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Kelly Freshcorn giving a presentation, with the slides showing screenshots of employee spot check inspections done in OrangeQC.

Smart Questions Fuel Innovation for UNC Charlotte’s Recycling Team

Kelly Freshcorn knows how to make the most of limited resources. She’s worked on recycling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for 25+ years, starting as a student worker, and has a reputation for thinking creatively to maximize her team’s impact. At the NCAPPA 2025 conference for educational facilities, she presented on how UNC Charlotte’s recycling team is using OrangeQC. During her presentation, Freshcorn shared three critical projects her team is taking on Read more…

By Rachel Matuch, ago

Digital Inspections are the Latest Innovation at Forward-Thinking Cary Academy

Tai Davis is a go-to leader and mentor in the educational facilities space. As past president of NCAPPA, APPA’s North Carolina chapter, he helped the organization completely revamp its website and conference development tools. In December 2024, after nearly a decade at Fayetteville State University as Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance, Davis decided to tackle a new challenge. He became the Director of Operations for Cary Academy, an independent private school for grades 6-12 Read more…

By Rachel Matuch, ago
FSU Housekeeping Supervisor Nedra Stokes presents in front of an audience.

How Fayetteville State University Embraces Custodial Technology on a Budget

Digital inspection technology isn’t just a luxury for facilities teams. According to the most recent APPA standards, doing inspections digitally is a best practice for all educational organizations, no matter their size. At the NCAPPA regional conference in May 2024, Nedra Stokes (Fayetteville State University’s Housekeeping Supervisor – Housing) presented on ‘Custodial Technology with Limited Resources.’ She shared FSU’s strategy for implementing high-quality, sophisticated quality control systems while staying on budget. Because FSU is mid-size, Read more…

By Rachel Matuch, ago
Huntley Community School District logo on a red background.

5 Key Strategies for Solid Contractor Relationships from D-158’s Doug Renkosik

When Doug Renkosik joined Huntley Community School District 158 in 2002 as the Director of Operations and Maintenance, the district was on the edge of dramatic changes. The student population was growing at breakneck speed. One elementary school had to be expanded four times before they even opened the doors. Renkosik’s education in structural and geotechnical engineering gave him expertise to contribute as the buildings he would continue to manage for the next two decades Read more…

By Rachel Matuch, ago

The Top 5 Things Every Team Needs to Do When Deficiencies Happen

When a problem at one of your sites needs to be fixed, what happens next? Upholding the terms of your contract or service-level agreement (SLA) is crucial to your team’s success. The right communication makes that much easier. Everyone on your team should be involved in addressing and correcting deficiencies. If possible, this should happen before your client or organization even notices something is wrong. Here are some strategies to help your team sharpen communication Read more…

By Rachel Matuch, ago