Facility Manager Profile: Rick Galloway of University Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC
As published in Worship Facilities, Apr/May 2005
Three campuses. One hundred and thirty-eight thousand, five hundred and eighty-three square feet. Acres of land. Buildings that are functional seven days a week.
For the last four years, as Directory of Facilities at University Park Baptist Church, Rick Galloway has been charged with overseeing the smooth operation of these three sites. "I am responsible for everything from the cleaning and maintenance to the landscaping and everything that we do from an operations standpoint," he explains.
Galloway – who left a post at FedEx to take this position – has a lot to live up to. UPBC enjoys a rich history: originally established in 1913, the church has been through many struggles, a fire, changes, and victories. In 1990, with the installation of Reverend Claude R. Alexander, Jr., UPBC re-adopted its focus on missions and ministry within the community of Charlotte.
Currently, the church is headquartered in its largest facility – it's just over 81,000 square feet – on Beatties Ford Road. The space boasts a 2,500-seat sanctuary, bookstore, a family life and wellness center, A/V production rooms, nurseries, and administrative offices. The Park South, in the south Charlotte/Pineville area, boasts an 1,100-seat sanctuary, bookstore, nursery, and classrooms. UPBC's third campus in west Charlotte is used for ministries and outreach programs.
Galloway recently took the time to share a few secrets with Worship Facilities on how he remains on top of all the small details without losing sight of the big picture.
WFM: How many people do you have working under you?
Galloway: I have one full-time maintenance person who works for me, and then we do a lot of outsourcing. Our janitorial duties are outsourced, our landscaping is outsourced, and our heating and air conditioning maintenance is outsourced. I do a lot of managing of vendors.
WFM: What are some of the tricks associated with managing vendors that you have learned along the way?
Galloway: I think the most important thing is the relationship: building trust between each other and recognizing that we are a partnership and that we are in this together. We all have a common goal, not only to reduce our costs, but to be successful in making sure that we are hitting our goals.
WFM: What are some of the main challenges associated with being a facility manager?
Galloway: Now the biggest challenge is having three locations in three different parts of the city.
WFM: What does your schedule look like?
Galloway: I plan my days, but I am at the main location every day. We have an administrative person at The Park South to empower our administrative team to help out as much as possible so I don't have to be at all of the sites on a daily basis. I usually am at the other two locations a minimum of two days a week, possibly three, but typically it rotates. When that happens, it's a matter of follow-up to make sure repairs or projects are working properly. But I do have to plan my time, because I don't want to spend a lot of time on the road.
WFM: How many hours do you normally put in?
Galloway: My official workday is nine o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening Monday through Thursday. We work from nine o'clock to twelve o'clock on Fridays. After almost four years of me being here, and the fact that we are still growing and we have activities taking place seven days a week, I typically never come to the building on Saturdays unless we have a major event going on. That is my day of rest, because on Sunday I serve multiple roles: I am in work mode and on call if need be, and I am also an armor-bearer for my pastor and I sing in the choir.
WFM: How do you balance the big picture (running all three facilities) and the small picture (details like drainage systems that aren't working properly)?
Galloway: I am not a hands-on person, which is why I am so big on relationships. I depend on the experts to do what I have empowered them to do. I expect my heating and air conditioning vendor to be the expert that can do what I need them to do, and my job is to follow up. I know a little bit about everything, but it's not my job to know all of the intricate details of a piece of equipment. That is what I pay them for.
WFM: What does the human resources structure look like?
Galloway: At The Park South, there is an administrative person who helps me out. On the north side of town, between both sites, I have an administrative person who not only helps me but helps others as well. I have one full-time maintenance person, and a group of about 30 volunteers who, at any given time, will help me out.
WFM: What do you look at when you are recruiting volunteers for your department?
Galloway: We are looking for people with a servant's heart. We are looking for people who don't mind being behind the scenes. We are looking for people who are hospitable. One of the things that the ministry constantly prays for is what we need, not what we want. The people who typically join our ministry definitely are very humble and serious about their relationship with God. Much of our work is preparation before things happen. God has blessed me with a good leadership team that is truly dedicated and committed to God and to this ministry, so that helps out a lot.
WFM: What is your favorite part of your job?
Galloway: We have a lot of equipment at all three facilities, so on any given day something can go wrong. I like responding to these challenges, and that most of the time, people don't even know that something went wrong. I like to keep things running to the point where people aren't even affected by a breakdown.
WFM: What is your least favorite part of the job?
Galloway: When work and worship conflict. For instance, if I'm in the middle of worship on a Sunday morning, and something goes wrong. I'm just like everyone else: I need to be rejuvenated and encouraged, and I am looking for spiritual nutrition also. But sometimes things occur. And typically, they collide when I don't need them to, or at least it seems that way!
WFM: What advice do you have to your counterparts at other churches?
Galloway: Be open to seek out other professionals in the field. When I started in the job, I visited some of the larger area churches who are doing some of the same things and even more than we are doing, and now I use those people as resources. We talk across the board about things that they are doing and we are doing. When we buy equipment we ask them for references. We use their insight and we help each other, and sometimes we get together to give us some bargaining power when it comes time to make a purchase.
For anyone who is managing a facility, one big tip is to push people – senior pastors and people who are involved in the decision making process – to understand preventative maintenance rather than reaction. Also, the cheapest vendor is not always the best resource.
If your church is looking at launching a big building project, I suggest that you hire a facilities manager before the project is finished. Someone needs to protect the church's interests during the construction process.
It's easy to acquire properties, but it is not so easy to maintain them. And because there are always a lot of things going on, the facilities department can be left out. Over my four years here, we have come a long way – we still have a long way to go, but we have established that if we pay now rather than pay later, it costs less.
And finally, don't lose sight of why you are here. I don't compromise what I do for anyone. My job is to manage these properties and try to get the most out of them and to maintain them. That is my charge from God, who is my ultimate boss. I need to make sure that our properties look the best they possibly can. So, every now and then, I am probably not the most liked person on staff. But you have to know that you are here for a purpose.
QUICK-LINKS
University Park Baptist church
Phone: (704) 392-1681
URL: www.upbc.org
Reader Comments
ADD NEW COMMENT