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ETMC Athens employee elected
as state officer
By Toni Garrard Clay
Special to The Monitor
ATHENS–Steve Lowe is something of a white-collar leprechaun: bearded,
jovial, smart, professional. He’s not the type of person one would
normally compare to, say, a daytime soap star. But compared he was.
“I’m the Susan Lucci of TAHFM,” laughed Lowe earlier this year,
referencing the actress who was nominated 19 times for a Daytime Emmy
before finally winning. “I’ve been nominated many times without making
it into the position.”
The time has finally come, however, for Lowe to break the “Lucci curse.”
The longtime director of engineering and safety at ETMC Athens soon will
be named president-elect of the Texas Association of Healthcare
Facilities Management (TAHFM).
The announcement will be made when the association holds its annual
conference in April.
Since becoming a member of the association in 1978, Lowe has served five
terms as a board member and been nominated several times for the
position of president elect.
“Each and every nomination had been a pat on the back by my peers,” said
Lowe. “To be honored by actually providing me the opportunity to lead
this wonderful organization is overwhelming.”
As president elect, Lowe has some specific roles and responsibilities in
TAHFM leading to the following year when he automatically becomes the
president of the organization.
“ETMC Athens is very happy for Steve Lowe personally, and we are very
proud he is an employee here,” ETMC Athens Administrator Pat Wallace
said.
“Steve’s accomplishments reflect a spirit of excellence we all strive
for at ETMC.”
For nearly 14 years, Lowe has been in charge of the maintenance of
facilities at ETMC Athens, a job that requires he wear many hats.
He also is the chief safety officer for the hospital and has oversight
responsibilities for any construction or remodeling; biomedical
technology (“That’s the group that takes care of the medical technology
such as defibrillators and telemetry systems”); telecommunications
(phones, beepers, cell phones and other wireless wizardry); landscape
and interiorscape; and security.
It’s a job he loves.
“If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing,” he said, “you’re in the wrong
business.”
This past year, Lowe was one of four hospital engineers asked to
participate in a workgroup for revising hospital licensing standards in
the state of Texas, essentially rewriting state law.
“I’m pretty proud of that,” he admitted. “Among the four of us, I was
the one person representing small and midsize not-for-profit hospitals
throughout the state.”
Lowe is pretty opinionated about what he views as the best size for a
hospital.
“I have always viewed the size of the Athens hospital as perfect,” he
said. “We’re large enough and busy enough to offer the best in
technology and staffing.
“But we’re small enough so that I answer to and know the CEO personally.
When you’re part of that kind of organization, why would you want to go
anywhere else?” MHS students place
at UIL
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–MHS students entering the UIL District 16-4A competition scored
well.
The event was held March 24, in the Sam Houston Learning Center in
Corsicana.
Categories, winner and places are,
Ready Writing, Rachel Escanlar, fifth place.
Spelling, Chris Perdue, eighth place.
Literary Criticism, Sasha Lamadrid, third place.
Calculator, Chris Perdue, 10th place.
Computer Applications, Sean Lee, ninth place.
Accounting, Sadie Guiter, third place; Tyler Hamilton, fifth place;
Caitlyn Cermak, seventh place; and Stephen Gulledge, 12th place.
Team Accounting, Sadie Guiter, Tyler Hamilton, Stephen Gulledge and
Caitlyn Cermak, second place.
Prose, Josh Brown, fifth place and Elyssa Knowles, sixth place.
Science, Alex Bredehoft, 10th place.
Newswriting, Alissa Fehlbaum, fifth place.
Editorial, Alissa Fehlbaum, second place.
Headline Writing, Alissa Fehlbaum, first place; Zach Wintin, second
place; and Sara Hobson, sixth place.
Kemp Homecoming plans set
Special to The Monitor
KEMP–The first meeting of the Kemp Homecoming 2006 committee was called
to order at 2:05 p.m. by returning president Jim Collinsworth.
Alumni present were: Kent Creecy, Deborah Doss, Jim Collinsworth, Karen
McDougald, Sharron Rankin, Trona Jurden, Jerry Jurden, Laura Peace,
Kathy DeBorde and Melinda Polk.
All officers were nominated, unopposed. Officers for the 2006 Homecoming
are: president Jim Collinsworth ’79, vice-president Deborah Smith-Doss
’75, secretary Melinda Creecy-Polk ’89 and treasurer Kent Creecy ’59.
Trona and Jerry Jurden will be chairing the technology team. The website
is up and running. The web address is www.kemphomecoming.com. Changes or
updates should be sent to jerry.jurden@verizon.net.
The street dance and the parade will be coordinated by Deborah Doss. The
parade will begin at 2 p.m. the Saturday of Homecoming weekend.
The bonfire arrangements will be made by Laura Peace.
The Homecoming committee still needs team leaders in the following
areas:
Former student campus tours, pep rally, football game half-time, “Meet
the Teacher,” barbecue, decorations, publicity and clean-up.
The committee chose Oct. 20 for Homecoming.
The next meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m., April 9, at the First National
Bank of Kemp.
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