Janeen Carson - Chemical Abstracts Service

The Central Ohio IFMA Chapter doesn't keep records of such things, but Janeen Carson, facilities coordinator at Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), may well be the only grandmother in the organization.

If not, she may be the only member bragging about it.

"He's my pride and joy, the love of my live," says Carson of her one-year-old grandson, Wesley, whose birthday was Jan. 19. "If anyone has some time, I'd be happy to tell them all about him.".

For those who may not have time to call:

"Wesley is still a crawler, but about ready to walk. He loves to take a bath in the kitchen sink, and he perks up any time the water there is turned on. He has brown eyes and reddish blonde hair that is coming in slowly. He is a good, active baby who sleeps through the night. He does say a few words, 'ball, baby, bye-bye.'"

However, it was when he first said "Nana," when he saw Carson not long ago that gained him a promise that he could have "anything he wanted for the rest of his life."

While the arrival of Wesley, whose parents are Adam and Elisabeth (Hysell) Carson, has opened another door in Carson's life, it certainly hasn't dampened her enthusiasm for her work at CAS or for IFMA where she has served as co-chair of the Community Service Committee for most of her seven years of membership.

As a member of the Community Service Committee, Carson has been a strong supporter of the chapter's Adopt-a-Family program and the chapter's association with the St. John Center that provides the organization with the families it assists each Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"My experience with the Adopt-a-Family program has been heart-warming, and I am so glad to be part of it. It's truly gratifying to help folks who are less fortunate."

The committee (and chapter) is continuing its association with St. John Center after the holidays to help prepare a nearby duplex for use as a youth and senior center. The chapter is working to upgrade the building and to acquire computers, printers, furniture and other fixtures and furnishings to create a suitable environment for youth.

Carson not only sees IFMA membership as an opportunity to help others, but as an opportunity to help her through networking opportunities and information from educational programs and seminars sponsored by the chapter.

"The information I have gained through IFMA has been invaluable. Everyone is so friendly and so willing to share information. You can get help whenever you need it," she said.

Sally Gardner, who was Carson's unit manager in facilities at CAS, introduced her to IFMA in 1990, "and I have been an active member since."

Carson has spent most of her professional life at CAS, becoming employed there in 1967 after graduating from Mifflin High School and attending one year at The Ohio State University. She began her career there as an index clerk in editorial operations. She worked in a series of clerical indexing positions, ultimately resulting in a promotion to supervisor of one of the three editorial operations clerical index support groups.

Carson was married in 1969, and by 1973, with CAS rapidly evolving, was working in a small support section of Central Files. Her son was born in 1974, and for the next seven years Carson chose to be a stay-at-home mom. In 1981, she received an opportunity to return to CAS as a senior files coordinator in central files, and, while still enjoying motherhood, accepted the position. She also enrolled in the business management program at Franklin University that she completed in two years.

Over the next several years and through many more reorganizations and transitions, her career path led her from editorial operations to a supervisory position in graphic arts, and to marketing as a customer service assistant. She advanced through several promotions while in marketing and, in 1989, applied for and was offered a position in facilities operations.

This newly created position as facilities assistant challenged Carson to successfully develop, implement, and monitor a budget-tracking system for the facilities management team. She was promoted in 1991 to lead facilities assistant, adding supervisory tasks to her position and responsibility for the facilities support group. Another promotion in 1995 moved Carson to her current position as facilities coordinator.

Carson is an 18-year resident of Westerville and, in addition to enjoying her grandson, (but not as much) Carson spends her free time gardening, shopping, traveling, at the movies, and enjoying friends and other family members.

Four Seasons Environmental

Dan Tarkington, president of Four Seasons Environmental, Inc., (FSE) a new chapter sponsor for 2002, credits Ron Black, former Central Ohio Chapter president, as the first to alert him to the many benefits of IFMA membership.

Tarkington heads a Monroe, Ohio, company that operates, maintains, and repairs facilities for the U. S. government and for the private sector at 16 locations in seven cities in Ohio, Georgia, Florida, and Maryland. FSE was headquartered in Atlanta until two years ago when Tarkington, a native of Cincinnati, relocated the company to Monroe for a more centralized point of operation.

Black was extolling the benefits of IFMA membership when Tarkington decided, "This sounded like the perfect professional organization for what we do." Tarkington became a professional member two years ago and a sponsor this year. "I was enthusiastic about IFMA then, and still am."

Tarkington said he hasn't been able to participate in chapter activities as much as he would like, but expects to become more active in both the Central Ohio and Dayton chapters this year.

He and Black became friends at the Defense Supply Center, Columbus (DSCC) where FSE is responsible for maintaining the working environment for thousands of government employees. Black was at DSCC when he was named facility engineer for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, (DFAS) a new federal organization that would operate in or near the DSCC compound.

FSE was maintaining numerous buildings at DSCC and for DFAS, which soon moved its growing operation into several large nearby buildings at Port Columbus International Airport that were once used for airplane construction. Plans were on the board for construction of a new headquarters building for DSCC and a centralized center for DFAS within the military compound.

The 700,00-square-foot DSCC building was completed in 1996 and turned over to FSE to operate, maintain, and repair. Three years later, the 600,000-square-foot DFAS building opened, and FSE "moved" into that facility. The company has 18 of its 250 employees assigned to the two buildings.

Additionally, FSE maintains a strong presence at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton and at several Ohio National Guard locations in central and southwest Ohio.

From 1994-99, the company was responsible for the research and development laboratories at the air base. This included the Air Force Institute of Technology, the 200-bed medical center, and caring for 140 buildings and 8,000 pieces of equipment. FSE is still providing its services to the base, but on a smaller scale than before. Tarkington said most of the work being done for the National Guard involves building renovation and new construction at several locations.

FES came into being in the 1980s in the Atlanta area. It was started as a construction company that Tarkington acquired in 1985. He soon began moving it away from construction to operating and maintaining facilities. Today, only about 10 percent of the company's business comes from construction activities.

One of the company's first clients under Tarkington was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. FSE has held one or more CDC contracts since 1985, including the headquarters building and its computerized worldwide data accumulation center. The company also is responsible for five medical center buildings at Atlanta's Ft. McPherson, and the 400,000-square-foot IRS Atlanta Area Service Center.

FSE provides support services for the U. S. Department of Agriculture's research and development laboratories in Athens, Ga., and at Ft. Pierce, Fla., and is also responsible for the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Science Center at Ft. Meade, Md.

In the private sector, FSE was selected in 1999 to operate and maintain the 400,000-square-foot credit card processing facility for Monogram Credit Services, a division of GE Capital, in Kettering. This facility is operational around the clock.

Over the years, FSE has received numerous awards for its services. However, 1998 was a particularly rewarding year, Tarkington said. That year the company was honored for the third consecutive time with the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Administrator's Award for Excellence for its work at the CDC.

The company also was winner of the SBA's National Prime Contractor of the Year Award. The company was the Region IV four winner and the regional national nominee. Since then, FES has received several federal energy awards for its work in reducing energy consumption at Wright-Patterson and at the CDC.

Landscape Forms

The long, cold winters of Kalamazoo, Mich., bring with them some 70 inches of snow and temperatures that can drop well below zero.

They also signal unemployment for many who depend on outside work for their livelihood.

And so it was in 1969 when John Chipman Sr., owner of a landscape contracting company, took a look at this picture and decided he needed to start a new business, one that would keep his employees working year around.

Chipman began to produce outdoor furniture-benches and other items that would tie in with his landscaping business-in an old horse barn with 12 employees and a single table saw. As this business expanded, Chipman sold his landscaping concern to concentrate on the increasing demand for his outdoor furniture

Today, Landscape Forms produces an extensive line of outdoor benches, tables, chairs, umbrellas and other shade implements, bicycle racks, litter receptacles, and ash urns that are sold throughout the United States, Canada, and in Europe.

The company has four primary markets, according to Carol Allen, territory manager for Ohio and Kentucky, who is based in Cincinnati. These markets are corporations, health care, education, and government. Landscape Forms products can be enjoyed in many Ohio locations, including Victoria's Secret, Port Columbus International Airport, and Panera Bread, all in Columbus; Sea World of Ohio in Aurora; the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland; and the public library and Proctor & Gamble, both in Cincinnati.

In 1981, Landscape Forms became a Scanlon corporation, adopting its own participative management system based on concepts pioneered by Joseph Scanlon. Scanlon systems promote organizational effectiveness and individual growth through collaborative approaches to improvement and problem solving.

All Landscape Forms employees are organized into work teams, and suggestions and active involvement from each team member are encouraged and recognized on a daily basis. The company's clients benefit through superior product quality and outstanding customer service. Individuals who deal with clients are committed to returning every customer call within two hours, and customer satisfaction survey cards indicate that 97 percent of the company's orders are complaint-free.

While Chipman remains active in the company today as a member of the board of directors, he has turned the reins over to Bill Main, president and chief executive officer, and to Chipman's daughter, Becky Fulgoni, vice president of human resources. The company has grown to more than 160 employees and 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Kalamazoo.

Landscape Forms is recognized as a leading designer and manufacturer of distinctive and durable commercial-grade site furnishings that enhance public spaces. In addition, the company strives for maintenance of natural spaces, and recycled materials and non-tropical woods from managed growth forests are used whenever possible.

As a new sponsor of the central Ohio IFMA Chapter, Allen expects this to be a great opportunity to expose the company to additional "end users"-facility managers, interior designers, and architects. Allen was "introduced" to the chapter here by Vickie Simons of NBBJ, and expects to take advantage of what she understands to be a "very active and exciting group." The company also is a sponsor of the Cincinnati chapter.

Despite the growth the company has enjoyed in the last 30 years, the focus on helping people that compelled Chipman to start the company-commitment to employee and customer satisfaction, concern for natural and public spaces-remains the same.

The company continues to follow the course originally set by Chipman: To provide well-designed, high-quality site furniture at a time when virtually none was available and to humanize the impact of midwest winters on his seasonal employees