Over the past three years there have been a number of changes to the supervisory positions in the physical plant at Blackburn College. The end of February marked the retirement of New Construction (New Con) Supervisor Michael Slightom and on Friday, March 24, Jack Bettis resigned from his position as Groundskeeping, Motor Pool and Event Support supervisor. After four years of service, Bettis has decided to begin a new chapter in his life as he will return to the familiar trade of carpentry, which he did prior to his employment at Blackburn.
In December of 2012, Bettis was hired on part-time in New Con to supervise student workers as they installed the windows and ceilings in Jewell Hall. After two years with New Con he accepted his current full-time position in 2014. Bettis remarked, “Things seem to come full circle. As an independent contractor from 1980 to 1989, my partner and I worked on a lot of projects here at Blackburn.” He explained that he enjoyed working on projects with Blackburn students and hoped that one day he would be able to do so again. A little more than a decade later he began working with New Con and reported that “I couldn’t be happier with the opportunity that was presented to me.”
Bettis reflected on his time at Blackburn and reported, “It’s had its challenges but they’re greatly overshadowed by the rewards. The outstanding young women and men that I’ve met during this four years [has] renewed my confidence in the future.”
Students have come to know Bettis as an easy-going individual that always has a smile on his face. Junior history major Thomas Barksdale said, “He was always fun to be around. He would come out and work with us and told jokes … Jack was cool. He’s one of my favorite supervisors.”
Bettis shared thoughts on his immediate future and said, “I’m excited about it. I’ll have a small business, on my own, doing some carpentry work.” He also stated that he will be selective about the projects he chooses to accept and that hopefully it will “free up a little more time for hunting and fishing.”