New Building for Physical Plant Operations Dedicated

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- After working at Lindsey Wilson College for almost 40 years, Garry Coomer has a new office.

Coomer, who has worked in the LWC Physical Plant Operations since April 1971, helped cut the ribbon Thursday morning and dedicate the college's newest building -- a 6,000-square-foot physical plant building.

Located on Wheeler Street on the southern edge of the A.P. White Campus, the building was constructed in 58 working days, mostly by the college's plant employees. Plant's former building, which it had occupied since 1988, is now the home to the college's marching-band program.

"I want to express profound appreciation for the people who will be occupying this facility," Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr. said at an outdoor ceremony that featured a steady rain. 

LWC's plant personnel -- which include maintenance and housekeeping -- maintain more than 500,000 square feet of floor space scattered over a 200-acre campus.

Luckey said because of the 42 individuals who compose the college's physical plant, Lindsey Wilson has not been forced to join the growing numbers of colleges and universities who have outsourced their plant work. That saves the college money, which can be applied to increasing scholarships for students.

"Most colleges and universities are contracting out their bookstore, they're contracting out their food service and their housekeeping and their maintenance," Luckey said. "But then other colleges … don't have this staff."

Director of Physical Plant Operations Mike Newton said the new building will allow LWC's plant operations to carry out the college's mission. 

"Our pledge to the administration and trustees is that we hope to be an integral part of the growth here, and we also want to use this facility to continue the fulfillment of the mission," Newton said. 

As LWC Chancellor John B. Begley noted in his remarks, the college's plant employees play a vital role in carrying out the college's mission.

"They deserve to be blessed for the pride they take in their work as they clean and maintain our building and as they care for our campus grounds," Begley said. "They deserve to be blessed for their kind and gentle spirit and the way they carry out our mission of helping every student, every day, learn and grow and made to feel like a real human being."