May 2022

The SSC Maintenance department at TAMU College Station holds monthly Safety Stand Downs which we stop work and come together to recognize and discuss safety matters and issues. This time is also utilized to present training on relevant topics such as PPE, Fall Protection and housekeeping. This month’s Safety Stand Down focused on Lockout/Tag-out and the purpose of the program. Master Lock presented the training and passed around different types of LO/TO equipment and answered any questions from our team. Safety is our First and Highest Priority. Remember to always Stop and Think before you Act.

The 1st Annual SEC Landscape Conference was held April 4th and 5th in Oxford Mississippi on the campus of Ole Miss and SSC Texas A&M had two personnel in attendance. Mike Teal and myself, Bryan McGee, were on hand to represent both SSC and Texas A&M at the conference and were joined by Grounds Management personnel from nine other SEC schools and one ACC school that was able to join in. Schools with representatives in attendance included the host Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Florida State.

The conference covered a number of different topics ranging from how each school handles tailgating, managing tree protection during on-campus construction, organizing memorial plaques for trees on campus, and even building a positive team culture among employees to aid in training and employee retention. Attendees swapped stories, shared ideas and experiences and overall had a great time. Jeff McManus, Grounds Manager at Ole Miss, and his team were gracious hosts and provided tours of their beautiful campus including behind-the-scene tours of the football, baseball and softball facilities on campus. Suppliers who sponsored the event include Toro, Rainbow Ecoscience, SiteOne and Simplot, all of which contributed greatly to both the content and experience of the conference and were greatly appreciated by the group of attendees.

Personally, I found it refreshing that Grounds Management personnel from all of our sister schools in the SEC share many of the same challenges in the day-to-day operations of their duties that we experience here at Texas A&M, so we are far from alone when it comes to managing them. We gained professional friendships with some amazing people that I’m sure will be beneficial to all of us for the rest of our careers. It was not only a pleasure to be invited and included in the event but it was exciting to see the passion with which all of these professionals perform the many tasks assigned to them at their respective schools. Passion is contagious and I was happy to see it spread throughout this group.

In the end, the 1st Annual SEC Landscape Conference is in the books but it will be far from the last as other schools, including Texas A&M, have signed up to host events each year at their respective campuses through the year 2027 and we hope that attendance will expand to include all SEC schools in the near future, and who knows we may even pick up more schools from some other conferences along the way.

submitted by Bryan McGee

Monthly Safety Committee Meeting

Each month a Safety Committee Members meeting is attended by our Maintenance, Grounds, Custodial, and EDCS employees. Each work group is represented by a Safety Champion and the Supervisor in attendance.  The purpose of the monthly meeting is stop work and focus on Safety. We discuss past accidents and current potential hazards to be addressed to prevent future injuries. We also present and discuss current training topics such as Slip,Trip,and Falls or Lockout/Tag-out.

As always we greatly encourage employees to Stop and Think before they Act. Think “Can I get hurt doing this and is there a safer way to do it?”

AJ Sims Wins Big at 2022 Cornhole Competitions

AJ Sims participated in the 2022 Cornhole State Championships in Belton Tx and won 1st place in the top division making him the State Singles cornhole Champion.

The National Tournament was held in Salt Lake City Utah the next weekend.  AJ finished 7th in Doubles and 8th overall in singles.  He is currently ranked #21 overall out of 320 Pro players.

AJ says “I have been with SSC for 10 years and I have been playing professional Cornhole for 3 years and SSC has been one of my sponsors all 3 years.”

 Congratulations AJ! SSC is very proud of you!!

Welcome New Associates

CUSTODIAL NEW ASSOCIATES

Blanca Alcantara

Ieshia Anderson

Briana Ashley

Carl L. Barbee

Joyce Briggs

Diontrae Brinston

Stephanie Castillo

John Dacumos

Latara Denton

Guadolupe Gutierrez

Christine Haisch

Norma Jo Hayhurst

Rosemary Holmon

Martha Idrogo

Dreneshia Lee

Kenneth Lewis

Carrie McIntyre

Lelandra McNeil

Maria Robledo

Alejandro Rodriguez

Chelsea Toliver

Norma Torrez

Sheketa L. Williams

GROUNDS

Valentin Cisneros

Kristofher Evans

Barbara Hatchel

Stanley Kolbasinski

Cade Stewart

Cameron Worthington

MAINTENANCE NEW ASSOCIATES

Dylan Dawson

Madison Flores

Omar Garcia

Seth Mike

Thomas Osborn

Sebastian Penaloza

Elena Todd

Felix Velez

Michael Wilkerson

April GEMS

Custodial

Eliseo De La Garza

Silvia Diaz Jasso

Terrance Webber Jr.

EDCS Quarterly

Catherine Hall

Grounds

Joe Ruiz

Megan Tennill

Chuck Walker

Maintenance

Richard Galvan

Ernal Javier

2022 SSC Scholarship

APPLICATIONS DUE JUNE 1

Scholarship Criteria for the SSC at Texas A&M Scholarship

Purpose:   The SSC Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to SSC employees and/or their children who are attending Texas A&M University based on demonstrated academic achievement, community service, and an express interest in pursuing their education.

Criteria:   The students eligible for assistance must be current Texas A&M students or graduating high school seniors who reside in Texas and intend to continue their education at Texas A&M.

Consideration will be given to academic achievement and the student's community service record.

Students should submit a scholarship application on the form provided by SSC.

Guidelines:   Scholarships will be awarded on an annual basis and disbursed in equal payments in two equal payments.  Students must continue to attend classes and maintain no lower than a 3.0 grade-point average (or equivalent).

Amount:   Each scholarship awarded will be a minimum of $1,000 to be paid in two equal installments.

Deadline:   The application deadline is June 1st, after which applications will no longer be accepted. SSC uses the postmarked date to determine mailed entries.

Renewal Process:   This scholarship is renewable. Previous scholarship recipients can re-apply.

APPLICATION:   Download application from  https://sscfacilities.wixsite.com/scholarship/application