PGMS Salutes Baylor University For Grounds Management Excellence
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Baylor presented with Honor Award for 'exceptional grounds maintenance' in university category
WACO, Texas (Nov. 26, 2012) - Baylor University has received national recognition from the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) for exceptional grounds maintenance among universities and colleges in the Society's 2012 Green Star Awards competition. Baylor received an Honor Award during the Society's 2012 Awards Dinner held last month in conjunction with the School of Grounds Management & GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky.
The Green Star Awards bring national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence, complementing other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction.
"Baylor University is very proud of our grounds maintenance team for the diligence required to obtain this recognition," said Don Bagby, director of facilities management at Baylor. "The PGMS award distinguishes Baylor as one of the best-looking campuses in the nation, due in large part to the excellent leadership of our grounds managers Andy Trimble and Brandon Martin."
Baylor is home to 15,000 students on more than 800 acres, 350 of which is maintained regularly. Twenty-six staff members are responsible for the details of the day-to-day maintenance operations on the well-maintained campus. Facilities staff direct two primary seasonal color change-outs annually with an additional installation in the fall for chrysanthemums in preparation for the university's Homecoming celebration.
One of the aesthetic focal points at Baylor is the Sadie Jo Black Gardens, located in the heart of campus on Founders Mall. In 2005, Black - a Baylor graduate who taught for 35 years in the department of family and consumer sciences - established the Sadie Jo Black Gardens Endowment Fund to enhance the beauty of that area of campus, and for the past seven years, the Black Gardens have been in bloom by thousands of beautiful perennial flowers framed by a manicured lawn and boxwoods. Two benches are positioned so visitors to the garden can sit and enjoy the beauty.
Overall, PGMS presented four Grand Awards, nine Honor Awards and five Merit Awards in six categories of competition. For more information on the awards, visit www.pgms.org.
ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL GROUNDS MANAGEMENT SOCIETY
Founded in 1911, PGMS is an individual membership society of grounds professionals dedicated to advancing the grounds management profession through education and professional development. Further information on PGMS, the Green Star Award Program and the annual School of Grounds Management & GIE+EXPO is available online at www.pgms.org.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.