3 minute read
EFMA member profile: Alex Telford
EFMA MEMBER PROFILE
Pride and performance
By TARyN RITTBERG
Born and raised in Williams Lake, Alex Telford now lives in the 100 Miles area of British Columbia with his wife and family where he began working for School District #27. He first worked part time as a labourer, pouring retaining walls and sidewalks, but eventually transitioned to full-time work with the school district.
“I worked my way up to tradesman non-certified rate and then challenged my carpenter trades Red Seal certificate,” says Telford.
During his early years with SD#27, Telford independently learned AutoCAD, a computer-aided design and drafting program. He started drawing line drawings of their schools and gained his managers support and created an on-going project, where he still does the required line drawings for the district. The next impressive role Telford took on was as the carpentry department lead hand, and then the next year, he also became the manager of facilities and transportation for the district.
This new position provided Telford with fresh challenges, and while he came to the job with 26 years of experience within the school district, he recounts there was indeed a learning curve. With an increased staff, two assistant managers, as well as transportation, custodial, maintenance and energy management to look after, there was definitely a lot for Telford to learn. However, he rose to the occasion and now spends his days successfully maintaining the business side of the facilities and transportation department in SD#27.
“I get a lot of satisfaction from my job, because my team and I provide services and support in so many ways to the entire district,” he says.
Telford has been a member of EFMA since 2011, and says that the opportunities he has gotten through the association has been tenfold. He also enjoys planning and managing major projects in his school district. He enjoys overseeing upgrades and working on out-of-the-box energy management projects that will help improve the educational environment for students and teachers alike.
Although Telford has excelled as the manager of facilities and transportation, it did not come without its challenges. Dealing with a large number of employees, budgeting, planning, parent complaints, and looking after schools within the district, are just some of the challenges that he deals with quite often. But, with the aid of the EFMA, and particularly the support received at the annual conference and trade show, as well as at Telford’s EFMA zone meetings, he has been able to obtain many helpful insights and ideas.
“Sharing with colleagues from other districts often pro-
vides insight on how to deal with our problems and issues,”
he says. n
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