EFM Staff Shout-outs

Shouting about our wonderful team members

You can share a short thank you or shout-out message for a colleague or a team via the University wide Staff shout-outs - email your contribution to internalcommunications@sheffield.ac.uk for publication the following week.

July 2024

Emma Harper, Estates and Facilities Management

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Emma Harper in EFM for her exceptional efforts in resolving two separate issues related to graduation setup. Emma addressed both problems promptly and with a positive attitude, after all other attempts had failed. Emma, you are a true asset to the University, and I am sincerely grateful for your assistance. Thank you very much.

– Natalie Billau, Events Manager, Corporate Communications

Everyone involved in graduation week

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone involved in graduation. It has been a huge undertaking and has been an outstanding example of everyone coming together to make this yet again a really special week for our graduates and their guests.  

There are too many people to mention from our security team, all the additional volunteers, the Events Team, colleagues in other departments who have stepped up and offered support, ACS, the SU, and so many others. A moment of real pride which demonstrates why this really is a great place to work.

– Tracy Wray, Director of Corporate Communications and External Relations

June 2024

Charlotte Winnert and Marketa Rychla, Environment team (EFM)

"Both Charlotte and Marketa are both absolutely fantastic and instrumental in dealing a variety of challenges with waste management. They have constantly liaised with others and organised works to get everything sorted out for me and I can't thank them enough!" 

Jordan Martin, EFM

The Wave and The Wave reception teams (Note The Wave reception is manned by a collaborative team of Social Sciences and EFM colleagues)

"I would just like to give a shout out to all The Wave and The Wave reception teams that provide a clean, safe, and very helpful service at all times. They go quietly about their business and are very efficient and courteous at all times. They can always be relied upon, regardless of the query, which are many and varied, and we are lucky to have them looking after us and students."

– Miles Collins, Department of Sociological Studies

April 2024

Hugh Kelly, Engineering and Maintenance

“I would like to send a shout-out to Hugh Kelly in Engineering and Maintenance for being an all round good guy and excellent colleague. He always goes above and beyond and I really appreciate all his help and comradeship. He definitely makes work a better place to be. He is fab!”

– Chantelle Campling, Engineering and Maintenance

Everyone who's been involved with the recent undergraduate offer holder days

“We'd like to give a massive shout out to everyone who's been involved with the recent undergraduate offer holder days, held over four Saturdays from February to April. We have received incredible support from many colleagues in faculty and department teams, estates, ACS, the SU, the Octagon, IT services, Sport Sheffield, the Library, all the student service teams that participate in our exhibition, and our fantastic colleagues across SRMA. Thanks to this amazing team effort, we have welcomed nearly 5,000 offer holders to our campus and received some glowing feedback from our visitors. We look forward to working with you all again for our pre-application open days starting in June!”

– The Open Days team, UK Student Recruitment

Rob Walsh, Chris Browes, Simon Flinders, Simon Wollen, Liam Foulstone, Darren Jones, Cliff Heslop, Dave Ashworth, Paul Austin, Mark Durant and Ian Greaves, EFM

“I wanted to say a big thank you to the logistics team for all their help and support with our offer holder day EFM delivery requests (of which there are many).  The 2024 offer holder days have been a huge success and it would not be possible without their help.” 

– Lucy Elam, Student Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions

March 2024

Marketa Rychla and Louis Garnham, Estates and Facilities Management

"I would like to thank Marketa Rychla and Louis Garnham from the EFM team for their support and guidance on Green Impact projects relevant to waste reduction and recycling. Thank you very much!"

– Yurong Tian, Energy Team, EFM

Kym Martindale, Car Parking & Sustainable Travel

I would like to send a shout out to Kym Martindale in  Car Parking & Sustainable Travel. I have interacted with Kym on several occasions and everytime she has been so helpful, particularly this week when I had a number of queries that she dealt with quickly and professionally. Wishing you all the best Kym, thank you for your help!

– Dr Rachael Black, Faculty of Social Sciences

Becky Bancroft, Theresa Williamson, Karen Heard, and Jo Ward, EFM

"I would like to highlight a thank you due to all of the team who support Estates and Facilities Management in the Arts Tower offices. They have been fantastic, dealing with queries and coping with uncertainty during leadership developments in recent months. Everybody has been affected. Hats-off to Becky Bancroft, Theresa Williamson, Karen Heard, and Jo Ward, for using their knowledge of how the business works to anticipate what needed doing to keep the important things moving. Thank you!"

– Craig Wootton, Engineering & Maintenance

The Zone 2 Facilities Assistants: Susan, Roger, Liam and Andy

“I would like to  thank the Zone 2 Facilities Assistants: Susan, Roger, Liam and Andy. They are always there to help and support staff and students with set ups and office moves at very short notice. They are a great team to work in - thank you all.”

– Yvonne R Ibbetson, Portering

The Diamond Facilities Assistants team

“I'd like to give a staff shout-out to the Diamond FA team who were brilliant last night (Wednesday 6th March) when the MLTC hosted a Spanish Film Screening event in one of the lecture theatres. They promptly moved us to another room when we found the speakers weren't working correctly in our original space, and stored the remaining biscuits and drinks that we had left, overnight as it was too late for us to access our building when the event finished. They also provided us with tables to put our food on when I had not asked for them in my basement booking (and could have managed without!) They really were life-savers and made our night much, much easier and smoother. We really appreciate them!”

– Sam Carnall, Modern Languages Teaching Centre

January 2024

The Wave Reception and FM staff, including Claire and Ryan

"I would like to say a big thank you to the reception and FM staff at The Wave, including Claire and Ryan, for their support with a recent external event we hosted there. They were responsive, flexible, helpful and friendly. Their support and patience with our numerous queries meant that the event ran smoothly and was a huge success for the University. Thank you!"

– André Nunn, Student Mental Health, Counselling & Therapies Service

December 2023

The Wave Facilities Assistants

"A special shout out to the Wave Facilities Assistants, and in particular Gareth and Ryan, who continually help us with loading the Maker{Futures} van and bringing things in and out of the storeroom. The whole FA team goes above and beyond and we really do appreciate everything they do."

– Liz Jansen, School of Education, and the Maker{Futures} Team

Rob Sullivan, Print & Creative Services

"I would like to say a big thank you to Rob Sullivan, Creative Director, for all his help with the redesign of the University's Annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Report, which was super in giving life to our thoughts on how to update and refresh the annual report. Rob was so helpful and responsive to the many amendments and changes we submitted over several weeks. We are very pleased with the final report, which also gives us a great platform to work on next year."

– Kate Sullivan, Senior Governance Officer and Professor Graham Gee, Chair of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee

November 2023

Firth Court Porters

“I'd like to pass on my thanks to the Firth Court portering team who helped with a complex event set-up for the recent Children's University awards ceremony on 1st November. They dealt with multiple room set-up changes with patience, efficiency and good humour and provided an exceptional level of support during the evening.”

– Kirsten Fretwell, Student Recruitment, Marketing & Admissions

Simon Verrall, Lee Parker and the Security Services team

"I'd like to thank Simon, Lee and the Security Services team for their support in the planning and delivery of our Autumn Recruitment Fairs (24-26 October 2023). Their presence and agility across the three days ensured that the events ran safely and securely, providing reassurance for over 3770 students, almost 200 employer exhibitors and staff working the events. Thank you!"

– Tracey Hill, Careers and Employability Service

Karen McKernan, Cleaning Services

"I would like to nominate a shout out for Karen McKernan. She is an outstanding supervisor. Karen is kind and caring and has helped me on several occasions as she does all the EFM staff in the Diamond. Karen deserves a huge thank you so, I hope you can help with this."

– Elizabeth Allen, Cleaning Services

October 2023

Lucy Farmer, Print & Creative Services

"I would like to give a huge shout out to Lucy Farmer, Business Development Manager, for her help, support and particularly her eye for detail on Global Engagement's new flagship publication, 'We can achieve great things together'. Thank you, Lucy!"

– Vikki Large, Global Engagement

Lee Johnston and Rob Sullivan, Print and Design

"Huge thanks to Lee Johnston and Rob Sullivan in Print and Design for their flexibility, creative and dynamic approach in getting our new staff resource  'How to Help' off the ground."

– Louise Knowles, Student Mental Health, Counselling and Therapies Service

The West Engineering and Maintenance Team

"The members of the West Engineering and Maintenance team who have really gone above and beyond to finish off several long term issues for us in recent weeks. For example, a roof that has leaked for years has been repaired, and last week they were chasing down the cause of an electrical fault to prevent further issues. We are very grateful to have a dedicated team working to keep the buildings in good condition."

– Melanie Hannah, Biosciences

Kym Martindale, Car Parking & Sustainable Travel Team

“I'd like to give a shout-out for Kym Martindale in the Car Parking & Sustainable Travel Team, in EFM. Kym recently helped me resolve an issue with my parking permit. She had a real solution-led approach, and gave quick, supportive and informative responses to all my questions. Thank you!”

– Matt Jones, Strategic Planning & Change

September 2023

Rob Sullivan and the Print and Creative Services Team

"I'd like to thank Rob and his team in Print and Creative Services. I had to deliver designs in order to have the poster network on the entire tram network for Off the Shelf Festival of Words.  Given the nature of these things the Tram people wanted artwork there and then, no waiting around! Rob kindly created the designs within an incredibly short period of time.  I can't thank the team enough as without them prioritising Off the Shelf we would have lost an incredibly valuable advertising slot for the festival. Tweet in your pics if you see them on the tram to @otsfestival." 

– Pip Strafford. Research, Partnerships and Innovation

Susan Hodgson, and Richard Lintott, Portering Team

I would like to shout out to Susan Hodgson, and Richard Lintott who assisted us with a recent event at the ICOSS building, which had only recently been handed back to the university by contractors after a period of summer maintenance. Susan set the room up at short notice, arranging for a team to clean the room, and for security to mend the front door so that our external candidates could access the building. Richard assisted on the day when we needed to urgently contact facilities to repair the lighting in the room. The actions of both of these team members meant that we had a successful delivery of a research event with external partners and industry representatives.

– Carla Teale, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Paul Dickens and the Bartolome House portering team

I would like to say thank you to Paul Dickens and the portering team at Bartolome House, Winter Street for helping facilitate the parking of an Ice Cream Van so our lovely 3rd year UG students nurses could have a well deserved treat as they graduate!

– Rachael Duckworth, Division of Nursing and Midwifery

August 2023

Belle, Chris and Phil in the Hicks Portering Team 

"A huge thanks to Belle, Chris and Phil for all their support with the Mathematics and Statistics open days. They have gone above and beyond assisting colleagues in the organisation of the set-up for the open day, and working so hard on the day to support logistics. They are always friendly, reliable and diligent and they make working on a Saturday much easier! They have enabled us to provide an inclusive and disability friendly event, by being on hand at all times to support accessibility requirements. All guests are made to feel equally welcome and accommodated for. Thank you for ensuring our events are safe and inclusive."

– Emily Cooper and Flora Dyson, Faculty of Science and School of Mathematics and Statistics

Security Services

"We'd like to submit a shout out to security services who kindly gave us access to the Students' Union at 8pm on Wednesday 26th July. We'd left resources needed for an activity with 90 Y12 students - this made our event run smoothly - thank you!"

– Ella-Rosa Twyman and Jemma McDermott, Access Service

Dr Kym Martindale, Car Parking and Sustainable Travel

"I would like to extend my thanks to Kym who is so helpful and attentive when I need to book large vehicles on campus for deliveries or for contractors to carry out work on campus. Kym ensures that all stakeholders are aware of what is happening and arranges suitable parking spaces and access. This makes things much easier for me to organise and I feel reassured that Kym will help as much as possible which I really appreciate. I’ve said it hundreds of times already…‘Thank You’ for all your help."

– Emily Green, University Heritage Collections

July 2023

Unknown Parking Attendant

“I would like to send a special shout out to the unnamed parking attendant who tracked me down in the Wave as I was filming on Monday 10th July to tell me that I'd left my car window open, and that it was starting to rain. Not all heroes wear capes.”

– Dave Holloway, Digital Learning Team

Rob and Richard

“The Performance Venues team would like to give a huge thank you to Rob and Richard for fixing our wheelchair lift so that it is operational in time for Graduation. They both provided expert knowledge so that the correct part could be sourced and they fitted it as soon as it arrived.”

– Chris Leach, Performance Venues

June 2023

Craig Deakin and Steve Duncombe, Engineering and Maintenance

"Parking and Sustainable Travel would like to shout-out our gratitude to Craig and Steve. They've helped us with a large number of car parking sign installations and amendments recently. I know that they've been busy with lots of other work too, but throughout our signage works their positivity and nous have been a massive help and we are most appreciative of it."

– Eric Bohun, Campus Services

Nick Wright, Estates and Facilities Management Helpdesk

"Thank you Nick Wright for your pleasant, friendly tone and helpful assistance when I had a mystery to solve on Friday. On behalf of the Wave Reception Team we would like to express how having someone who is upbeat and positive on the end of the line, is really appreciated!!!!"

– Carly, Claire, Imogen and Rashid, the Wave Reception Team

May 2023

Josh Talbot, Security Services

“I’d like to give a shout-out to Josh Talbot of Security Services for organising an interesting, informative and enjoyable morning of staff training on Safezone, PREVENT, local risks to apprentices and students and cyber crime and avoiding it. It was a really interesting morning.”

– Nikki Jones, Director, AMRC Training Centre

Asmol Ali, Arts Tower Porters

We want to say thanks to Asmol Ali for being so friendly and helpful in the Arts Tower. You're quick to offer a helping hand and your cheeriness cheered us up no end. Gayle and Beth (the one with all the plants)

– Beth Asquith and Gayle Balkow, Human Resources

The Landscape Services Team, Estates and Facilities Management

"I'd like to thank the teams that are responsible for designing, planting and caring for the green spaces on campus, which are looking absolutely beautiful at the moment. I recently had to take my four year old daughter to an appointment at the Children's Hospital. We got off the tram at the University tram stop, and as we were a bit early we took a slow wander to the Hospital, stopping to explore lots of the lovely green spaces on the way. We loved looking at all the different mini gardens, and the wide variety of flowers and plants. Her favourite was the lovely flower meadow in the grassy area outside Coffee Revolution. She said she thought I was very lucky to work somewhere with so many lovely gardens, and I agree!"

– Rebecca Roberts,  Research Services

April 2023

Beatrice Taylor, Campus Services, and the Facilities Management Hub team

"We would like to send a huge thank you to Beatrice Taylor and the FM Hub team for their support of the Music for the Arts Tower event on March 17th. Their advice and help in booking in engineers, health and safety and porter-ing support was invaluable. We highly appreciate their enthusiasm and commitment in supporting a relatively complex and unusual event! We would also like to extend thanks to the Transport and Logistics team for their work over the week of March 13th, where they made possible the delivery of 8 events and rehearsals across campus and beyond."

– Nick Potter, University of Sheffield Concerts

Wayne Windle, Kim Dawson, Damyan Gavrilov and The Wave FAs

"We also extend our huge thanks to Wayne Windle, Kim Dawson, Damyan Gavrilov and The Wave FAs who are always there when we have any questions or in need of advice. Thank you multihooplians !!!"

– Carly, Rashid, Claire and Imogen, The Wave Reception Team

The Wave Facilities Assistant Team

"Shout out to the Facilities Assistant Team in the Wave, the team have provided an excellent and friendly service in ensuring the new occupants of the Wave have settled into their new spaces!! We are all so grateful! Thank you!!"

– Laura Armitage, Social Sciences Faculty Office

Sandra Garrison, IT Services, and the Firth Court Porters

"Huge thanks to Sandra in Room Bookings and the Firth Court Porters who pulled out all the stops to ensure our Science Alive event was such a success. It was a great day that wouldn't have been possible without your support and help. Thank you!"

– Meredyth Hayler, Sheffield Volunteering

March 2023

Gareth and the Wave FAs team

We’d like to give a very big shout out to Gareth and his team of porters from the Wave for their help this week in making our office moves within the Health Sciences School go very smoothly in what was a mammoth task.  Nothing was too much trouble for them all, they were all very helpful and willing to go the extra mile to help us.  We couldn’t have done it without them.  We are all very grateful for their help.  Thank you.

We would also like to give another big shout out to Dylan Caffell and his team in MED-IT for all their help this week with our office moves in the Health Sciences School.  They were super efficient in getting all our IT equipment back up and running ensuring minimum disruption to all concerned.  We could not have done the move without them.

Caroline Potts, Admissions Team Leader, Health Sciences School