Master of maintenance

Chad Smith starts each work day by making a to-do list. If at the end of the day he has crossed off half of that list, he feels like it was a good day.

Smith joined the Whitefish School District six months ago as maintenance supervisor. His first day on the job came in the middle of the massive high school construction project, which followed the subsequent move into the facility.

“I knew if I could survive this summer, I can survive anything,” he said with a smile. “And it hasn’t slowed down since.”

Smith previously worked in the maintenance department for Flathead County, and before that at Plum Creek. He grew up in Kalispell and spent time in Helena studying carpentry. He and his wife, Jami, have two boys ages 12 and 18 months.

The school board recently presented Smith with its staff recognition award. School board chairman Pat Jarvi said Smith has stepped into the challenges of learning the new high school building, along with becoming familiar with the middle school and Muldown Elementary.

Middle school principal Josh Branstetter said recently Smith backfilled new handicap sidewalk entrances outside the school before even being asked. Branstetter said instead of Johnny-on-the-spot he thinks of him as “Chad-on-the-spot.”

“He has a proactive approach to keeping facilities running smoothly,” he said. “He is always optimistic. He is always looking out for the best interest of the district.”

In a letter to the school board, Whitefish High School Principal Kerry Drown said Smith has a “can-do” attitude and ability to take on the challenges, such as moving into the new school building.

“He has a clear vision of what is going on to properly maintain our facilities,” Drown said. “He has the unique ability to multi-task juggling several large projects at the same time.”

Smith said responding to emergencies and problem-solving are his favorite parts of the job.

“This is the best place I’ve ever worked,” he said. “I like maintenance because I like the variety — one day I’m out mowing the lawn and the next I’m doing construction.”

Muldown principal Linda Whitright praised Smith for looking for the cost-effective solutions, not just putting a bandage on a problem.

“He immediately began to look at the building’s needs and started to prioritize that,” she said.

Smith said as the oldest facility in the district, Muldown has challenges to make sure it is energy efficient. He said it’s important that all building maintenance is done in the most cost-effective manner.

Smith made sure to recycle light fixtures from the old high school building to put into Muldown. When there was dripping faucets at Muldown he fixed them because he knew those drips could add up to a lot of lost water.

“That’s something we always looked at when I was at the county, so I’m used to that,” he said. “But that’s also my personal philosophy — I fix things myself at home. I’m a hands on guy and I like to be out fixing things myself.”