Celebrating Ronnie Wells on being Facilities’ April Employee of the month. He was nominated by Kristal Miller, Anastasia Triplett, and Susie Mueller.
Ronnie is always quick to respond to any concerns or maintenance reports that are sent to him regardless of the time of day. He has responded to multiple pipe leaks and floods and stayed to help clean up all of the water. Some examples include:
- Him and his team worked diligently throughout the weekend to fix the hot water heater that broke at the residence hall.
- He replaced all of the exterior door sweeps due to multiple snakes entering the building underneath the doors. He’s highly motivated, creative, and eager to fix things.
- When a student dropped a necklace behind the toilet in her dorm room and it somehow fell in between the toilet and the wall. The young lady was very upset because her aunt gave her the necklace and unfortunately the aunt died. Ronnie went above and beyond when one of his coworkers failed in getting to the necklace. When Ronnie heard that it wasn’t recovered he stepped in and removed the whole toilet and he found the student’s necklace. We thought it would be a lovely idea if Ronnie give her the necklace. Tearfully she thanked him and told him it meant the world to her to get it back and how grateful she is to him to go to through all the trouble.
- When Ronnie was leaving after his shift, he noticed a student in the parking lot was having car trouble. There was no hesitation whatever in Ronnie helping the student and he was able to get the car started.
No matter how bad of a day he had or how tired, Ronnie’s focus on quality customer-service is unprecedented. He always has a smile on his face and a willingness to help. Whenever there are projects requested by the Executive Director, Ronnie is specifically requested because of his workmanship and attention to detail. In addition, on numerous occasions Ronnie has come in after-hours to help address emergency situations. He has been an excellent resource for SMSC and it is reassuring to know that everyone can count on him to help address the facility needs.
Ronnie’s work ethic is off the charts. He gives 100+% to any and all jobs. Ronnie possesses a “can do and then some” attitude. He is always upbeat and ready to help in any way he can. The level of which he cares about his job is inspiring. At the drop of a hat he is there for us at the Front Royal campus.
Many, many times people have had to call in the evening and weekends for him to come and fix something and his answer is always, “I’ll be there shortly.” For many, if Ronnie works on any work order, they do not need to wonder if it has been done right. He is extremely communicative. He lets everyone know that he received the work order and when he plans on coming out to address it. Also, he will follow up with what plan of action he had to take to complete the task.
Ronnie is cordial and warm to everyone he comes in contact with: just the other day he mentioned again that “It’s all about the students.” During the pandemic when everyone was safe at home, facilities personnel had to work to make sure the campus buildings were operating. To many they are the unsung heroes of the university. It is the norm for faculty to be recognized but without the hard work of facilities to keep the wheels in motion, the university would not function.