October 2021

At the west end of New Main Drive, the “ATM Bed” has welcomed both visitors and regular attendees to Texas A&M University, by letting them know EXACTLY where they were, . . . aTm!  This landscape bed, at the end of the main entrance into campus, has been a focal point for drivers since, . . . well, we’re not sure. Since at least the early eighties, according to some “old timers.” 

The planting bed consisted of a retaining wall made from creosote treated railroad ties, set vertically, side by side to define and elevate the back side of the planting.  The slope was intended to pitch the front of the bed toward New Main Drive, and better expose the letters (ATM) to the travelers. Over the years, the letters have been laid out in seasonal color (annual flowers), usually maroon and white, and more recently in evergreen shrubs surrounded by seasonal color.  The wall has remained unchanged over all these years, except for the gradual replacement of railroad ties, as older ones rotted out.  Due to restrictions on creosote, the railroad ties have more recently been replaced with treated timbers.  This has created inconsistency in the wall materials.  Drainage issues, originating further west on the front lawn, have also added to the degradation of the wall structure.  These factors initiated the move to rebuild the ATM Bed.

nitially, a larger, complete rebuild of the entire front area was planned as part of a Deferred Maintenance 21 (DM 21) project.  This project was to involve drastic grade changes, by lowering the grade in front of the bed and creating an even more dramatic slope to display the letters.  In addition to dramatic grade changes, the new ATM Bed wall was proposed to be constructed of brick masonry units, and include the addition of a substantial drainage system.  Just before this project was set to begin, TAMU Facilities and Dining Administration (FDA) pulled the project, stating that they were hoping for an even larger project involving the ENTIRE front lawn of JK Williams, AND the ATM Bed.  Given the current condition of the wall at the ATM Bed, SSC Grounds went to FDA with a proposal to request funding to at least replace the wall.  FDA approved the proposal, and SSC Grounds was tasked with completing construction before the first Aggie football game on September 4th.

In order to pull this off, SSC Ground Project Management Team (PMT) acquired the assistance of a local landscape contractor (TGC Landscapes) to demolish the existing wall, and construct the new one. Due to current supply chain issues, delivery of materials for the wall were delayed, greatly pushing back the construction date, and tightening up the deadline.  Once the materials arrived, the domino’s started to fall and construction was in full motion.

There were many levels of collaboration involved in completing this project.  SSC Corporate had decided that the ATM Bed needed to make an even larger statement than before, and approved the enlargement of the bed.  One of the issues with the original layout, was the fact that the bed was only twelve feet (12’) wide (deep), causing the letters to be compressed and “squatty.” PMT design team decided that the bed could be enlarged to 24’ wide (deep) allowing the letters to be a little more proportional to the ATM logo.  This enlargement meant that a new concrete mow edge needed to be installed, and irrigation would have to be adjusted, or actually renovated to even work, again.  Since the effort was going to be made to “go big,” it was decided that a subterranean drainage system should be installed, as well.  TGC agreed to install the drainage system along with the wall construction.

Following the wall and drainage construction, the SSC LCON Irrigation team began working on the irrigation renovation and installation.  Much collaboration with the SSC Irrigation Maintenance department was necessary, and between the two, the bugs were worked out and a complete irrigation overhaul was completed.

With the completion of the irrigation system, new bedding soil was brought in.  Dozens of truckloads of Sandy Loam Topsoil: Yellow Sand: Compost mix were brought in by SSC LCON teams, to create the slope and a favorable planting mix for the shrubs and flowers.  A clay sub-grade was used to direct subterranean water into the drainage system, which discharges into the storm water system.  SSC HEQ teams were in charge of laying out, and constructing the new concrete mow edges.  They also had to pour back two of the existing concrete sidewalks that were taken out for the installation of the drain system.  HEQ stayed around to help with some of the dirt work for final grading, too.

Due to the extensive and invasive construction work, the PMT Design Team decided it would be best to plan on a full turf renovation in front of the ATM Bed.  This would include removing approximately four inches (4”) of soil, and coming back in with a four inch (4”) sand cap, for improved turf health. It was also decided to install an improved variety of sand based (grown) “Latitude” Bermudagrass, which was put out in large rolls.  SSC LCON teams worked extra hours prepping and placing the area for sod, and LCON Irrigation ensured the irrigation system was ready to go for installation.

Once the infrastructure was in place, it was time for SSC Special Projects team to come in and lay out the letters.  Trying to beat the impending deadline, the Special Projects Team came in on Saturday to complete the task.  Much time and effort went into the tedious task of getting the letters perfectly sized and placed. String lines and tape measures criss-crossed the beds ensuring things were right.  The letters are laid out with evergreen Dwarf Yaupon Holly shrubs, which will soon grow together to form the solid “ATM” backbone of the bed. Seasonal maroon and white flowers will be changed out to highlight the letters and complete the focal point of the New Main entry.

The deadline was met with little time to spare, but just in time for the influx of football fans and students back to class.  It took many entities, and much coordination to pull it off, but the effort was worth it.  The “ATM Bed” is back, bigger and better, and ready to be the welcoming beacon at the Main Entrance to the Texas A&M campus. 

submitted by Mike Teal, PLA | Grounds Manager HEQ/LCON

Doug Schmidt Retires After 19 Years of Service

Doug Schmidt has worked at Texas A&M and SSC Facilities Services for almost 20 years. He served as a maintenance Supervisor and has been an exemplary employee.

The SSC management team threw a retirement party for Doug on Tuesday, September 28 to thank him for his service and wish him well in this new journey.

SSC has great employees that go above and beyond on a regular basis so it is greatly appreciated when one of our associates gets recognized. Congratulations Felix Flores!

Good morning,

I want to take a moment to send you a note expressing my appreciation for one of your team members. Last Sat while at the Corps March-in on the Quad my wife got overheated and briefly passed out. Almost immediately and seemingly out of nowhere Mr Felix Flores " appeared " and took control of the situation. He cleared the immediate area and helped us stabilize my wife as a nurse , luckily for us, also showed up out of the crowd. He helped us call and direct the EMT's to our locale all while assisting the nurse . Once everything was stable and my wife was up and alert Mr Flores used his cart to help take us back to our car. His family was there for the game and all of the surrounding activities but Felix had them " go on" to the game while he assisted us.

Please pass on our KUDOS to Felix and his management team. Mr Flores was a living example of the work ethic and professional skills and intangibles that Aggies and Marines are famously known for.

The Texas A&M campus is obviously in good hands with facilities folks like Felix. Do you think you could spare him a bit to go over to Bright and , perhaps, help to fix a broken offensive line ?

Best Regards and Gig Em

Bruce 76 and Sharon Slover

Various photos provided from 1993 to 2021

International Housekeepers Week started in the early 80’s and the official theme was “Our Profession is Clean”.  The purpose was to recognize the frontline Housekeepers/Custodians/Janitors (keeper of the keys) for the work they do to keep facilities clean and sanitized for the users.

Over the years, many themes, slogans and ideas have been generated all over the whole to make this a tradition.

Here at TAMU we started our yearly IHW celebration years ago to bring our custodians together to celebrate our many accomplishments and teamwork which makes us successful even today.

COVID 19 has caused so many changes over the last year and a half and we look forward to the day we can celebrate as a SSC Custodial family.

Lane Rice received his USDOL Certification of Completion on Sept 10, 2021 for the four-year electrician apprentice program.

Lane completed his required 150-hour annual academics. In addition, Lane has 8,000 hours of on the job training, a state requirement to take the Texas Journeyman License test.

During his apprentice training, Lane had several heath issues that delayed his graduation. He demonstrated remarkable improvement in completing assigned work orders his final year by his Electrician Shop Supervisor, Scott Welch.

September GEMS

Custodial

Elvira Garcia

Cynthia Jones

Justin Levan

Heather Reyes

EDCS Quarterly

Kenny Marek

Grounds

Ricardo Alba

Gloster Cooks

Sergio Coronado

Maintenance

David Gonzalez

Zander Jasper

Albert Macik

CUSTODIAL NEW ASSOCIATES

Karla Andino

Maria Aparicio

Francia Baez

WT Booker

Angel Bradford

Ray Bradford

Teresa Campos

Lorenzo Caraveo

Maria Cisneros

Pamela Collins

Natasha Davis

Isemanide Gabriel

Arthur Harrison

Toni Hayward

Tanaja Higgins

Willie Holmes

Nevaeh Hudson

Teresa Ibanez

Keelan Johnson

Karla Maldonado

Jocelyn Macias

Veronica Martinez

Cheryl Matthews

Kerry Maxwell

Eddie Nickerson

Jeanette Parker

Jashaela Patterson

Francisca Perez

Rosa Pina

Maranda Rogers

Xavier Seymore

Hilary Shaffer

Shankeria Smith

Carrie Thomas

Elsa Torres

LaDarius Truman

Monefia Wallace

Carlyncia Wilson

Quiesha Workman

GROUNDS

Robert Carlyle

Miguel Nino

Alexandra Orta

Megan Tennill

MAINTENANCE

William Beaty

Jeffrey Blankinship

Mark Burnett

Mark Castro

Faith Cruz

Travis Freddie

Kate Goodman

Ryan Smith

Dante Stubbs