North Allegheny’s guy is up for national Custodian of the Year.
Mike Heiry has heard the cracks about it being “just” sweeping floors and cleaning toilets. Not that there’s anything wrong with such necessary janitorial work. But he is a head custodian, which means he and his staff of eight other custodians have custody of North Allegheny Intermediate High School — the entire 222,267 square feet of building that’s home on regular school days to about 1,200 ninth and 10th graders and staff.
And he’s darn good at it. Led by its principal, the McCandless school population nominated him for Custodian of the Year, a national title bestowed by Cintas
Corp., and voted him into being one of 10 finalists for whom the public can vote online. The winner gets $10,000 to keep, and the winner’s school gets $5,000 in Cintas and Rubbermaid products and services, plus a $20,000 training package for cleaning professionals on biohazards inthe workplace.
The COVID-19 pandemic should mean more respect for custodians. It’s certainly meant more work for them. On top of all the extra cleaning and sanitizing, they take one day a month just to change new high-density air filters, and daily they have to set up socially distanced places for students to eat lunch in the auditorium and the gymnasium. The displaced young people aren’t as messy as you think, says Mr. Heiry, but then, “If you’re going to be a custodian, you can’t worry about small spills.”
In the meantime, they have to keep up on the regular dusting and cleaning of
computer and other screens, light fixtures, windows, etc., in 100 classrooms, and always be ready for big breakdowns from the boiler room to the roof.
Mr. Heury arrives for his work day by 6 a.m., clocks in at 6:30 a.m., checks any notes from his evening and overnight crews, and then tours the building to make sure everything is running as it should, including the people that he meets, and always with a smile. As his nomination puts it, “Loved for his positive energy and kindness, Mr. Heiry consistently goes out of his way to make sure that students and staff are in a safe and clean environment. ... No task is too big for Mr. Heiry, and that’s what makes him such an essential part of NAI.”
“Whatever they need, that’s what I’m here for,” he says.
“Believe it or not, I haven’t been a custodian for that long,” the 53-year-old says. “I kinda took a different route.”
The Penn Hills native was laid off from his job as a certified welder and manager of a metal fabricating shop. A neighborin Shaler who works as a custodian heard that the North Allegheny was hiring custodians and told him to try it, and he was hired about 4½ yearsago to work at the senior highschool. Two years ago, he moved up and over to the intermediate high school, which was built in 1954. “It’s a fairly big building, and, unfortunately, it’s a fairly old building .” In other words, a potential custodial battle.
Mr. Heiry loves the challenge. And he loves working with the people, something he figures he learned when he used to manage restaurants in the Rax roast beef chain, one of which was where he met his wife of 27 years, Jane. Now their twin sons are 23. Collin is an EEG tech at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and a paramedic, and Camero graduates next month from Robert Morris University with a biomedical engineering degree.
Mr. Heiry was completely surprised by his nomination, especially when he learned that it’s not a district title but a national one. Even if he only gets the runners-up prize of $1,000, that will come in handy for a home renovation project, and if he’s the big winner, including of the supplies for the school, “Trust me, we can always use the extra stuff around here.”
He also thinks the biohazard training would be very interesting. But then, what good custodian wouldn’t?
From now through April 16, the public is encouraged to read about all 10 finalists and vote for their favorite at custodianoftheyear.com.