Rocky Mountain Home: District No. 6’s Steve Jackson

from Ops Talk Magazine Spring 2013

Cutting grass, not corners – Interior Turf

This avid sports enthusiast has always made the most of his mountain home – hiking and biking, snow-skiing, curling, kayaking, coaching soccer and basketball, even water-skiing competitively for a 15-year stint. As anyone who knows Jackson will concur, this positivity is an admirable trait he brings with him to any situation.

By Jillian Mitchell

In today’s culture of bigger and better, Steve Jackson shows us that, more often, there is treasure to be found in our own backyard.

This avid sports enthusiast has always made the most of his mountain home – hiking and biking, snow-skiing, curling, kayaking, coaching soccer and basketball, even water-skiing competitively for a 15-year stint. And, as anyone who knows Jackson will concur, this positivity is an admirable trait he brings with him to any situation.

Whether it’s the day-to-day or a monumental event, this long-time EFMA member brings the same level of passion to his place of work, School District No. 6, as he does to his sports. But perhaps, most notably was the district’s director of operation’s participation in the late-‘90s amalgamation of three school districts – school districts No. 18, No. 4 and No. 3 – into one exiting district, School District No. 6 (Rocky Mountain District).

“When we amalgamated, we had three different maintenance operations, three different transportation operations, and three different custodial operations, and we had to form one operations department for the entire Rocky Mountain School District,” he recalls, noting that the new school district now spanned over 300 kilometres. “So, working with the operations staff, we decided that we were going to take the best practices from each of the three districts and create the ‘Rocky Mountain way’. We had all of our staff work together to articulate our purpose and operating principles – which we are still guided by today.”

Working at his father’s mechanical contracting company, Jackson’s Heating and Air Conditioning, laid the groundwork for a successful career in facility management. In 1989, Jackson earned his first placement as maintenance supervisor in Chilliwack, B.C., at School District 33. Two years later, he returned to his beloved Rockies and began his role as maintenance su-

pervisor for School District No. 18 (Golden). In 1999, Jackson relocated his family to Invermere, where he currently resides with this wife of 33 years, Brenda. The empty-nesters are proud parents of Chelsey, a registered nurse in Lethbridge, and Brett, a construction engineering technologist in Kelowna.

As Jackson recalls, September 2011 marked another proud moment in his career: School District No. 6 received the Owner/Consultant Award from Southern Interior Construction Association (SICA), an award in recognition for promoting fairness and equity in the construction industry.

“This is something I am really proud of as well. I have always stood for fair, open and transparent bidding practices. I believe it is one of the many things that highlights the integrity of the facility management profession,” Jackson says.

Jackson is, indeed, a true advocate for education. Not only is he certified by the Canadian Construction Association as a Gold Seal owner’s project manager, but he has also completed a diploma from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Air Conditioning Engineering. In addition, he is registered as an applied science technologist (AScT), journeyman refrigeration mechanic, Grade B gas fitter, has a diploma in real property administration (RPA) through the Building Owners’ and Managers’ Association (BOMA), and he is currently working on an additional diploma in facility management administration (FMA). As Jackson remises, EFMA has been another great resource for his educational pursuits, as he is also a certified educational facilities manager through EFMA.

“I really enjoy belonging to EFMA. It’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and build relationships. That’s one of the most important things – building relationships,” he says. “There are all sorts of great learning opportunities through EFMA as well,” he adds. “So you combine the relationships you build and the learning opportunities – even the learning you get from the relationships you have built – all of it is extremely valuable.”

The two-time past EFMA president (1996-97, 2009-10) is proud to be a part of the educational sector and believes himself to be one of the lucky ones, to have stumbled on the right path so early in life.

“When you’re in this business, you’re always enhancing the learning environment for students by maintaining and upgrading buildings. The people who you meet and the relationships that you build along the way, I’ll always treasure.” b

Surrey • Victoria • Kelowna • Edmonton • Lethbridge • Red Deer • Calgary • Regina • Saskatoon • Winnipeg

Unit 200-19358 96th Avenue Surrey, British Columbia V4N 4C1 P. 604-882-8711 | F. 604-882-8552

PROVIDING A FULL RANGE OF SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT FOR OVER 30 YEARS. From problem cleaning to environmentally friendly products, phone the professionals at Busy-Bee!