Local Facilities Director Receives Global Credentials

MADISON COUNTY– Riverbend Head Start Facilities and Transportation Director Jim Severine recently received his Facility Management Professional (FMP) designation from the International Facility Management Association. Severine’s numerous years of experience has enabled him to develop strategies and evaluations of financial return to maintain, update and renovate six safe and well-kept head start program facility locations across Madison County, Illinois.

The FMP credentials has expanded his depth of knowledge in a variety of other areas critical to operating and managing all of the organization’s facilities and bus depot. Since Severine started with the organization eight years ago, he’s contributed to the bottom line not only by reducing facility costs but also by improving the productivity, revenue generating capacity and image of the entire organization.

One of Jim’s top priorities is safety. He’s constantly developing ideas and implementing strategies to keep the children and staff of Riverbend Head Start and Family Services safe and secure. On an annual basis, Jim participates in walk throughs at each of the six center sites and administrative office with Paul Edler, Senior Safety and Health Consultant of Zenith, the agency’s workmen compensation broker to ensure each site is on target to prevent trips, falls and other common mishaps in the workplace. During the 2017-2018 program year, Jim’s walk through, led to the installment of a gated area in the front of their Essic Robinson Early Child Development Head Start Center located in Alton. Each day, staff and children wait in this area before loading on the buses up to transport children back home safely.

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In the 2018- 2019 program year, Jim incorporated additional safety measures at the agency’s Head Start Center located in Bethalto by installing fencing around children’s playground and huge rocks to prevent any distracted driving, crashes and fatalities among the children and staff inside the perimeters of the building grounds. With a number of day to day operations, annual projects and daily interactions, he leads a small maintenance team that ensures projects are started and completed in a timely manner.

Some of the facilities’ projects include designing and building additional classrooms to meet Head Start’s performance standards and state licensing requirements, new office space in addition to managing vendor and contractor relationships for playground installation, fencing, heating and cooling, and bus camera security. In addition, Jim manages a fleet of buses that transport over 700 children to school and home, five days a week as well as agency vans that are used by family advocates during home visits and to support parent transportation needs including health and dental appointments.

When Jim finds time, he also tends to gardening in the center gardens. Last year, Jim expanded the Alton center garden for a heartier harvest of fresh vegetables and fruits as a part of the center’s learning curriculum for parents and children. The garden’s produce helps to reduce food scarcity and is also packaged and made available for enrolled families to prepare healthier meals at home.

Currently, Severine is working with Bill Worth of Counter Measure Consulting Group to implement a new intruder policy and procedure plan at each center facility before school begins in August.

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