The following spring, IFMA's Education Committee established a scholarship fund to assist students interested in pursuing a facility management degree at Columbus State. The chapter remains actively involved in the curriculum with members serving as instructors and course advisors as well as through the scholarship program.

Kabealo didn't receive IFMA funds to complete his education; he was already receiving tuition assistance through the Ohio Building Authority (OBA) where he was working when he decided to become a facility manager.

Instead of money, he received sound advice and strong support from IMFA member Mark Haberman, assistant executive director for the OBA. He also acknowledged Columbus State adjuncts Ron Black and Fred Timm, now chapter president and vice president, respectively, as "strong teachers" with considerable experience and knowledge in the field of computers and facility management.

These individuals, along with Tom Robbins, associate professor at Columbus State and facility management program coordinator and advisor, and Jim Stratton, department chairperson, who retired last January, were instrumental in keeping Kabealo focused and moving toward a degree.

Kabealo also credits student and Ranco employee Wayne Long with assistance throughout the program. Long, who works in Marysville, is scheduled to complete the program shortly. He is one of about 40 persons seeking a facility management degree at Columbus State.

Kabealo had been working as a carpenter at the OBA for about eight years when Haberman convinced him to take some computer assisted drafting classes at Columbus State and helped him get financial assistance.

"His assistance sparked my renewed interest in school (Kabealo had been a student several years earlier at The Ohio State University). Once I started seeing the program, what was involved, and the opportunities available in the facility management field, I decided it was what I wanted to do.

"Facility management is a professional field and a field where respect is long overdue. It's also an exciting field with lots of opportunities. It's diverse and full of challenges. It's dealing with all types of people and all aspects of building, and it's exciting."

About a year ago, Kabealo had an opportunity to move from the OBA to the attorney general's office and put his newly acquired knowledge to work. This was a new position with the state, and Kabealo said he really didn't know what he would be doing. This soon changed as he helped tackle the job of space planner and coordinator and began shuffling people into newly defined and renovated work areas in the Galbreath Building.

Kabealo said he plans to continue his education as time permits.

"I'm interested in electronics and in computers. Telecommunications is a field with lots of possibilities and it's a part of facility management that I want to stay abreast of."

Kabealo has been a student member of the central Ohio IFMA Chapter for some time and was guest of honor at the chapter's April meeting at the Fawcett Center at Ohio State where he received a plaque commemorating his graduation.

He and his wife, Amy, also an employee of the attorney general, reside in the Clintonville area. Kabealo has a son, Dustin, who is in his second quarter in the College of Engineering at Ohio State.