Rhys Dyer, '26 & Henry Turberfield, '26
In every major company, city, facility, or large organization of any sort, there is a group of people behind the scenes that makes sure everything is running smoothly. Ensworth is no different. These people control the logistics of everything, from the people that work there, to the cameras, paint on the building itself, windows, cooking equipment, parking, planning of events, construction, repairwork, electricity, water, plumbing, cleaning crew, outside vendors, decorating for prom and homecoming and more. Mr. Andrew Smith and his Facilities and Transportation teams practically run everything we need at Ensworth.
When any light in the entire school is flickering, our on-site electrician will come and fix it. During every home football game and major event, his team is always involved. This includes the installation of the new jumbotrons last year, which only built onto the excitement behind the game. Over the last few years, security has managed the parking at games. When more hands are needed, Mr. Smith’s team will come and help out. Our Facilities team also runs simple, yet tedious tasks around campus, like painting the walls every summer. In fact, over the years, it has added up to 20+ coats of paint. Andrew’s team pressure washes the sidewalks and works on all the buses. They fix and maintain the equipment that the kitchen uses, every day. He and his team fix all issues within our natatorium and tennis center. In addition to all of this responsibility, another big part of their job is maintaining all of the HVACs. With 150 units across the whole campus, it’s inevitable they will all need maintenance at some point, especially during Nashville summers. These HVAC systems cover 550 thousand square feet of campus. As if that wasn’t enough, the Facilities team works closely with Security and the Leadership team. This means helping with the installation of all our new security measures and even with the new implementation of the chicken coop by the black top.
Mr. Smith also has two clubs of his own! Most people know about the Tiger Garage but the Middle School Fishing club is unknown to many high schoolers. Our pond is fully stocked with 50 adult bass and 50 catfish for catching. The Tiger Garage is for people that love all things cars. They work on all different types of cars including how to regularly maintain them. Twice a year, the Tiger Garage hosts a car show where they showcase classic and sportscars from Ensworth families and friends.
This is the type of work that isn’t limited to our normal school hours. Not only do their days consist of hours that extend into the early mornings and late evenings, but they work weekends and summers keeping the school nice, clean, and updated as needed. So who are these individuals we should be tipping our hats off to in appreciation of keeping Ensworth running so smoothly? His team consists of the following individuals: Milton Valencia, Paul Adams, Justin Weatherby, Malia Krantz, Joab Richardson, Scott Sanders, Helen Van Why, Ron Mikulka, Matt Mabry, Sandy Bessinger, Quinton Bell, Ron Walker, Zivko Walker, and of course Andrew Smith.
Although Andrew Smith operates so many aspects of the school, without his team of diligent and determined workers, the school wouldn’t run for a single day. Everyday items at Ensworth that just seem to never break are all due to our hidden heroes. We are all very thankful for what they do for us.
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