FAS - What a Fine Division!

The strength of the team is each individual member… the strength of the member is the team. - Coach Phil Jackson

I don’t have to tell people that FAS has the finest employees around; you all prove it to them on a daily basis. CSUSM was just awarded two very prestigious awards that I need to brag about – The San Diego Excellence in Energy (SANDEE) Award and the Governor’s Employee Safety Award (GESA). These awards not only demonstrate the importance of our labors, but how we have earned the admiration and respect of our community. People want to be like us. We are not the standard; we are what others strive to be. The sense of pride I have to be a part of it is overwhelming.

The objective of the San Diego Excellence in Energy (SANDEE) Award is to recognize outstanding organizations, projects and activities that have achieved significant energy savings and/or contributions toward the goals of the San Diego Regional Energy Strategy 2030, through the implementation of energy efficiency, energy conservation, or renewable energy measures. CSUSM won the SANDEE Award in Outstanding Organizational Achievement.

This award demonstrates the innovative thinking and collaborative efforts of many individuals. As the project manager, Steve Watters ensured the project ran smoothly and stayed within budget. Floyd Dudley took over for Ed Johnson when he assumed the role as energy manager and made sure we met our energy and equipment quality goals. Steve Holbrook, Gerard McQuade, Craig Curtis, David Rodriguez, Larry Russell, and Jim Roscamp all provided contractor support as well as invaluable technical assistance with the mechanical systems. Scott Gorsuch and Ariel Villanueva provided crucial insight before and during the lighting retrofits. In addition, Pat Simpson and Bryan Fisher provided technical support and contractor assistance. Overall, we exceeded our energy goals from 20% to 30%.

In January 2010, California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) was honored as a campus, with a Governor’s Employee Safety Award (GESA) for its exceptional performance in 2008. Our fearless leaders in Risk Management in Safety— Regina Frasca, Bill Thomas, Bruce Bradley, Humberto Garcia, Heather Zarnesky, and Janice Plemons in Workers’ Compensation, provided the tools to empower the campus community to take control of their own risk management and safety. Through their leadership and communication with the campus community, CSUSM faculty and staff performed their work for an entire calendar year without sustaining a lost time injury or illness. This performance was the best in the entire CSU system. A big thank you and congrats to everyone for making this happen.

Are we the best or what? As the finest division there is, we sure have a lot of be proud of.