2024 Bartels Awards honor custodians’ ‘call to duty’

A student's bad week had just gotten worse: Her phone, she realized in a panic, had ended up in the washing machine. And folded in its case was a treasured letter from her father.

The student raced to Tina Fritts, a custodian in the university's Building Care Department, who was already a steady source of encouragement. Fritts pulled the machine's plug, prompting the water to drain. After being transferred to a bowl of uncooked rice to dry out, both phone and letter were salvaged intact.

"I was losing hope in people and everything seemed to be going wrong," the student wrote later in a card to Fritts. "Your efforts in helping to retrieve the phone from the washer and save the letter means more than I can express. You have turned tears to smiles several other times through your kind words and caring nature. The residents of Barbara McClintock Hall are so lucky to have you!"

During a Dec. 11 ceremony and luncheon in Bartels Hall, Fritts was recognized as one of six recipients of 2024 Bartels Awards for Custodial Service. Now in their 18th year, the awards honor outstanding and often unsung work by the roughly 450 employees in the Building Care Department, part of Facilities and Campus Services. Eleven Bartels scholarship winners also were announced, including three employees and eight children of staff members.

"Your vigilance and attention to detail ensure that teaching, learning and living environments are always safe and functional, often without others realizing it," said Lisa James, associate vice president of facilities management. "You all make this campus a special place. You make it possible for many academic programs, the residential experience and what is essentially a small city of buildings - occupied 24/7 - to thrive."

The program also included remarks from Rick Burgess, vice president for facilities and campus services, and Steve Devlen, director of Building Care, whose services include daily cleaning and disinfection, trash and recycling removal, and event preparation and cleanup.

The work is never done, Burgess said, and Devlen praised his team's professionalism.

"People notice," Devlen said. "People recognize that."

Besides the grateful student, a former manager said Fritts had received many kudos from faculty, students and staff for her effort and kindness, her attitude reflected in positive quotes decorating her custodial closet door. She has a strong work ethic, but her "motivating drive to perform well is always the students and their well-being," said Cynthia Lockwood, associate director in Building Care.

In addition to Fritts, Lockwood and fellow associate directors Brenda Conklin and Hazel Hall also announced the following 2024 awardees:

Paul Taggart, a 12-year employee, was recognized for high-level service to the Cornell Store, ensuring its cleanliness. Store staff said Taggart on a nightly basis exhibited dedication and a positive attitude, taking on spills, stains and other sometimes "unsavory" messes without complaint. "His attention to detail and amount of work exceeds expectations at a very demanding location," a manager said.

Jeff Davis, a Cornell employee for more than 30 years, is a dedicated employee who proves daily to be a "huge asset to the Building Care team," according to a manager. Davis routinely takes the initiative and goes beyond daily responsibilities - even using a tennis ball to remove scuff marks from floors - and shares his expertise with colleagues. Calling Davis "a quiet, humble man," a customer said he is a hard worker deserving of accolades.

Mike Halderman, who has worked in Building Care since 2012, is a "happy, friendly person," an excellent employee who works overtime on weekends, helps motivate colleagues and starts annual projects early, a manager said. Outside work, Halderman loves to swim - even in cold spring and fall temperatures - hike and kayak. His wife, Louise Braren, also works in Building Care and received the Bartels Award in 2017.

Dawn Smith, on staff for 28 years, fosters a positive environment with her communication and teamwork skills, Hall said, and "goes above and beyond her job duties to serve her customers." Coworkers and customers joke that the building in which she works should be named for her, given her strong presence and impact. Smith takes initiative with little guidance, supervisors said, including helping the team with extra work in a high-traffic building affected by a staffing vacancy.

Dhondup "DD" Zurkhang, with Cornell for 11 years, approaches every day with an upbeat, positive attitude. One of his performance goals: to be the best human being he can be. "What a wonderful world this would be if everyone set that goal," a manager said. Customers appreciate his assistance, knowledge, smile and sense of humor.

Scholarships of $5,000 were announced for three Building Care employees - Kathy Cole, Katrina Spencer and Wendy Turner - and eight children of employees pursuing undergraduate degrees, some the first in their families to attend college: Kaitlyn Babcock; Nora Hernandez; Cheyanne Rummel; Breanna Lederman; Alyssa Nicholson; Ehmoo Daysoe Soe; Eh Blut Htoo; and Raechelle Mathewson.

Attending the ceremony with his wife, Susan, Phil Bartels '71 closed by thanking the staff for their commitment and excellence, recognizing roughly 40 who are military veterans or reservists. Feeling a "call to duty," Bartels said, custodial staff handle assigned tasks daily - and respond to countless more that come up unexpectedly.

"This is something that you feel that you have to go ahead and do because you take responsibility and you make this place very welcoming, so that people can go ahead and do their functions - whether students, staff or professors - to make this an A-class university," Bartels said. "That's the call to duty that you have each and every day, and that I honor you for. It's absolutely terrific, and I thank you so much."

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