As time quickly approaches for TNAPPA 2002, I am excited about the opportunity to visit with old friends and hopefully make new ones. The theme for this year’s conference is "Technology: The New Driving Force of Effective Physical Plant Maintenance". The conference is being held May 21-23 on the campus of Tennessee State University. The host hotel is the Regal Maxwell Hotel located in Metro Center. David Gray and his committee have done an outstanding job in planning a well-rounded educational program for all levels in the Physical Plant. Beginning with Tuesday’s golf outing to a relaxing dinner cruise on the General Jackson Wednesday night are just a few of the extras that will make this year’s conference an event you will definitely not want to miss.

If you know of any vendors interested in participating in the vendor show or sponsorship opportunities, please have them contact me at 615-963-5685 or Barbara Benjamin at UT Conferences at 865-974-0259. Look for your conference package in the mail soon and register early TNAPPA is doing great things and great people like yourselves make the organization a success.

I look forward to seeing each of you in May in Music City. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

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You will soon be requested to participate in a Long Range Planning Survey for TNAPPA. One of the major purposes of TNAPPA is to promote the common interest in the construction, care, and operation of Physical Plants used by universities and colleges within the State. Your opinions and views of the services that TNAPPA provides or needs to provide are essential to TNAPPA remaining an effective organization.

The survey will be web-based. Prior to the survey period, you will receive either an e-mail or a post card indicating the web address. Please encourage all members of TNAPPA to participate.

Thanks!

Jim Hellums

Vice President for Long Range Planning

The University of Memphis was the recipient of the 2001 Mayor’s Award of Excellence. The award is given annually to the organization that demonstrates a commitment to attractive landscaping as well as addresses environmental concerns of the community.

In receiving the award, The University was recognized for installing over 1500 plants, 25 trees, and 40,000 flowers. They were also responsible for recycling 270,000 lbs of paper, 600 tons of landscape waste and smaller quantities of aluminum, brass, wood pallets, steel, and fluorescent tubes.

Each organization that enters the Memphis City Business Beautiful Award competition competes for an award in the category specific to that organization, but is also eligible for the Mayor’s Award of Excellence. There were nearly 100 organizations, from shopping malls to churches to bank branches, considered for this award. It is definitely a well deserved recognition for the hard work performed by The University of Memphis campus landscape department.

TNAPPA online communication continues to grow. Now, in addition to the Newsletter being available online, we have a TNAPPA Message Board. To access them, go to www.pp.utk.edu, then click on the TNAPPA logo. You can then click on the Newsletter issue you want to see, or on the TNAPPA Message Board.

The first time you go to the Message Board, check out the FAQ. They will explain how to register and how to use the board. It can be used as a Q & A website, or for posting information about events or accomplishments on your campus, or in other ways you will discover on your own. This can be a great way to share our collective knowledge and experience with fellow TNAPPA members. Give it a try.

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Tight budgets require the best management. Roof management is no exception to this rule. With roofs, the costs of not managing well can be very large capital expenditures right when money is needed in other areas. Good management decisions are based on an accurate understanding of the state of the roof. How does a facility manager get this understanding?

There are four things a person needs in order to have a thorough understanding of the state of affairs concerning their roofs. The first is knowing the type of roof systems on the campus along with the points of vulnerability of each system. Second is knowing the age and performance history of each roof. The third is a sense of ranking of the importance of the program being protected by the roof. Fourth is knowing the physical condition of each roof.

This information comes from three different places: Records that include physical descriptions of each system and logs of activities; first hand knowledge of these facts and events; and regular inspections that produce a list of needed work and projections of future preventive work.

Armed with these things, we can see what is needed to prevent leaks and reduce life cycle costs. Funds are not unlimited. We need to give accurate information to those who control funds. This allows them to know ahead of time what they can expect from the roof

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