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DFWAPPA: The
Creation
of
an
APPA
Metroplex
Chapter
Volume 17 Number 1; January/February 2001
by
Kevin
Folsom
Kevin
Folsom
is
director
of
facilities
&
plant
operations
at
Dallas
Theological
Seminary
in
Dallas,
Texas.
He
can
be
reached
at
bkfolsom@hotmail.com.
I
joined
APPA
in
1994
with
high
hopes
of
learning
and
networking
with
peers
from
educational
institutions
all
over
the
world.
Charlie
Jenkins
was
the
APPA
President
at
the
time,
and
I
was
impressed
with
the
message
that
he
conveyed.
In
addition,
the
association
promised
training
and
useful
publications.
As a
new
member,
I
began
researching
methods
for
making
contact
with
other
members.
The
Internet
was
a
new
method
of
communication
for
APPA,
and
I
could
not
locate
the
information
I
was
searching
for
there.
I
was
especially
seeking
a
local
chapter.
Since
there
was
a
large
number
of
educational
institutions
located
in
the
Dallas-Fort
Worth
area,
I
thought
surely
there
was
one.
My
research
proved
futile.
The
next
four
years
consisted
of
attending
APPA
international
educational
conferences,
CAPPA
regional,
and
TAPPA
state
meetings.
In
addition,
I
was
able
to
gain
some
of
the
richest
knowledge
and
experience
than
I
could
have
ever
imagined
from
the
APPA
Institute
for
Facilities
Management.
I
was
impressed
with
the
APPA
organization
and
learned
to
appreciate
my
job/ministry
at
Dallas
Theological
Seminary
more
than
ever.
During
the
last
session
of
the
Institute
for
Facilities
Management,
I
stopped
by
to
tell
the
APPA
staff
goodbye
and
thanked
them
for
making
the
training
possible.
Andria
Krug
asked
me
what
I
was
going
to
do
next.
I
responded
without
a
doubt,
"I’m
going
to
start
a
Dallas-Fort
Worth
chapter
of
APPA."
Even
though
I
was
able
to
make
wonderful
friendships,
which
I
still
maintain
today,
and
gain
outstanding
knowledge
and
wisdom,
I
was
still
missing
something.
I
wanted
to
be
able
to
share
information
regarding
contractors
and
suppliers
that
were
being
successfully
used
by
other
institutions
in
my
area,
and
I
wanted
to
share
successes
and
failures
in
roofing,
waterproofing,
landscaping
materials,
and
other
issues
in
my
particular
climate.
A
week
after
returning
from
the
Institute,
I
composed
an
e-mail
message
to
be
sent
out
to
all
APPA
members
in
the
DFW
area.
Realizing
how
much
information
a
facilities
manager
can
be
inundated
with,
I
tried
to
be
brief
but
include
as
much
of
my
dream
as I
could.
Unfortunately,
I
received
only
one
response,
and
this
was
from
a
person
stating
that
he
was
too
busy.
My
next
strategy
was
to
continue
attending
APPA
meetings
to
meet
people
specifically
in
my
area
and
to
help
them
understand
the
benefits
of a
local
chapter.
A
few
months
later,
I
was
attending
a
Texas
APPA
meeting
when
a
drawing
was
being
held
for
prizes
during
the
general
session. They
held
up a
small
barbeque
grill
and
called
out
my
name.
When
I
turned
around
after
receiving
my
prize,
there
were
four
people
sitting
close
to
my
table
waiving
and
pointing
at
me.
As I
got
closer,
I
could
hear
them
saying,
"Hey,
we
want
to
talk
to
you."
I
sat
down,
and
they
leaned
over
and
said,
"Aren’t
you
the
guy
who
wanted
to
start
a DFWAPPA
chapter?"
I
confirmed,
and
they
said,
"Great!
Let’s
do
it.
We
want
in."
We
introduced
ourselves
and
exchanged
contact
information.
The
group
consisted
of
Art
Sykes
with
Eastfield
College,
Tim
Leitch
with
Southwestern
Baptist
Theological
Seminary,
John
Russell
with
the
University
of
Dallas,
and
Pat
Howell
who
was
with
Texas
Wesleyan
University
at
the
time.
Pat
is
now
with
the
University
of
Texas
Health
and
Science
Center
in
Fort
Worth.
John
Hughling at Northlake Community College hosted the last
quarterly meeting on November 2, 2000. We had a total of 22
attendees. We currently have 16 educational institution
members, 20 business partners, and have had over 5,000 views
of the website since April 2000.
It
is rewarding to see the growth of the organization. The
members share the excitement and realize their contribution
as they share information on a regular basis. The membership
is too numerous to list, but the DFWAPPA developmental
progress can be seen at the Meetings/Meeting Photos link on
www.dfwappa.org.
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