It is with profound sorrow, to both CAPPA and this newsletter editor, to share that Glen R. Haubold passed away on March 28th, 2025. He was a great mentor and friend to so many of us and we will miss him dearly. We were fortunate enough to receive this final article from Glen before his passing, sharing his story.
My father was a 17-year physical plant director at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, starting when I was in middle school. Universities employed numerous students in those days, and the boss’s son had no trouble being hired for a summer job changing filters on the HVAC crew in the summer of 1971. My first supervisor took an interest in my development even though I was just 17, so much so that I wrote about him years later. https://fm-excel.com/2019/05/02/thank-you-my-friend/
After working through several school years in college, I dropped out for what we now call “gap years.” In 1980, I returned to college and the HVAC department hired me as a chilled water plant operator, arranging my schedule so I could work nights and attend classes during the day. Later, I was promoted to supervisor of the chilled water plant operations and energy manager for the university.
The first APPA activity I attended was a seminar on preventive maintenance at Trinity University in the summer of 1982. Joe Estill, Jr. and George Mangrem, physical plant directors at Texas A&M and The University of Texas at San Antonio, taught the small class. That two directors would take time out of their schedule to teach the rank and file made a big impression on this new supervisor.
I was young and doubled my salary by accepting a position with an oil company. Then, I moved to a defense contractor and was engaged with the facility management organization focusing on office buildings. I missed higher education and when the inevitable economic downturn and layoff occurred, I returned to higher education at Texas Woman’s University as the mechanical maintenance manager.
After half a decade, I moved across town to the University of North Texas and was excited when I was encouraged to volunteer with CAPPA. I joined the CAPPA Information Technology committee and completed the Institute for Facilities Management.
I was also involved with the local group, DFWAPPA, eventually holding all the leadership positions in the organization. While serving on the board, Bob took me under his wing when I expressed an interest in learning the ins and outs of consulting, and we partnered on an organizational assessment for Montana State University.
In 2008, I moved to the New Mexico State University System (NMSU), attaining my personal goal of becoming a chief facilities officer at a major university, and also changed APPA regions from CAPPA to RMA.
I had heard Al Stoverink and Chris Ahoy talk about establishing the Award for Excellence as an organizational goal at Arkansas State University and Iowa State University and wanted to follow in their footsteps at NMSU. I asked them what it took to win. Both men freely offered helpful advice and NMSU won the Award for Excellence in 2016, eight years later.
In 2015, I flew to Northwest Arkansas National Airport to teach an APPA Supervisor’s Toolkit in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As I headed to the carousel to pick up my luggage, I passed a picture of airport board member Mike Johnson, the AVP of Facilities at the University of Arkansas. I knew that others were engaged with their community: Peter Strazdas was the mayor of Portage, Michigan, and Chuck Scott was the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Special Olympics. Town and community relationships are rewarding, enhance the quality of life for all, and should be cultivated.
After retirement in 2019, I kept consulting and remained active in APPA. Following a discussion at the 2021 CAPPA Annual Conference, Don Guckert invited me to edit reports for the APPA Advisors. While discussing past APPA activities, Don asked me why my name had never been submitted for consideration as an APPA Fellow. One thing led to another, and in 2022 I became an APPA Fellow, an honor I never expected.
Throughout my many years of association with APPA, I often crossed paths with Lander Medlin, once accompanying her and Lalo Gomez on a trip to Mexico to recruit Tecnológico de Monterrey. Lander is amazing at remembering names and details, which builds effective relationships. The way in which she can recall details about people is a skill I tried to emulate. To those who profess not to be good with names, it has been my experience that this is a learned skill worth developing and improving. People appreciate it.
As my good friend and fellow Toolkit instructor Steve McClain says, CAPPA has opened doors for me and introduced me to many folks who have helped me along my journey. I am now a part-time consultant, have had opportunities to work for multiple universities and an agency of higher education, and have served as an expert witness. I have taught APPA Superior’s Toolkit 49 times to 1,540 folks, presented 40 times at conferences and attended many more, published four articles, and completed a CFaR research paper. None of this would have been possible without my engagement with CAPPA and APPA, and there were many more people I admired and learned from than there was space to list here. I am thankful for them all.
My father encouraged me to participate in a professional association and give back. That was good advice then and still is today. Regardless of where you are in the timeline of your career, I encourage you to get involved with CAPPA at any level. As Bill Elvey says, when asked if you can help, never say “No.” The dividends you reap will be great.
-Glen Haubold