USPA Custodial Breakfast
May 16, 2016 / 7 – 9 a.m.
We did a Midway Fair theme for the custodial breakfast with games on the tables and a photo booth. Buttons were also available for attendees to make as a memento of today’s event. We had our usual fare of biscuits and gravy, fruit salad, fresh fruits, pastries and yogurts. There were 56 in attendance.
USPA Vice President Sunshine Isbell announced that game tickets would be entered into a drawing to be held at noon on Friday, May 20, for a grand prize. There was no limit to the number of times you could play and win in order to increase your chances.
Ballots and candidate biographies were handed out at the registration table. Anyone not able to attend the breakfast can still pick up a ballot to vote at the Spring Assembly on Thursday, May 19, or via e-mail to USPA President Ted Hornoi-Centerwall at .
Our speakers were Chief of Staff Tom Serwatka and Assistant Vice President John Hale. (Unfortunately, our other scheduled speakers, Matt Driscoll and Deborah Bundy, were unable to attend.) Tom appreciates the smiles and “bless yous” he receives as he walks around campus every day. YOU make a difference every day and the most important slide he showed was “Thank You” for all you do every day to enrich his life and the lives of all those you come into contact with. He mentioned again how important it is that the parents see a well-run, well-kept, well-organized facility – a place that they want their child to be. And UNF is only this way because of YOU, the physical facilities employees.
Tom discussed that UNF is working on a strategic plan with long-range goals. He shared UNF’s vision statement and various statistics. Currently, UNF students are the third brightest students in the State; we want to continue to attract more out-of-state and international students. We are working on cultural awareness so that students will know how to live and do business in other parts of the world and also with employees to be more aware of one another’s cultural backgrounds, traditions, etc.
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UNF is focusing on developing communication and critical thinking skills for the students. We want to prepare them to go beyond their own success and life and impact their communities.
Tom mentioned that UNF is currently at 16,000 students with the plan to grow to 25,000, with 5000 living on campus. We will continue to keep the classrooms small for better interaction between students and professors. More growth is planned as we go from 2,750,000 sq. ft. to 4,500,000 sq. ft., which means more jobs as there will be more facilities to maintain. Tom emphasized again how important Physical Facilities employees are to UNF’s continued growth and success – Thank you for all you do every day!
John Hale, Assistant Vice President, shared briefly about some building projects that will be coming up this summer. The arena bridge will be taken down in June. Also, construction on the Skinner-Jones Hall addition will begin in August. It will entail a four-story building, partially on Lot 7, and plans are to finish by December 2017.
Ozzie Osprey made a special appearance and we were able to enjoy some photo opportunities with him. Thank you, Ozzie!
Door prizes were given away throughout the breakfast. Thank you to the following sponsors that donated prizes for our event: The Loop, Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary, Sweet by Holly, Kilwin’s, Jacksonville Symphony, and Suni’s Vintage Wares. Following are a list of our door prize winners: Corinne Housley, Spspe Gbelayan, Darlene Jones, Leroy Baker, Corey Rivers, Robert Truglia, Gloria Cobb, and Sylvia Johnson.
The drawing for the grand prize from the game tickets will be done at noon on Friday, May 20. The winner will be announced that afternoon on our Facebook page and via e-mail.
Respectfully submitted,
Debby Fliger
USPA Secretary/Treasurer
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