S3E6: ‘I Know What Was, And I Know What Can Be” (Jim Lowe, Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning and Management, Ball State University)

Over the past three decades of his career at Ball State, Jim Lowe has dedicated himself to ensuring the functionality, comfort, safety, and sustainability of every building that makes up the University’s campus. 

As the associate vice president for facilities planning and management, Jim is responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the University’s facilities—and for planning, designing, and constructing our future buildings.  

Jim’s career has encompassed a series of milestones, from implementing an influential program to address the maintenance of the University’s buildings to overseeing the implementation of the University’s distinctive geothermal energy system. 

In this episode, Jim talks about these accomplishments and more, as well his appreciation for his hometown of Muncie. He also reveals why he gives back to the community to the extent that he does, through his service on many boards, including the board that governs Muncie Community Schools. 

If you enjoy this episode, please leave a review to support the show. 

Transcript

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Hello, I'm Geoff Mearns, and I have the good fortune to serve as the president of Ball State University. On today's episode of my podcast, I'll be interviewing a person whose knowledge of our campus makes him the epitome of a subject matter expert. I'm talking about Jim Lowe, Ball State's associate vice president for facilities planning and management. Jim is responsible for the day to day operations and maintenance of all of the facilities on our large and beautiful campus.

He also manages the planning design and construction of all renovations and new construction on campus. Over the course of his 37 years at Ball State, Jim's career has encompassed a series of major milestones, only some of which we will have time to talk about today. I'm also going to ask him about his commitment to the city of Muncie, why he gives back to his hometown, including his service as a member of the school board for Muncie Community Schools.

Our university and in fact, our community, we are very fortunate to benefit from Jim's leadership and his service. And today it's my pleasure to welcome him to the podcast. Welcome, Jim, and thank you for joining me in the studio today.

[JIM LOWE]

Thank you, President Mearns. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

I like to begin these conversations. I'd like to start off by asking my guests about their childhood, about their upbringing. So I understand that you were born and raised right here in Muncie. So tell us a little bit about your family and your memories of growing up in this city.

[JIM LOWE]

Well, growing up Muncie, we moved several times, resulting in attending many of the elementary schools and the middle school that was located close to where Muncie Central is currently—all of which have been closed and demolished. Ultimately, I graduated from Muncie Central in 1973. The following year, they closed that building, which was downtown at the time, and demolished it. Open a new Muncie Central at its current location at Walnut Street.

I am the oldest child, was one of five, was the oldest grandchild on my mom's side of the family. I am a first generation college graduate, having graduated from General Motors Institute in 1978, which is now known as Kettering University. I am married to my wife, Joy, for the past 47 years. We have three children and four grandchildren.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Wow. So let me unpack that. Was there any causal relationship between you attending those schools in MCS and their subsequent demolition and replacement? 

[JIM LOWE]

Well, it’s ironic that they've all been demolished, and I'm responsible for construction here at Ball State University.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And a little bit at MCS.

[JIM LOWE]

And a little bit of MCS, yes. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So you said you graduated high school in 1973. That was right about the time that enrollment peaked in the school district, about 20,000, maybe a little over 20,000 students. That's also a time when the population here in Muncie was at its peak, driven in large part by all of the manufacturing jobs that were available here in the 50, 60s and 70s. How did that reputation from Muncie as a manufacturing center, how did that influence your decision to go to college and where to go to college?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, interestingly enough, I actually applied and was accepted to Purdue University. I excelled in math and science and aspired to be an engineer ultimately working for NASA.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

That was your goal?

[JIM LOWE]

That was my goal. I never thought about manufacturing at the time, but due to a very small scholarship offer from Purdue, and some advice from my grandfather, I looked for other options. My grandfather worked at a local General Motors plant at that time and was the one who informed me about a co-op program with General Motors Institute, located in Flint, Michigan. A co-op program is much like an internship program. In this case, the program entailed working six weeks. It was a cycle, six weeks, which I got paid, gained worked experience, I had classes at GMI, which again was located in Flint, Michigan. So I literally never unpacked my suitcase. It was back and forth constantly. General Motors was the largest corporation in the world at that time, appeared to offer great employment opportunities. My sponsoring work assignment plant was Muncie Chevrolet. But manufacturing then intrigued me, and at that time seemed like a great opportunity.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So where is Kettering Institute? Where's that located?

[JIM LOWE]

Kettering Institute is located in Flint, Michigan, which is about 30 minutes north of Ann Arbor, which we spent a lot of time visiting. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So after you graduated from Kettering, you then returned to Muncie, and so what was your first job and why did you decide to come back home?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, after graduation from Kettering University, I began full time employment at the local Muncie Chevrolet plant—that's the plant that made manual transmissions. Working through the ranks of plant engineer, general superintendent of manufacturing, engineering. And those responsibilities included construction management and management of skilled trades for the plant. I had a visions when I made my graduate of applying to Ball State University. So immediately after graduation, I said, I'm going to obtain an architecture degree. So after college—

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So you were going to build on the engineering degree that you had and get a degree in architecture?

[JIM LOWE]

Exactly. I was going to capitalize on the engineering architecture synergies that would come with that. With the vision, I'd probably leave General Motors and go off into where I've landed, essentially. Uh, but.... you've got a question.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Go ahead, please.

[JIM LOWE]

But after calling someone at the university and learning that I would have to attend school another five years, I came to my senses and said, maybe I'll do this differently. So I tell folks, I obtained my architectural knowledge via job training over the last 37 years.

So in the early 1980s, a recession hit. The manufacturing market at General Motors and Muncie Chevrolet began to tank, ultimately leading to me leaving General Motors in September of 1987. 

I actually began working at the local Westinghouse plant, but was only there for two months. Ball State University advertised for facilities engineer position and in December of 1987—so I'm starting my 37th, 38th year—I began my career ball state University.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And so tell me again, what was your first job here?

[JIM LOWE]

Facilities Engineer. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Okay. And that was kind of an entry level position in facilities in the planning area?

[JIM LOWE]

Correct.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah. And so who were some of the first mentors here on campus in the facilities department who helped shape your career?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, let's start with the gentleman that was in my position at the time was Bob Mantock. Unfortunately, Bob Mantock has passed away, but when I hired in, I hired in as a facilities engineer. My assignment and the reason I was brought to the university first and foremost, was to develop the university's generally parent rehabilitation program for the entire campus, which simply establishes a roadmap for caring for our buildings.

And this assignment was bestowed upon me by then the VP of Business Affairs, Tom Kinghorn, who was very adamant about taking care of our buildings.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

I bet everyone who's listening knows who Tom Kinghorn is.

[JIM LOWE]

Then I was asked to develop the first energy management plan for the university, and eventually I advanced in multiple assignments, including the Director of Planning, Director of Engineering, Director for Engineering, Construction and Operations. I've literally held every director position within our department ... and I’m very appreciative of everyone who had the confidence in me to allow me to have these learning opportunities have been many at Ball State University I would refer to as mentors. Stan Wadman, who was the AVP of budget and treasurers at the time, actually John Worthen and Jo Ann Gora, who bestowed confidence in me, Bernie Hannon in later years.

There were many others, but most notably was Tom Kinghorn. Tom's vision for the campus and the care of maintaining the campus resonates with me today. Also, he and Stan Wadman were instrumental in developing a very strong financial plan for our campus and our buildings, thus allowing me the financial means to support our buildings.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah. And so, I think there's a connection between long term financial planning and that program you described a moment ago, the repair and rehabilitation program. And it's my understanding that while that was one of your first assignments, it's also something that you're proud of and that continues today. Why don't you tell our folks who are listening a little bit more about that program, because we're going to talk about some of the new buildings and some of the more visible things ... This is a program that really kind of is under the surface, but really is quite consequential in terms of the quality of construction and the quality of the experience that we all enjoy today.

[JIM LOWE]

Correct. So I'll start with the lead in. Ball State University has an extremely, extremely low deferred maintenance budget, meaning that we have very few needs because we've been very good at stewardship.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Been proactive and aggressive.

[JIM LOWE]

Proactive and aggressive and so forth. So, being very good stewards of those funds that have been made available as well. And thank you to the state of Indiana who provides the funds we use for both what's referred to as general maintenance and for special projects like the ones we're getting ready to undertake.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

In fact, in my experience, Indiana is one of the few states in the country that still provides significant resources on an annual basis to public universities for these kind of repair and rehabilitation programs.

[JIM LOWE]

Correct. We learned ..... this was 30 years ag0, Michigan, the state of Michigan, who had a similar program, discontinued it, and they pushed that financial obligation on to the university. Our state still supports it. I don't think it exists in any other state that surrounds us. So, it's by virtue of that, that again, we've been able to maintain and I–it appears that they're going to continue to do so. But to explain the program a little bit, I got to dive into the weeds just a bit. Might be more detail than one might want to hear, but this was a program I developed so...

[GEOFF MEARNS]

I asked the question so you can talk about it.

[JIM LOWE]

So the process for evaluating renewable projects combines two approaches: one is a long range forecast that estimates facilities, infrastructure component obsolescence, and eventifies back to the cost renewal cost. This approach is then used as a basis to do a physical survey, which is ongoing with a lot of our staff throughout the year. The university keeps its renewal process current by listing projects by biennium. The projects are combined with a life cycle approach or obsolescence the next three biennium, thus giving us a ten year plan. To meet those facilities, infrastructure needs renewal goals, both that long range planning and the prudent use of those current funds are necessary to be successful. The development of a renewal project alternatives involves strategic planning to ensure the facilities and infrastructure system are renewed on a lease cost basis. Repairs to older facilities and infrastructure systems must be made now to prevent a greater obligation in the future. This program has contributed to our very low deferred maintenance needs.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So as I said that, you know, most people don't see the work that goes on that produces, you know, that maintains these buildings. And so I want to talk about another project that is also truly invisible, but one that really is a career highlight for you and that's your role in helping to design and construct our university's geothermal energy system.

I suspect you could write a book, but we don't have that much time. But can you give all of the folks who are listening a kind of a an overview of the history of the project and how it has helped our university save millions of dollars every year in energy costs.

[JIM LOWE]

So, I'll start with Ball State recognized the need to replace what was coal fired boilers at the time in 2004. And about that same time period, EPA was promulgating some rules about emissions that led us to complete a study. We looked at several options to address those needs. Eventually did approve the proof of concept on all of these opportunities, and at a certain point agreed that a large scale geothermal system was our choice at the university, not an inexpensive option. There were other opportunities that were not as expensive, but going through the payback determined that the geothermal project was probably the best for Ball State University. And essentially what it is, it’s hard to not get into the details, but it's considered a ground source vertical loop arrangement coupled with heat pumps. And it produces cold and hot water. This hot water is used to heat and cool our buildings. The system cost was nearly $83 million, saves us over $3 million in energy costs, and has reduced our carbon footprint by more than 50%. We have two operating plants, one on the north side of campus, which we completed in 2012, and one on the south side of campus, which was completed in 2015.

And Ball State gets to boast that in March of 2014, because of this geothermal installation, we stopped burning coal at this university. To explain further, I would need to explain the engineering laws of thermodynamics and would be happy to do so if we had an hour or so to do so. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah, so, it involves this system, this connected loop system. How many individual drills or boreholes or pipes are under the ground here, combined between those two fields?

[JIM LOWE]

We installed nearly 3600, 500 foot deep boreholes. So to give you a reference point, the Teachers College is 100 feet tall. We drilled into the earth five times the height of Teachers College for each one of these boreholes.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

For each one of those 3600? 

[JIM LOWE]

3600 to get enough capacity interchange in terms of thermal energy transfer to give us the capacity we need for Ball State University, which is why it's considered one of the largest in the country, if not the largest and maybe the world.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And so it heats and cools, what, about 7 million square feet of buildings here on our campus?

[JIM LOWE]

Yeah, every one of our buildings on campus is connected. All our new buildings will be connected and it serves to heat and cool. It also does such for the Bracken House.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

That's right. And it's my understanding is, given the size of that system, there's still substantial untapped capacity in that if we were to add new buildings.

[JIM LOWE]

Correct, we built expansion in mind. With that in mind. We know we're going to extend those services to the new Performing Arts Center. We also will look at other opportunities, including the Center for Innovation and other facilities that Ball State might be investing in in The Village, for example, and any new building we build on campus, we’ll continue to connect and expand the system.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So you mentioned it also cut our carbon—it's not only saving us dollars in terms of energy costs, so we're actually close to recouping that investment pretty soon. But it also cut our carbon footprint in half at the university. You know, I have one regret. I've been with you now a little over six years. I've been to a lot of groundbreaking and a lot of ribbon cuttings of new buildings. But my one regret, Jim, the missed opportunity we had, we're recording this in the West Quad Building. We're immediately adjacent to the power plant. It was in 2017 when those smokestacks, the coal smokestacks, were taken down brick by brick. And I regret that we didn't have a ribbon cutting celebration when they removed the last brick from those smokestack. We should have celebrated that.

[JIM LOWE]

So true. So true. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Right. So another milestone on our campus that benefited from your leadership and your influence was the McKinley Riverside Streetscape Project. Tell us a little bit about that project and how do you think it really changed the esthetics and also really the accessibility of our campus?

[JIM LOWE]

Yeah. So as everyone knows, in the 80s and 90s, universities continue to grow much like they did in the 50s and 60s and 70s and Ball State was the same. We were growing to the west. It may seem a bit odd to hear that, but McKinley was a division point between what I would call the east side of campus and what wasn't on the west side. And we started growing out buildings like the AJ Building, the Ball Communication Building, the Letterman Building and so on and so forth. McKinley, which was built as a literally was a country road at one point in time, but was expanded as a three lane highway, was unsafe and the streetscape was just horrible and there was no connectivity to the expansion that was going on the west side of campus—

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And, a little bit further to the west, what was literally a cow path.

[JIM LOWE]

A cow path. And that's how the Cow Path got its name, as we were somewhat in the country at that, outside the city limits at that point in time, way back in the 50s. And there was a milk barn that's used by CAP today, at the corner of Petty and McKinley, and the farm that had the cows, that was closer to Teachers College, would walk the cows down the cow path to the milk barn, milk the cows and bring them back. That's how the Cow Path got its name. And we've have continued to honor that, and we've actually labeled that pathway the Cow Path.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

It's now a beautiful, paved pedestrian and bike path, with wonderful landscaping connecting to the north campus, but we still call it the Cow Path. I've been here six and a half years, and I haven't seen a cow yet.

[JIM LOWE]

But back then, this didn't go unnoticed. So those who were here, including Tom Kinghorn, who always had this long range vision, even though he wasn't sure how we would pay for things. We put in place planning. We wanted to establish a plan to rebuild McKinley, but there were no funding opportunities available. Eventually, almost 20 years ago, and I hear this constantly when I speak in front of Tom and say, “We did that in 90 days during the summer,” he’ll say, “And 20 years.” So it took 20 years to eventually get the funding. They were federal dollars that were appropriated back and actually late 1997, 2000, and provided the means for us to rebuild McKinley. Actually, we extended that to Neely and Riverside. We did it in phases. It created safe crossings on campus, in a beautiful manner. And today, I think it's one of the first things our visitors notice when entering the campus and helps, in my opinion, with recruiting of our new students.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

With the beautiful Schaefer Tower in the center of that boulevard. 

So I want to now transition from some of the projects you worked on in the past to projects looking forward. And this also relates to long term planning. I think most of the folks who are listening now know that before the holidays we received a $35 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, the largest gift in the history of the university.

And that gift will support our ambitious plan to revitalize The Village, which has also been a long term planning process. I believe the plan was probably developed at least ten, maybe 15 years ago, at least the general vision. Why is this project—revitalizing The Village—why is it so important not only to the university but to Muncie and to East Central Indiana?

[JIM LOWE]

So to answer that question, I'm actually going to dive into our strategic plan. So in 2019, Ball State completed a new strategic plan labeled Destination 2040 under the leadership of President Mearns. One of those goals within the plan was increasing community engagement and impact, and that plan identified a goal to address the amenities, the vibrancy of The Village and the surrounding neighborhoods, making them more attractive to students, faculty, community members, resulting from the implementation of what would be a long term strategic plan to enhance The Village.

And some of the goals were: create a more vibrant, dynamic environment surrounding the campus; improve the physical connection between the campus and the city of Muncie and the downtown, a project we've worked on for many, many years attract; attract and retain talented students and BSU and community employees; and to provide better housing and commercial options. Also provide a better environment which will entice more students to stay in Muncie after graduation and strengthen the economic impact to the greater Muncie community.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And that project, we hope to begin construction on a couple of those sites by the end of this calendar year, right? 

[JIM LOWE]

Correct. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Including the Performing Arts Center and the new hotel. So what's next? We regularly receive extraordinary support from the state. So what's presently being designed, in addition to The Village, closer to campus? And what do you envision over the next 5 to 10 years? What's next?

[JIM LOWE]

So currently underway and again, by benefit of the state providing what used to be termed special R&R funding, we received an appropriation—$81.6 million—to renovate the architecture building and the three buildings surrounding Emens Auditorium. Those would be the buildings of the [Hargreaves] Music Building, University Theater and the old, what is referred to, as the Art and Communications Building. Those projects are in design. We should kick those projects off this summer and complete them in 2026. 

We also have, of course, upcoming the projects within The Village that will kick off this year, and a goal of achieving completion on several sites by 2026. So the next two years will be a little busy.

But being evaluated currently is the potential project to renovate Bracken Library. To create a library of the future, perhaps an academic learning commons within. We also have under consideration, pending confirmation for potential donors, several building projects for athletics. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

All right. So one of the projects that you recently completed was the Brown Family Ampitheater. And one of the things I like to say about that was, you know, on that site of that beautiful lawn and that amphitheater was an old parking garage. 

[JIM LOWE]

Right.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And so that parking garage was demolished after it was replaced with the New York Avenue Garage. And I think I heard you say that, of all the projects you worked on, that you underestimated this impact, the positive transformational impact of this project. Not saying it had the greatest transformational impact, but it was the one that you underestimated. What did you mean by that when you said that to me?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, we completed a pretty robust campus master plan in 2015. And with a lot of input from community members, folks at the university and so forth, one of those elements that was implied in our campus master plan actually came from—the seed was planted by—one Mr. Bernie Hannon, who said, “Wouldn't that be a great location?” Now Bernie is a, he plays, he's instrumental and so forth—

[GEOFF MEARNS]

We’ll have to get Bernie back and get him onstage! 

[JIM LOWE]

Have to get Bernie back and get him on the stage. He and his wife, Sara, do a lot of sessions, as I heard they’re called. But he said, you know, I have plans to tear down—which we did—the Emens Parking Garage, what would we put there? And that's the central part of campus. As such, when you look at other universities, that central part of campus becomes a hub for gathering of students and community members and so forth. And okay, let's make it a green space. 

Bernie, being the guy he was, he said, maybe we need an outdoor amphitheater. It actually resonated with that sort of concept. I said, okay, let's do so. We'll never find the money to pay for an outdoor amphitheater. But in 2020, right at the onset of COVID, we were on the phone with Mr. Charlie Brown, and Charlie was so good to provide that funding. And it is incredible what you see when you go to an event. I mean, that first opening event, community members and Ball State people, it has done exactly what he hoped it would do.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah, and it was special that evening. It was Don McLean and there were probably 1500, maybe more, spread out across the lawn and in the area of the campus. And as Don McLean was playing, there were people standing up and dancing who were probably ten or 20 years older than you and I—

[JIM LOWE]

Exactly. And that’s pretty old. 

[GEOFF MEARNS]

[laughs] And then there were a large number of students dancing. So it really brings the university community and the broader community together. Speaking of the broader community, you've served on so many boards here in Muncie—the YMCA board, the Muncie Land Bank, Muncie Community Schools. I could probably use up a lot of time listing all of the other boards that you've served on.

But just tell our folks, you know, why do you do that? Why do you, you know, given how busy you are with your work here on campus, spending time with your wonderful family, what is it about Muncie that inspires you to give back?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, it probably does resonate back to family and community. I'm a lifer in Muncie. Been here close to seven decades. Having been given opportunities repeatedly, and knowing what was and what can be, knowing I can add value. I rarely say no when asked to serve on boards and or committees. And I feel the desire to help make our community successful now and into the future. For those currently living in Muncie, and to attract others to come to Muncie. I know what was, and I know what can be.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And we're on that path.

[JIM LOWE]

We’re on that path.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

So related to that, when we, the university, began our partnership with the Muncie Community Schools back in the summer of 2018, you were one of the 90 people that applied for a position on the new school board. And you've served on that school board since July of 2018. What aspects or parts of the partnership are you most proud of during that five and a half year period?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, what's interesting is, prior to 2018, living in Muncie, I certainly had a lot of friends who taught in the Muncie school system. And was repeatedly asked, Would you run for school board? Because I was so involved. I was coaching in the school system. I was supporting different functions within the school. Volunteered. Actually run Saturday morning programs for kids three through five at the Storer school and so forth. Hey, you'd be great on the school board. And I just didn't have the desire at that time to run for school board, because busy doing these other things, until 2018 when we established what was an appointed school board. And I say to folks that this is to me the best approach to a school board is an appointed school board.

And we have a wonderful school board. We all have the same goal. We all want to make Muncie Community Schools better for our families, our teachers and our kiddos. But some of the achievements include we've stabilized enrollment. We're starting to see a little upturn. We have great administrators, very talented CEO, Dr. Kwiatkowski, CFO Brad Jerome, and hardworking principals and teachers who have been hired to lead and teach.

Teachers’ starting salaries have risen nearly 40% since 2018. That's the date we established our school board. We have pre-K programs in all of our elementaries, but COVID dealt us a little blow with our progress towards reading, math and other goals. But we're making a turn so we will get better in terms of achieving those goals as well.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah, so the financial position of MCS is much better, which has enabled the administration in the school board to make the appropriate investment in the people, the outstanding teachers and staff who work at MCS every day.

[JIM LOWE]

I failed to mention that at our last school board meeting, Tuesday last week, we were given a report by Brad Jerome that two years before we took over the school system, we were in the hole $9 million.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

$9 million negative. 

[JIM LOWE]

$9 million negative. Today we're plus $35 million. It's been a remarkable swing.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

And reduce the debt by about $10 million and increased compensation by 40%.

[JIM LOWE]

And we just paid off our GO bond. Right. So we need to have a mortgage burning....

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah. So and you mentioned about the school board. Just quickly, you know, as we were assessing the candidates who had applied to be appointed to the board, what we said was we wanted complimentary experiences, folks who knew finances, folks who knew facilities, folks who knew education. We wanted diverse perspectives. We are in a diverse community. We wanted to ensure that the board represented those diverse perspectives.

But what you said a moment ago was also critically important. We had to have a shared common commitment and passion for MCS, about the students. So let us wrap up and maybe this is a good segue. It's also the way I end all of my conversations with my guests. As you know, at Ball State, we're guided by enduring values, and those values are represented by another beautiful installation on our campus, the statue of Beneficence.

And Beneficence means doing good for other people through service and philanthropy. So, Jim, as somebody who's been here 37 years and counting, what does beneficence, what does doing good for other people mean to you?

[JIM LOWE]

Well, it is my belief that all of us have a social responsibility to pay it forward. In whatever means we can. For our community and for those who live and work hard here every day, and for future families to come. If we want our community to grow and prosper, we must give back in some way.

[GEOFF MEARNS]

Yeah, well, and you certainly embody those values. Jim, thank you for joining me today and thank you for what you do every day on our campus, in our community, and what you do to lead and support the outstanding team of women and men that you have in our facilities department.

[JIM LOWE]

Thank you.