From farm animals and drones to striking architecture and on-site input from students, the new STEM facility at Broken Arrow Public Schools in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is designed to educate—for life. Built in the Oklahoma soil and surrounded by 80 acres of usable land, the main building is a split-level design constructed to make the […]
Case Studies Region: Southwest
T.C. Selman – Aspen Heights Partners
Y2K, the millennium cyber bug, was quickly dismissed after the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1999. As far as global crises go, COVID-19 has more than made up for it, creating an economic and personal disaster scenario for businesses around the world, especially in the development and building industries. Billions of dollars were spent […]
Stephen Vedral – Northern Arizona University
Though the subject can’t be avoided, Stephen Vedral would rather discuss something other than COVID-19. For months it’s seemed an all-consuming concern for his Northern Arizona University facilities team, giving rise to what he calls the very contagious “COVID fatigue.” He also reminds that when he assumed his responsibilities at this Flagstaff campus in the […]
David Thibodeaux – Amplify Credit Union
Always plan for disaster. So emphasizes David Thibodeaux, who’s been proactive on that front in his two decades overseeing facilities and security operations at multiple national companies that operate internationally. But until this year, the preemptive concerns were mostly about fires, wiring, floods, burst pipes, malfunctioning elevators, internal and external theft, asset management, project management, […]
Ty Wenglar – Clark Wilson Builder Inc.
In previous generations, college kids moving into an apartment for the first time were happy just to be living away from home, while their parents were equally happy to have their house to themselves. Young adults didn’t care about having white-on-white appliances, shag carpet, a fitness center or a pool. They wanted cold beer and […]
Rodney Watts ‒ Circle K
After his employer prepared for the worst that Hurricane Laura might deliver, Rodney Watts may have been thanking his personal deities when the storm mostly spared Eastern Texas, necessitating just minor repairs to one Circle K on the Gulf Coast while a couple of others endured brief power outages. Overseeing facilities for most of the […]
RJ Kosadnar – Empyrean Benefit Solutions Inc.
Such a moving target, this responsibility of outfitting facilities for maximum production. So many factors affecting it, maybe especially so around the Texas Gulf Coast where hurricanes can be an annual event. But if Mother Nature becomes as unfriendly as in 2017, at least Empyrean Benefit Solutions is well prepared. RJ Kosadnar has seen to […]
Will Martin – HMS
The global COVID-19 pandemic has been eye-opening for industries across the globe, from entertainment and sports to food, beverage and hospitality. Will Martin, the vice president of real estate and facilities for HMS, says the pandemic has been eye-opening for his company, too, but in a good way. “We already had pandemic plans, and like […]
Peter Dourlein – University of Arizona
While there’s no substitute for a real-life casualty to test the capabilities and temperaments of first responders and medical personnel, the University of Arizona in Tucson can offer the next best scenario. It may not be for the squeamish. You’ll find it on the seventh floor of the Health Sciences Innovation Building. Opened last year, […]
Gregg Collison – P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc.
He is ready for the next challenge, confident that his nearly three-year stretch as vice president of facilities and construction at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc., along with 29 years of professional experience, have more than prepared him for whatever the future holds. In the meantime, Gregg Collison can mull options from his Scottsdale, Arizona, […]
