Community college hires former county school maintenance director as new facilities manager
Halifax County native Jay Jennings has been named the new facilities manager at Danville Community College (DCC).
“‘Excited’ is the word that best describes how I feel about this role,” Jennings said. “I don’t take much time to test the waters; I like to jump right in and be a part of the team. I enjoy rolling up my sleeves and helping out any way I can. Don’t be surprised if you see me on a roof or a lawnmower.”
Having graduated from Virginia Tech’s property management program in 2003, Jennings brings a strong construction background, holding previous roles with commercial contractors in Richmond and South Boston.
“I love the college so far,” he said. “My first impression of the campus is the people and how great they are to work with. I’m also impressed with the condition of the buildings and how they have been maintained and updated. I look forward to meeting and working with everyone this coming school year.”
Jennings joined the DCC team in July and is responsible for ensuring that campus facilities are safe, up to code and fully operational, managing contractors, training new employees and working with third-party vendors, planning and coordinating all installations, including telecommunications, heat, electricity and refurbishments, managing the upkeep of equipment and supplies to meet health and safety standards, inspecting buildings’ structures to determine the need for repairs and renovations, review utilities consumption and strive to minimize costs, supervise all facilities staff and external contractors, control activities such as parking space allocation, waste disposal and building security and maintaining accurate financial and non-financial records.
“My goal is to get our buildings running as efficiently and economically as possible,” Jennings explained. “I enjoy working with the controls side of the profession, so I like to monitor how the buildings operate. I’m the guy that goes around turning off lights in empty rooms. I take pride in saving money for the college, because there’s always somewhere else that money is needed.”
At the Virginia Main Street Downtown Intersections State Conference in Lynchburg, held July 22-24, South Boston town manager Tom Raab (above) and Echelon Resources executive Edwin Gaskins made a 45-minute presentation to a crowd of roughly 30 town managers and Main Street members on how to turn large, historical buildings from dilapidated hulks into useful structures. They recounted how Echelon Resources had renovated what is now Imperial Lofts in South Boston, transforming the shuttered Tultex plant into market-rate apartments and business incubator. Raab and Gaskins discussed various aspects of the project, including paperwork and renovation requirements. “We told them how we took a building that was probably going to have to be torn down and put a new roof on it and put in probably 45 new apartments,” Raab said. Echelon Resources plans to add another 15 apartments later.
The towns of South Boston and Halifax are among 16 Virginia cities and towns receiving more than $144,000 in Virginia Main Street grants and technical assistance for 19 projects on Wednesday.
SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (WSET) -- If you live on the Southside, a new partnership will soon help you further your education.
July 8, 2019
