Regional Roundup

APPA comprises six regions: CAPPA, ERAPPA, MAPPA, PCAPPA, RMA, and SRAPPA. Each region holds an annual meeting in the fall that provides institutional members with professional development opportunities and business partners a chance to engage with members on various levels. Following are conference reports from each region. Learn more about APPA’s regions and chapters.

Luis Morales, University of Texas at El Paso
[email protected]
cappedu.com

Greetings from Far West Texas! Here’s an update from CAPPA:

CAPPA is moving quickly to fill vacant committee chairs and their committees to align with the APPA and CAPPA mission.
CAPPA is moving forward with promoting membership to many dormant institutions that used to belong to APPA. As part of that initiative, our Membership VP, Gabe Hampton, from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, is engaged in improving our website, social media presence, and newsletter.
CAPPA’s PD committee, led by Ben Boslaugh from Missouri State University, is very busy framing training that will have relevance and value.
The CAPPA fall conference will take place at the University of Oklahoma. The board decided to offer a mini-conference in 2025 that will concentrate on energy and utilities. It will include focused “hands-on” campus tours of the OU infrastructure, and the Business Partners will have opportunities for close interaction with institutional members.
CAPPA is also starting to plan its 2026 fall conference at Missouri State University in Springfield, and looking ahead in our leadership succession, as well as beginning a mentoring program for potential new leaders of CAPPA.
CAPPA’s mid-year meeting will be held immediately after the APPA spring conference in New Orleans. See you there!

Regards
Louie Morales
CAPPA President 2024-25

Jessica Abbott, Wolcott Public Schools
[email protected]
erappa.org

ERAPPA Midyear Meeting

Every year, the ERAPPA Board and ERAPPA Committee members gather in March for the Midyear Meeting at the same site that our annual conference will be held at to get a preview of what to look forward to in the fall.

For 2025, that location is the iconic Hard Rock Café Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At the Midyear Meeting, our Member and Community Engagement Committee, Technology & Communications Committee, Professional Development Committee, Chapter Development Committee, Annual Meetings Committee, and Business Partners Committee gather to discuss chapter and regional initiatives and participate in joint committee meetings. This year, there is also a scheduled strategic planning session to align with APPA’s upcoming new strategic plan, and there will also be a professional development session that will be led by Michelle Frederick.

Left: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, Site of ERAPPA 2025. Right: View of the Steel Pier from the Hard Rock Hotel.

ERAPPA 2025 Sponsorships

Sponsorship opportunities for ERAPPA 2025 are currently open! With 500 – 600 industry professionals in attendance, ERAPPA 2025 is not just a conference – it’s a strategic opportunity to showcase your commitment to the educational facilities management community. ERAPPA isn’t just about exhibiting, it is about connecting. Sponsorship packages include conference registrations, granting you access to educational sessions and networking events. This is a great chance to interact with institutional attendees and business partners in meaningful ways beyond the exhibition floor. ERAPPA offers unparalleled opportunities to expand your network; by meeting managers, directors, vice presidents, and other decision-makers in the field of educational facilities management. ERAPPA’s rotational format ensures localized support from regional chapters, making it a unique blend of diverse institutions from across Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States.

Click here to learn more about available sponsorship opportunities.

ERAPPA Awards

Every year at the June Board Meeting, the ERAPPA Board reviews nominations for the various ERAPPA awards and selects the well-deserving recipients. Nominations are due to the ERAPPA President-Elect by June 1st and the nomination forms can be found in the Member Area on the ERAPPA website. Descriptions of the awards that nominations can be submitted for are listed below and previous recipients can be found on the ERAPPA website.

Rising Star Award – The Rising Star Award is designed to encourage further participation in ERAPPA among those who have already made significant contributions in the region or chapters.

Chapter Champion Award – The Chapter Champion Award serves as a distinguished acknowledgment, aiming to honor an individual or an institution that has demonstrated exceptional dedication and contribution to the organization across various facets. This esteemed recognition underscores their active involvement and unwavering support at every level within the ERAPPA community. Annually bestowed, the award recipient is carefully selected from a pool of deserving nominees put forth by the Chapter Presidents. Through this recognition, ERAPPA celebrates those who have consistently exemplified commitment and enthusiasm in advancing the mission and goals of the organization, thereby fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration.

Norman H. Bedell Award – ERAPPA’s most prestigious award, the Norman H. Bedell Award was created in 1996 by ERAPPA to recognize the contributions of Norman H. Bedell, who served APPA, ERAPPA, and KAPPA as International Vice-President for Professional Affairs, Regional Officer and President, and Chapter Founder and Treasurer. Norman demonstrated a unique blend of dedication and tenacity coupled with a sincere love for and belief in people. This award memorializes his contributions by recognizing another member who has served with distinction and exemplifies the leadership qualities of the late Norman H. Bedell.

Jessica Abbott is director of facilities for Wolcott Schools in Wolcott, CT, and regional director for ERAPPA. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Ally Kosur, Illinois State University
[email protected]
mappa.appa.com

Elevating Student Experience Through Food Security

One of the many ways my institution, Illinois State University, supports student experience is through a program called Redbird Fresh Market. This program was designed by students for students to ensure low-cost, high-quality fresh produce access, especially for those living off-campus. This program was made possible through research conducted by our very own College of Business, Innovative Consulting Community course. Participants in the program register each semester and pay a fee ($64 for the program duration – only $8/week!) for 8 weeks of fresh produce – with a short pause in the middle of the semester. Produce items are purchased in bulk to keep the participation in this program low cost to accommodate student budgets. While this program was designed for student access to fresh food, faculty and staff may also participate in the program.

One of the best features of this program is the sponsorship opportunity. Faculty, staff or community members may choose to sponsor a student to participate in the program by paying the fee on their behalf. The student will have the fresh produce without the financial requirement–this option is possible whether the sponsor has a student in mind or not. When the sponsor does not have a student, the program helps identify students who may benefit from this program. Students may request sponsorship through a form on the same page containing all the other program details.

Weekly bag pick-up occurs on Fridays in our Bone Student Center, and each bag contains 8-10 produce items, typically split evenly between fruits and vegetables. Among the details on the program page is a direct link to a Food & Drug Administration article sharing tips and tricks for selecting produce, washing thoroughly and safely, recommended practices for food storage, and even foodborne illness signs, symptoms & treatment recommendations. This additional resource ensures that students are taking proper care of the produce to get the maximum benefit out of each week and prevent the potential of spoilage.

Christopher McConnell, University of Alaska
[email protected]
pcappa.org

Exciting Developments and Upcoming Events

Welcome to SoCalAPPA

We are thrilled to announce the formation of the Southern California Chapter of PCAPPA (SoCalAPPA). This new chapter represents institutions across Southern California, both public and private, and aligns with APPA’s mission of leadership in educational facilities.

Appointment of Kim Case-Nichols

Please join us in congratulating Kim Case-Nichols on her appointment as an At-Large member of the APPA Board. Kim will prioritize the development of a Business Partner Committee to strengthen connections between APPA and its business partner members. In addition to her new role, Kim will continue serving as PCAPPA’s Conference Chair.

Engaging Opportunities and Events

PCAPPA is dedicated to providing engaging opportunities throughout the year, including webinars and events. Stay informed about the latest news and updates by following us on social media or visiting our website at https://www.pcappa.org/.

2025 Regional Conference

PCAPPA is making consistent progress on our 2025 regional conference, scheduled to be held in San Jose, California. The conference, themed “Shaping the Future: Innovations in Sustainability & Resilience,” will address the pressing challenges faced by higher education institutions, with a particular focus on environmental, financial, and operational sustainability.

Upcoming Spring Conference

Join the PCAPPA Board at APPA’s Spring Conference in New Orleans from April 9-11. Following the conference, PCAPPA will host our Spring Board Meeting on April 12-13. If you are in New Orleans, we would love to connect with you.
For more information and to stay updated on our activities, please visit our website or follow us on social media.

Timm Lyons, Brigham Young University—Idaho
[email protected]
rma.appa.org

Happy New Year from Rocky Mountain APPA!

As we begin this new year, we would like to discuss what many of our campuses experience at this season – COLD! Many of you deal with varying degrees of winter – as I write, we in southeast Idaho are just emerging from -20 degrees Fahrenheit temps – from chilly to just plain frigid. And some of you are on the other end of the spectrum, where you must deal with humidity, heat, and bugs! Regardless of where you live and work, weather plays an important – or shall we say “impactful” – role in our everyday lives.

Kyle Williams, Managing Director of University Operations at Brigham Young University – Idaho, says there are important lessons to learn from the cold: “Cold always leads you to where you are most vulnerable”. Just this month, an indoor pipe froze and burst on our campus. The culprit? A damper froze in the open position when the temperature dropped to the -20 degrees mentioned above. We learned in this situation that there were two MVPs (Most Vulnerable Points) in that heating water system, one of which wasn’t even a part of that system – the actuator on the HVAC damper that froze open. The other was a brass drain valve, the smallest component in the system (made of a softer metal) that needed only a short time at that temp to freeze and burst. Of course, you don’t find out until things warm up a bit and then you have water everywhere!

For those of you who don’t have the privilege of experiencing these situations, winter brings many other “opportunities”. Vehicle batteries struggle in extreme cold, especially if they aren’t used for an extended period, requiring someone to plug them in or move them indoors. When it snows, especially in the Mountain West, where RMA resides, there must be a place to dump all that white stuff to keep the roads clear. Not to mention the cost of purchasing and maintaining snow removal equipment and the staffing needed to move it. You would also be surprised at how much it costs to supply the campus with salt in the winter.

Speaking of melting snow, northern climes have what is called the “freeze-thaw cycle,” which is exactly what it sounds like—the weather warms up after a cold spell or snow, and the snow melts…then freezes again. This plays havoc with sidewalks and roads, as water seeks the lowest point, which is often cracks or lines in cement and asphalt. You can imagine the implications of this happening frequently each winter season, in addition to the ice hazards that form.

Now, it may seem as if we are focusing on the negative aspects of winter on campus, but as mentioned, these instances simply present us with opportunities to learn and adapt while also killing off lots of dangerous bugs! One of the ways we mitigate the effects of cold weather is insulation. You can super-insulate walls, roofs, and even glass (which provides opportunities to get to know some of our Business Partners better!). As alluded to earlier, salt and chemicals are used to lower the melting point of snow and ice. Putting susceptible systems below the frost level is a must (here in Idaho, it’s almost three feet).

The biggest factor, though, is knowledge. For instance, training for working in the cold and knowing that exposed skin freezes surprisingly quickly when it’s below zero (I’m always amazed when I see students walking around in t-shirts in the winter). Or how to maintain and protect equipment from the cold. Or which salt mixture works best but doesn’t get tracked in the buildings or damage the foliage and grass.

All of this takes cooperation – from the different Facilities personnel, from students, and from the University community at large. And by and large, we all have that. One of the greatest blessings of working in Facilities is the people. If you want to see how great Facilities people are, just present them with a disaster on campus. I bet we could fill many, many pages with the stories of heroics and people helping each other and getting things done when disaster hits.

As knowledge is key, here is a shameless plug for APPA and your local regions: APPA and its regions are all about producing, gaining, and sharing knowledge. So please take advantage of the wealth of knowledge available to us through APPA by getting involved. Conferences and workshops are a great opportunity to learn what others in the profession are up to. Of course, APPA has wonderful training programs like Supervisor’s Toolkit and the Leadership Academy. And there are often positions and committees at the local and national level that need good people like you to fill them.

RMA wishes you a safe, prosperous and warm New Year!

Timm Lyons is the university operations systems coordinator at Brigham Young University–Idaho and serves the RMA as the communications coordinator. He can be reached at [email protected].

Solomon Franklin, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
[email protected]
srappa.org

SRAPPA is one of six (6) regions within the APPA International Association. SRAPPA currently includes members from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and various Mexican territories: Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana, Tabasco, and Yucatan.

SRAPPA Regional Roundup – Feb 2025

APPA Events

Regional Roundup

CAPPA–Central Region

ERAPPA–Eastern Region

ERAPPA Midyear Meeting

ERAPPA 2025 Sponsorships

ERAPPA Awards

MAPPA–Midwest Region

Elevating Student Experience Through Food Security

Mark Your Calendars:

Suggestions or Ideas?

PCAPPA–Pacific Coast Region