The second full week of September is celebrated each year as International Housekeepers and Environmental Services Week across the nation. This year, UMB’s department of Environmental Services (EVS) celebrated from Monday, September 11 to Friday, September 15 with a series of events and activities for the more than 200 employees who provide essential services to keep the UMB campus clean and safe.

On Monday, EVS staff kicked off the week by hearing a presentation from motivational keynote speaker Ty Howard about teamwork, which was a central theme for this year’s EVS Appreciation Week. Howard spoke about the importance of effective communication, working with passion, and team building.

Each team within EVS spent time on Tuesday decorating a door in one of the buildings they service. The same set of supplies and instructions were given to each team, but otherwise, the staff let their creativity flow to build door art installations that represented the theme of teamwork.

At the mid-week point on Wednesday, the EVS team celebrated each team member’s years of service, from 1 month to over 35 years at UMB. EVS Superlatives were also awarded, including “Most Funny,” “Most Dependable,” and “Most Spirited.”

Thursday aligned with the UMB Night at Oriole Park, so EVS celebrated with Orioles Spirit Day. Staff were encouraged to wear Orioles gear and participated in manager-led team building activities with their individual teams. Thursday was also the culmination of a 3-week long friendly competition to see which EVS team could collect the most bottle caps by weight. The bottle caps collected will be used for a recycled art project for the newly opened UMB Recycling Center. The entire EVS department collected over 110 pounds of bottle caps, with Mary Sterrett’s School of Medicine Evening Shift Team collecting the most at over 31 pounds of plastic bottle caps.

The week culminated on Friday with an afternoon Block Party on the HSFRIII Lawn with snacks, music, and games. The winners of Tuesday’s Decorate the Door activity were also announced – Anthony Anderson’s team which includes the School of Law, School of Social Work, Maryland Bar Center, 108 N Greene, 100 N Greene, and Maryland Psychiatric Research Center.

Congratulations to the EVS Events Committee and EVS Management Team for an excellent week of team-building, collaboration, and celebration!