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Director of Maintenance for Hamblen County Schools Jeff Seay was named Physical Plant Director of the Year at the Tennessee School Plant Managers Association (TSPMA) Conference.

In 1978, school plant managers and other supervisory personnel from across the state of Tennessee were invited to attend the fifth annual SSPMA convention in Gatlinburg.

During this conference, approximately 40 Tennesseans under the leadership of Dr. Nile McCrary organized and chartered the Tennessee School Plant Management Association on May 4, 1978.

Throughout its existence, TSPMA has held an annual conference to train and to provide new technology to school plant managers.

Also at the conference the organization gives out three awards to members who have shown outstanding growth over the year.

Out of more than 130 public school systems in the state, Seay was chosen as the director of the year for his success at Hamblen County Schools.

“Trane has been working with the Hamblen County School System for over 25 years, and our team has gotten to know Jeff Seay very well over the past two decades.” Nancy McBee, Business Develop Manager for Trane Technologies. “The way that Jeff runs the Maintenance and Operations Team is at a much more professional level than most public-school systems across the state.”

McBee went through the numerous policies Seay has implemented and the skills and knowledge he possesses that makes him so successful.

“Simple things like Jeff instituting a uniform program for all of his employees elevates their appearance to staff, students and parents,” McBee said.

“Jeff has high expectations of his employees and department. He is also extremely knowledgeable in all areas of building systems and insists that his crews continue expanding their system knowledge as well. He is a major asset to the Hamblen County School System.

“It comes as no surprise that the Tennessee School Plant Manager Association has selected Jeff as the Physical Plant Manager of the Year.”

Hamblen County Superintendent of School Arnie Bunch commended Seay for his dedication to the school system and congratulated him for his achievement.

“Jeff getting this award is truly fantastic,” Bunch said. “It’s a great reflection of his professionalism and his dedication to helping the district create a great learning environment for our students and our faculty.”

“The average age for our facilities is about 50 plus years and it takes a lot of hard to manage the force and make sure these schools are ready for our kids; him winning this award is great recognition for how serious he takes that and how professional he works to get it done.”