Getting back together to safely celebrate F&S’s OREP award winners

On October 5, the Operations and Real Estate Partnerships (OREP) awards made a comeback with a meticulously planned in-person celebration at Varsity Stadium.

In its sixth year, the award ceremony is the division’s way of bringing the whole division together for a traditional BBQ and of recognizing the outstanding work of OREP staff and teams.

Varsity Stadium with a sign saying welcome to OREP's thank you BBQ and awards.
The award ceremony and BBQ took place at Varsity Stadium (photo by Jackie Shapiro)

OREP partnered with Environmental Health & Safety to facilitate the award ceremony and outdoor BBQ, with participants following strict safety guidelines such as social distancing, masking, and providing a green UCheck verification.  

“For us, it’s really important to get together and see each other in person as a group,” said Elizabeth Cragg, director, Office of the Vice President, OREP. Something that Cragg says has been sorely missed. 

This year, 29 F&S staff were recognized, with many recipients being awarded for excellence in supporting the University of Toronto’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catering team members wearing masks and physically distanced, ready to serve food.
The event followed strict safety guidelines such as social distancing, masking, and providing a green UCheck verification (photo by Jackie Shapiro)

“The winners of this year’s OREP awards have each made great contributions to Facilities & Services,” said Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability. “On behalf of my colleagues, we celebrate your success, your ability to pivot and find creative solutions, and what you have achieved. Congratulations!” 

Outstanding individual employee awards

Three F&S staff members were presented with the outstanding individual employee awards, which are awarded to staff members who have made outstanding contributions that go beyond the fulfillment of their duties: 

Silvestre Amaral, lead hand caretaker, was commended for his extraordinary service at the Medical Sciences Building. He has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the University and the public, assisting in multiple projects like the installation of paper towel dispensers and his quick response to a flood in the Division of Comparative Medicine facility.  

Patsy Rampersad, lead hand caretaker, was praised for her efficiency and reliability. Rampersad is essential to things running smoothly in various buildings around campus, keeping washrooms clean and operating autonomous cleaning equipment.  

Jelena Vulovic-Basic, senior manager, building mechanical services was highlighted as a critical force in the University’s pandemic response—rigorously researching all ventilation aspects of COVID-19. Her work required deep expertise in mechanical systems, long hours, all the while fulfilling her regular operational mandate. Safe to say we can breathe easier now thanks to her!

Distinguished service awards

Roy Voogel, working foreperson in the carpentry shop, has been with U of T since 1988. He has built many positive working relationships with his team and stakeholders to find solutions to problems and has been consistently dedicated to the success of projects. During the pandemic, Voogel led his group in installing safety barriers for various workstations around campus and installing sanitizer dispensers.  

Eugenia Romero, service worker in caretaking, has been with U of T since 1996. Over her 25 years of service, Romero has taken care of various buildings on campus, anticipating potential issues and resolving them before they happen. She consistently takes on extra work when caretaking is short staffed and always takes great pride in her work—doing everything with a smile. 

Albert Hastings, staff sergeant, has been with U of T since 1987. Over his years of service, Hastings has been a valued and respected member of Campus Safety. He has served in many capacities, including training new officers and overseeing community policing initiatives, and volunteered prolifically for many causes, including as liaison for the University’s Remembrance Day services and as lead volunteer for the World Special Olympics Youth Games. 

Glen Pirie, electrician-foreman, has with U of T since 1983. Over his 39 years of service, Pirie has accumulated a deep understanding of the inner workings of the campus’ complex electrical distribution system. He has developed a wealth of resources and information on electrical systems and is always eager to share his knowledge—making him a great team player and the “go-to” source for information. Pirie is a passionate and great custodian of all university infrastructure that enables the fascinating research and education that takes place here.

Outstanding staff team awards 

Five F&S teams were presented with the outstanding staff team award, which are awarded to teams who have delivered on projects by relying on and demonstrating highly effective communication and collaboration: 

The proactive disinfection team members included Mark Simpson, Ronald Atkins, Tony Peixoto, Fatima Costa, Rodney Gensell, and Grant Harvey. This team was assembled at the beginning of the pandemic to execute COVID-19 disinfection protocols to ensure the safety of our communities. Comprised of several leaders within caretaking, they coordinated almost 400 disinfections across campus.  

Joanne Dedes and Sandy Levere are the dynamic duo who kept the reception and switchboard operations running, fielding many calls during the uncertain times of the pandemic, and rose to the occasion to support mask and face shield distribution around campus.  

Romy Thomas, Adam Lucas, Christine Davidson, and Lucy Sullivan mobilized quickly to prepare and open the St. George vaccine clinics in just two weeks. This group of property managers set up and supported one of three clinics at the University that helped drive vaccination efforts at U of T to a million doses this year. 

The community policing initiatives team did a lot of inspirational work this past year. They organized a holiday toy drive last November, ensuring under-privileged children received a gift on Christmas morning and ran a sock drive in March that helped the homeless by giving them socks—the least donated items to shelters. The team members are John Bongers, Jenna Glen, Monique Altmann, Lauren Weidmark, Maria Cunha, Matt Kerr, Nancy Dempsey, and Blair Mochrie. 

The UCheck implementation team was made up of Rachel Tennant and Anna Kulikov from F&S, as well as team members from ITS, Human Resources, EHS, and the Provost’s office. Working together, they rolled out U of T’s online symptom screening tool for people coming to campus, contact tracing options for EHS, and management of rapid testing sites.  

“Its key that we celebrate our people,” Cragg said, after the event ended, “COVID absolutely highlighted the value of our staff, especially in Facilities & Services, and it’s important to take whatever time we can to honor their work.”

The OREP awards are a reminder and celebration of the people who help make and maintain the University a strong and thriving community.

October 06, 2021
Diego Rojas Garcia