fitters – Jim Coleman, Doug Winkler, Robert Mills, Luis Michel, Brian Uebelhoer, Dylan Kingren, Brian Greene, Tim Yuenger, Ben Fitzgerald
Shop 31 Millshop – Andy Burnett, Ali Tiouririne, Scott Schmidt
Shop 05 paint/Glass/ signage – Kevin Westray, Chuck Mezio, Luke Hooper, Cody Talkington, Zach McCoy, Anthony Medrano, Derek Dubson, Rich Griffet
ITS operations – Scott Pruitt, Kendall Strohl, John Ennis, Chris Kempson, Ryan Reifsteck, Paul Devore, Hayden Overbey, Adam Chbada
Shop 49 cement finishers/ epoxy – Craig Harris, Travis Iliff, Zach Lyons, Robert Wickenhauser, Bruce Zindars, Scott Cross
Shop 50 Iron workers / rigging – Todd Hawkins, Brent Balsamello, Erik Davis, Renee Algiene, Thomas Damon Roy, Eric Ryerson
Shop35 Refrigeration – James Smith, Ron Hagan
Shop 06 Sheetmetal – Randy Reinhart, Jake Lietz
Shop 41 Temperature controls – Travis Huls, Craig Wittig
BSW support- Jack Humphrey, Darlene Sallee
Thank you for your leadership in making this partnership so effective.
Best,
Gene Robinson
Director, Institute for Genomic Biology
September 12, 2025
Susan Zich, Customer Relations & Communications
Susan is extremely helpful!
Thank you so much for taking the time to walk me through this process. I appreciate you and your team.
Have a great rest of your week.
Paige Davis
I Hotel
Danielle “Dani” Walden
Just wanted to let you know that my main office staff has been saying a lot of nice things about Dani, our BSW. Thought I’d give you a short list of compliments about what I’ve heard.
The staff said the facility has been as clean as it’s ever been. She’s polite, she’s friendly, she’s super responsive to our requests. She communicates with us, and she helps to troubleshoot facility issues that she’s able to resolve. Very conscientious about the condition of our building.
It’s not often that the whole group agrees on a topic, but this seems to be a popular sentiment. Thanks for helping us keep LER in good shape.
NELL CATHERINE MADIGAN
Senior Associate Dean, External Relations & Operations
School of Labor and Employment Relations
September 5, 2025
Brett Balsamello, Building Maintenance
Rene Algiene, Building Maintenance
Damon Roy, Building Maintenance
Travis Iliff, Building Maintenance
Zach Lyons, Building Maintenance
Craig Harris, Building Maintenance
Scott Cross, Building Maintenance
Robert Wickenhauser, Building Maintenance
Brad Eichelberger, Building Maintenance
Eric Temple, Building Maintenance
Kurt Trame, Building Maintenance
Steven Griswold, Building Maintenance
Darren Green, Building Maintenance
Jean Fontaine, Building Maintenance
Chris Dick, Building Maintenance
Trent Richardson, Building Maintenance
Matt Walsh, Building Maintenance
James Miller, Building Maintenance
Bryan Helfrich, Building Maintenance
Tone Howell, Building Maintenance
Jed Brummer, Building Maintenance
Gunnar McMechan, Building Maintenance
Nate Adamson, Building Maintenance
Ken Carter, Building Maintenance
Josh Rushing, Building Maintenance
Victor Vasquez, Building Maintenance
Felipe Carmona, Building Maintenance
Riley Jones, Building Maintenance
Andrew McGraw, Building Maintenance
Michael Slade, Building Maintenance
I wanted to personally thank all of you for your hard work and support in assisting us with the LAC100 updates. Without your support we cannot provide the necessary updates to provide our students with clean modern spaces to learn in.
Again, Thanks to all of you and your teams,
Brandon Boyd
Director of Facilities/Operations
College of Veterinary Medicine
August 2025
August 29, 2025
Lot F27 Repairs
Below is a list of additional individuals that contributed to the repair of the College of Veterinary primary lot before the start of the fall semester. The original POB is from August 22.
Bill Adams, Building Maintenance
Nate Adamson, Building Maintenance
James Butler, Transportation
Trey Coleman, Transportation
Scott Cross, Building Maintenance
Joseph Daly, Building Maintenance
Austin Eichelberger, Building Maintenance
Brad Eichelberger, Building Maintenance
Steve Griswold, Building Maintenance
Shawn Hadler, Building Maintenance
Craig Harris, Building Maintenance
Travis Iliff, Building Maintenance
Reece Klaudt, Building Maintenance
Guadalupe Lopez, Transportation
Zach Lyons, Building Maintenance
Andrew McGraw, Building Maintenance
Alonzo Munoz, Building Maintenance
Denver Piatt, Transportation
Monique Settles, Transportation
Michael Slade, Building Maintenance
Josh Strawbridge, Transportation
Mark Stine, Building Maintenance
Eric Temple, Building Maintenance
Kurt Trame, Building Maintenance
Abel Vera Iglesias, Capital Projects
Robert Wickenhauser, Building Maintenance
Outage Initiative
These team members are receiving thanks for their work on a vital outage initiative that will benefit the unit processes and related response activities for these types of service requests in the future.
Jerry Dinnin, Customer Relations & Communications
Nikkole Duda, Information Technology Services
Brad Trankina, Information Technology Services
James Scherer, Customer Relations & Communications
August 22, 2025
Jason Reynolds, Engineering & Construction Services
Josh Rubin, Engineering & Construction Services
Marty Scott, Engineering & Construction Services
I would like to give a big thank you to you and the teams that were able to hammer this project out and get it completed before our students fully return to school on Monday.
Thanks again,
Brandon Boyd
Director of Facilities/Operations
College of Veterinary Medicine
—
Ben Meyer, Information Technology Services
For following up with Tech Services while we transitioned the new bike.illinois.edu site. He helped immensely when we were on a tight deadline with Sustainability to get this moved before students came back!
Justin Pryor, Information Technology Services
For the complete redesign of the new Bike site and continued support with the team to get the changes of the website into place. Also, for the updated F&S web site with its implementation of the new Erin, employee only intranet. He’s been working on both projects simultaneously while also updating branding and accessibility standards.
Matt Fancher, Information Technology Services
For continued support while we have implemented changes to the Bike, F&S and Erin sites. He is a great resource and is instrumental in getting this work done.
NIKKOLE DUDA
Business Analyst
Information Technology Services
August 15, 2025
Shawn Beyers, Building Services
Arthur Eaton, Building Services
Jasia Fayne, Building Services
Tyson Floyd-Beyers, Building Services
Walter McClyde, Building Services
MingRong (Tina) Wang, Building Services
Raesha Williams, Building Services
I was at the CIF last week and I stopped to tell the BSWs what a wonderful job they (and you) do in keeping this facility looking so amazing. I can’t think of another academic space that is so clean and well-maintained. It’s a wonderful space to be in, and we appreciate being able to host events there.
Best,
TERRY THIES, MA, CPP
ASSOC DIR NEW STDNT & FAM EXP
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Student Success, Inclusion, and Belonging
New Student and Family Experiences
August 8, 2025
Katie Slough, Building Services
For Katie Slough
Thank you for taking on the responsibility and communication between us and Cintas. Because of you we have a clearer understanding of the process and each week make progress.
Rose Paul
OFFICE SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Transportation & Building Services
August 1, 2025
Anthony Barber, Building Services
Julie O’Donnell, Building Services
Hello. I again write with extreme appreciation for Julie O’Donnell and Anthony Barber on dayshift at CIF. Their efforts continue to be unmatched in my experiences working on campus. I receive many compliments from visitors to the building as well. University Catering has been here today and yesterday for a 2-day conference. Supervisor Bobby Slade said what he experiences in CIF with their service level is the best he has seen on campus. The event organizers from College of Education and Public Engagement for this 2-day conference have expressed their appreciation as well. When we host conferences that may be a different group every day or couple of days, I don’t need to write lists or tell Julie & Anthony what to do. They talk with the event organizers or catering and step in and take care of messes or cleaning as the day progresses regardless of where it is. They do this until the final moment they need to leave and clock out. What this saves me in time and concerns knowing they are on site providing services without any direction is held in high regard. I thank them often but I again wanted to make sure building services leadership knows how much I appreciate them and how fortunate I am to have them working in CIF!
Thanks.
Eric
Eric Vetter
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FACILITY SCHEDULING & LOGISTICSCAMPUS INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITY MANAGER
Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations
Campus Instructional Facility
—
The Moving Crew
(Joe Perkins, Delbert Ketteman)
I wanted to let you know that I appreciate Joe Perkins’ leadership of the moving crew. He always communicates and works with me to meet deadlines that I have. I know that I can count on him to help me complete the moves for my staff. I also appreciate Delbert Ketteman and his cheerful demeanor and thoroughness. I can always count on him to complete the tasks without me having to oversee every aspect. There are many others who have worked for me recently who are doing a great job. I believe that you may have one of the best teams of movers that we’ve had in quite a while. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate these folks.
Sincerely,
-Lori Beeson
Senior Facilities Planner for Technology Services
—
Shane Weeks, Building Services
Josh Stillabower, Building Services
I’m hoping to submit a PoB for two other BSWs, Shane Weeks and Josh Stillabower. Shane and Josh took some extra time to help me clear out a BSW closet and relocate all of the supplies and equipment to allow for the floor to be redone. It couldn’t have done it without them with how much equipment/supplies were in there, and really appreciated the help from my teammates.
Scott Croft
F&S Building Services
July 2025
July 25, 2025
Randy Bachert, Engineering Services
Mike Brown, Code Compliance & Fire Safety
Cynthia Cope, Engineering Services
Bryan Elliott, Engineering Services
Kelly Jo Hoffmann, Engineering Services
Brian Huckstep, Engineering Services
Jake Jakobsson, Engineering Services
Dave Lancaster, Engineering Services
Levi Marriott, Engineering Services
Marty Scott, Building Maintenance
Doug Winkler, Engineering Services
Thanks for the F&S Inspection team for their efforts to finalize inspections to be able to issue the temporary certificate of occupancy today, too.
Have a great weekend.
Kerry Dickson
Special thanks to Mike and C&I Team for your perseverance and guidance in helping get this important project for the university to TCO. There is still plenty of work to be completed on this project over the next couple of weeks, but I hope you enjoy your weekend knowing that you played a critical role in reaching this milestone.
Best,
Jim
Jim Sims, PE, SE
DIRECTOR, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION SERVICES
Thank you Mike and the inspection team for all of their hard work. More work to come, but this is a major milestone and accomplishment.
Douglas W. Reddington, AIA
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Jake Dalton, Building Maintenance
Shay Gibson, Building Maintenance
Jay Gramlich, Building Maintenance
Deran Huss, Building Maintenance
Jeff Isaacs, Building Maintenance
Cody Jones, Building Maintenance
Chuck Stiner, Building Maintenance
I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in the Davenport Hall electrical outage over the weekend. On Saturday, July 19, 2025, DH underwent a full-building electrical outage as part of a capital project to replace critical equipment. While there were a few unexpected bumps from the project side, the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of the F&S staff made a significant difference in keeping everything on track.
The outage began at 5:00 a.m. with a complete building shutdown, and the team stayed on-site until around midnight—ensuring all equipment was restored and fully operational before leaving. It was a long and demanding day, and the success of the project would not have been possible without their outstanding support.
Please pass along our sincere gratitude and appreciation to each of them. Their commitment did not go unnoticed, and we are truly grateful for their support.
With thanks,
Karla Southern
Assistant Director Facilities and Safety
School of Chemical Sciences
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Anthony Barber, Building Services
Tammara Greer, Building Services
Julie O’Donnell, Building Services
Matt Flaningam, Building Services
James Gillen, Building Services
James Hudson, Building Services
Bret Pourchot, Building Services
Chris Wasson, Building Services
Thank you for all the hard work you and your crew put in! The floor looks great!
Thanks,
Jake
JACOB S. CULBERTSON
Facilities Operations Coordinator
Library Administration
July 18, 2025
Deborah Caparoon, Shared Administrative Services
Dawn Flynn, Shared Administrative Services
I just wanted you to be aware that two of your employees were a huge help to me. Yesterday NRES received a request for backup documentation related to an F&S charge expensed to grant funding. I had worked with Deborah Caparoon on another item earlier this summer and saw that she was out of the office indicating Dawn Flynn was a contact. I sent the request to Dawn who immediately responded that she would work with Deborah today. Deborah routed the information to me shortly after noon today, so everything is squared away in less than one business day.
The grant sponsor would have disallowed payment of the expense if it was not routed today, so I am so extremely grateful for their assistance. I even had to bug poor Deborah again to explain the calculation used by F&S.
Have a good afternoon.
KELLY J. SULLAN
Assistant Head, Business and Strategic Planning
Illinois Certified Research Administrator
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
July 3, 2025
Anthony Ewing, Utilities & Energy Services
“Anthony is an indispensable asset to the Energy Performance Contracting Department at UES. His ongoing expertise in utility billing and analytics provides the critical foundation we rely on to validate millions of dollars in energy savings across our projects. Thanks to his precision, dedication, and deep technical insight, our team can confidently demonstrate the value and success of our energy performance initiatives.”
Thank you for your consideration of this nomination.
Sincerely,
Sylvia McIvor
Associate Director – Energy Performance Contracting
June 2025
June 27, 2025
Kevin Claxton, Building Maintenance
Trent Simpson, Building Maintenance
We are now one-week deep into high heat with high humidity, and guess what? Our new cold room is running like a dream! No issues, no more icebergs above our heads, no more dripping from the ceiling.
Thank you!
Bill Brieher
Professor, Cellular and Developmental Biology
June 20, 2025
J.M. Fontaine, Building Maintenance
Darren Green, Building Maintenance
Steve Woodcock, Building Services
I wanted to share some great feedback from today so Steve could hear it directly, since he’s not at our Research Park staff meetings.
I met with Shivam Garg, a graduate student researching CNC operations across campus. During our conversation, he mentioned that our makerspace was the cleanest CNC facility he’s visited in his interviews with users and managers across UIUC.
While I help manage the space and do cleaning when able, this recognition really belongs to Steve. He blows out dust and debris from the machines daily and ensures our cleaning equipment is always ready to use. His consistent, thorough work is what keeps our facility in excellent condition and contributes to our facility’s reputation.
Thanks, Steve, for your daily efforts – they clearly make a difference in how the Makerspace at EnterpriseWorks is perceived!
Best regards,
Dustin
DUSTIN MAYFIELD-JONES
Laboratory & Facilities Manager
EnterpriseWorks & Research Park
Crystal Holzinger, Building Services
Richard Welling, Building Services
I wanted to take a moment to share a message originally sent by Sarah Wells, Assistant to our Executive Director, to recognize Rick’s outstanding work related to NRB 101. However, I’d like to expand that acknowledgment to also highlight Crystal’s extraordinary efforts.
As you know, the East Wing is currently undergoing restroom renovations on all four floors. While each subcontractor team had been doing a good job managing construction debris and dust, that changed last week when the plaster crew began work. The plaster dust was particularly excessive, settling not only in the immediate construction zones but also as far as the central atrium — well beyond the anticipated areas impacted. We met with the Division 1 project manager on Tuesday to address the inadequate dust mitigation strategies and lack of proper cleanup, both of which were clearly outlined in the bid documents. In the meantime, both Rick and Crystal stepped up in an exceptional way. They went above and beyond their responsibilities to clean and maintain these affected areas, significantly reducing the impact on building occupants and greatly improving the appearance of the facility.
Their dedication and willingness to go the extra mile, especially in addressing issues that should not have fallen so heavily on their shoulders, deserves our sincere thanks and appreciation!! We are grateful for their professionalism and commitment to maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for building occupants and visitors. Thank you, Rick and Crystal!!
Best regards,
SHARI E. EFFERT-FANTA
Associate Director for Facilities and Safety
Prairie Research Institute
June 13, 2025
Dan Millburn, Building Maintenance
Darren Green, Building Maintenance
Craig Sailor, Building Maintenance
Jean Fontaine, Building Maintenance
Can the same supports be added to the south two drains in PSL 1311– the repairs for the first two leaking drains look amazing!
Thank you!
Rose Metallo
Assistant Director for the Plant Care Facility
College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences
Bradley Etchison, Building Maintenance
Bryan Robinson, Building Maintenance
I received a prompt response, excellent job as always. They were excellent, courteous and professional; and the requested service was completed faster than I expected, and the results exceeded my expectations.
Jimmy Gonzalez
Spurlock Museum
June 6, 2025
Aaron Brunkhorst, Building Services
I would like to nominate Aaron Brunkhorst. He has helped me, and other employees gain confidence in the jobs that we do. He is under appreciated in his role as a supervisor, in my opinion. It’s great to have someone that will listen to you and what you have to say. Overall, he is a great leader to work for.
Thanks,
Joshua Stillabower
F&S Building Service Worker
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Ray Cook, Building Services
Joe Green, Building Services
Josh Potts, Building Services
Please thank the workers for their superb job in cleaning 284 Wohlers! Looks fresh, clean, and sparkly! LOL
I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week.
Best,
Susan Palmer
Office Manager, Department of Accountancy
May 2025
May 23, 2025
Sangeetha Satyam, Information Technology Services
I want to give Sangeetha Satyam a Pat on the Back!! I came in on 5/19/25, a busy Monday Morning, and my Portal Webpage was having some major issues. She immediately contacted me via phone well before the start of the day and we tested different scenarios to find the root cause. Sangeetha had me back to normal business by 8:45am!! Sangeetha has also been very diligent in the testing of the new Mobisoft Portal application and has worked very closely with the Service Office to make sure our needs are met.
Jerry Dinnin
F&S Service Office Supervisor
Engineering Services
Congratulations and thanks to your diligent efforts to assist with the Cx activities and oodles of verification and paperwork to have these to facilities obtain LEED silver certification – the Susan and Clint Atkins Baseball Training Center, and the Rex and Alice A. Martin Softball Training Center. Your countless hours really paid off. This is fantastic and should be added to our website https://fs.illinois.edu/leadership-in-energy-and-environmental-design-leed-certifications/.
KELLY JO HOFFMANN, P.E., S.E.
Associate Director of Engineering Services
Amy Chitwood, Building Services
Sibley Wong, Building Services
UI Police Department had Amy and Sibley re-construct the construction fencing around the Archives and Special Collections Building. All in the day, and night, of Building Services!!!
Pete Varney
Director of Building Services
Jim Smith, Building Maintenance
Kelly Jones, Building Maintenance
Jason Grooms, Building Maintenance
I just wanted to express my appreciation towards the F&S Refrigeration Mechanics, they were very pleasant to work with and provided additional resources once they completed the AC installation.
Excellent work!
Kind regards.
Shaniya L. Brown
Department of African American Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
May 16, 2025
Kent Olsen, Building Services
I want to recognize Kent Olsen, our dedicated Building Service Worker, for going above and beyond his regular duties to help me clean my office floor. Kent always takes pride in keeping our building looking great, and his extra effort didn’t go unnoticed. Your hard work and positive attitude make a real difference—thank you, Kent!
Joseph Meeker (he/him/his), MS, EdM, COI, CPTD
Training and Development Specialist
Facilities & Services
Human Resources, Diversity, & Strategy
Ryan Welch, Grounds
Grounds Team
I just wanted to drop a quick note to give a shout out to the grounds folks who did spring clean up and mulch around the Henry Building. It looks terrific and is a nice morale boost for our team, who are working nearly around the clock these days.
Thanks!
Scott Rice
University Counsel
University of Illinois System
March 2025
March 14, 2025
Dave Drish, Building Services
Jessica Huddle, Building Services
Joseph Perkins, Building Services
This is a big shout out to Joe Perkins and his crew for noticing the buildup of dust and grime on our overhead fans that had never been cleaned before. Joe noticed and took upon himself to get his crew in and clean all the blades. One of the fans started working again!! Thanks Joe and crew
Greg Granadino
Locksmith Shop Foreperson
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Sangeetha Satyam, Information Technology Services
I would like to give a POB to Sangeetha Satyam. We were experiencing some Service Request Review Portal issues here in the Service Office. Sangeetha immediately looked at the issue, contacted other developers in IT and worked thru the issue till there was a fix. We are now back to operating normally with the supervisor able to review all the Service Requests prior to them becoming Work Orders.
Jerry Dinnin
Service Office Supervisor
Customer Relations & Communications
March 7, 2025
Dustin Hasty, Information Technology Services
I would like to give Dusty Hasty a POB for his efforts when the Service Office was experiencing an issue with TEAMS causing our phone calls to not come through on Monday afternoon. He jumped in to help very promptly and came up with an out of the box solution so the Service Office team could still receive phone calls. He then followed up to ensure we had the original settings in place once Microsoft had the issue resolved.
Jerry Dinnin
Service Office Supervisor
February 2025
February 28, 2025
Tom Pagel, Building Services
The carpet looks great in 901 W. Oregon St. Thank you again for your help!
LINDSEY CONNER
ASST MGR, Student Coordinator
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Technology Services at Illinois
February 21, 2025
Matt Emmert, Building Maintenance
Matt Emmert in the maintenance office deserves a pat on the back for going above and beyond for all of the trades at F&S. We can always rely on Matt for a quick work order adjustment or update. His knowledge with the AiM system is extremely helpful.
Clint McGraw
Heat & Frost Insulation Shop
February 14, 2025
Fran Bell, Human Resources, Diversity & Strategy
Fran has been very responsive to recent hiring requests and persistent in advancing formbuilder application reviews and approvals. Fran’s efforts have contributed to Capital Program’s ability to respond to personnel changes and quickly hire support positions.
Thanks,
Jon Hasselbring, F&S Capital Programs
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Shawn Patterson, Transportation
Shawn Patterson earned a ‘certificate of achievement’ for successfully completing hte Sustainable Fleet Management Exam. Congratulations to Shawn for his hard work and moving F&S forward!
Pete Varney, Director of Transportation & Building Services
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James Scherer, Service Office
We’ve had a couple outages at MSE in the last week that have not gone according to plan and I am hoping to learn a little more so I can help when these situations arise. And I had a lot of questions regarding outages. Thanks for James Scherer – he is always helpful when I call the office in a panic!
Nicole Robards
Associate Director of Facilities and Operations
Materials Science and Engineering
February 7, 2025
Tim Abrahamson, Electrician
Chad Dunn, Electrician
John Mingee, Electrician
Jerry Dinnin, Service Office
Jerry,
Thank you for your quick response and professionalism when handling the situation with the unknown person in PPSB earlier this week. Your ability to de-escalate, escort them out, and ensure everyone’s safety was invaluable.
John,
Thank you to you and your team (Tim and Chad) who stepped up to walk out with staff afterward. Your collective efforts are truly appreciated.
Malikah A. Gordon
Associate Director Customer Relations & Communications
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Rube King, Construction Laborer
Joe Daly, Construction Laborer
Thanks to Rube King and Joe Daly for assisting with F&S Blood Drives by always placing cones in the PPSB north parking lot and reserving a spot for the Bloodmobile before the event. Allowing ImpactLife to set up quickly and run its on-site operations with reliability and ease is critical to the continued success of the drives and our participation.
Steve Breitwieser
Customer Relations & Communications
January 2025
January 31, 2025
Chris Schaede, Driver
Happy Friday. 😊
I don’t usually send these unless I mean it.
Just wanted to thank your team so much for taking care of us yesterday when picking up a car at carpool. Chris was amazing. I was so excited that when I came to pick up the car at 7:00 am, he told me that they kept our vehicle in the shop and that it would be warm. He even drove the carpool car to meet me halfway. Wow, what a warm car makes. It was a long day in Chicago, and we didn’t get back until 8:00 pm, but it started off WONDERFUL!
Thank you once again for your teams’ effort to make a long day a little better.
Every bit helps.
Best,
Lorraine P Graham
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
University of Illinois System
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Brodny Uebele, Shared Administrative Services
Brodny has really stepped up and I wanted to do something for him.
Thanks,
Deborah CaparoonAP Manager
F&S Procurement Services
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Locksmith Shop
Good afternoon, fine F&S team!
I work over in Wohlers Hall, and I wanted to send a big thank-you to anyone on your team who has been working on our middle, west-facing, Sixth St. entrance doors recently and in the past. These doors have been very loud and squeaky for several semesters, and I’ve seen F&S crews working on them periodically, so I know how much effort it takes to keep them happy!
I noticed before winter break, and again today, that they are operating smoothly and quietly again, and I’m so grateful! There are classrooms and faculty offices right there, and having the doors fixed will result in a most less disruptive semester for everyone. Thank you for all you do!
Best,Allison C Payne
Manager of Technology Support and Training
Gies College of Business
January 24, 2025
Tim Clifton, Building Maintenance
Will Corum, Building Maintenance
Travis Huls, Utilities & Energy Services
Eli Remington, Utilities & Energy Services
Doug Winkler, Building Maintenance
I want to express my sincere gratitude for your efforts in addressing the cold temperatures in Swanlund, particularly in my office. Your responsiveness and clear communication throughout the process have been truly appreciated.
It’s reassuring to know that we have such a dedicated team working to ensure our work environment remains comfortable and conducive to productivity. Your prompt attention to this issue made a real difference.
Thank you again for all that you do!
Best regards,
Julie Shaffer
Director of Budgeting and Finance
Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs
January 17, 2025
Kelly Jo Hoffmann, Engineering Services
Just wanted to say how appreciative I am of your comment during today’s project meeting!! That is exactly our desired goal … to “right size” this project to meet our research needs, as well as safety and code compliance requirements. The project had snowballed beyond the primary scope … which is why it was determined that a feasibility component should be added. We have a lot of need, and limited funding to address significant DM issues. That’s why a strong partnership between F&S and departments is so important to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated what you said today, and hope it resonated with the PSC and broader F&S team!
Thank you,
SHARI E. EFFERT-FANTA
Assistant Director for Facilities and Safety
Prairie Research Institute
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Gareth Boyd, Building Maintenance
Just wanted to say thanks for getting that display board moved so quickly. I didn’t get a chance to thank you for installing it outside of the lab. He was very conscientious of the fact that students were in our lab taking final exams and made every effort to install the board without disrupting the exams. I really appreciated the care he took to make sure that students weren’t going to be disturbed.
Thank you,
Jim Sosnowski, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, CBTF
The Grainger College of Engineering
January 10, 2025
Steam Distribution
I want to put a thanks in for the Steam Distribution team who worked throughout the Holidays covering all of campus and who came in on the 26th of December when called for chilled water leaks throughout campus. This team goes above and beyond and works day and night and deserves some recognition for all their hard work
Al York
Steam Distribution Foreperson
January 3, 2025
Jerry Dinnin
Molly Mitsdarfer
Melissa Price
James Scherer
Susan Zich
Thank you, Service Office team, for your hard work and collaboration over the holiday break. By working together to create a schedule that allowed everyone to take some time off while still covering critical support tasks, you ensured that essential operations continued smoothly. Each team member’s contribution was key to making the schedule work effectively, and your professionalism and flexibility in handling these responsibilities are greatly appreciated. Thank you!!
Saludos,
Malikah Gordon
Associate Director of F&S Customer Relations & Communications