Solon, Ohio—Cliff Gustafson, an account executive for Tarkett North America, was recognized at the Minnesota Educational Facilities Management Professionals Association’s (MASMS) annual conference last month with the 2023 Outstanding Business Contributor Award. The award acknowledges Gustafson’s outstanding dedication and commitment to educational facilities management.
“It meant a great deal to know that I have made a difference to this organization,” Gustafson said. “I have looked at my involvement in MASMS as a way that I can further the organization’s mission in promoting excellence in the operation and care of educational facilities.”
As an account executive, Gustafson serves as a consultant to facilities staff, helping them find flooring solutions specific to each space within a school’s environment. A big part of his job is, coincidentally, education.
“Tarkett as a whole dedicates a lot of time to educating others on the importance of flooring when it comes to enhancing the learning environments for staff and students,” Gustafson said. “We’re helping people recognize how flooring impacts not only the facility’s return on investment, maintenance and use of healthy materials but also variables like acoustics, sensory levels and indoor air quality.”
One of Tarkett’s more recent initiatives in this regard is its annual Healthy Building Summit, led by Jonathan Stanley, the company’s education segment director. The summit brings together key personnel across disciplines within the education sector to create a dialogue around the biggest challenges in designing and maintaining healthy schools and universities. This year’s gathering, which focused specifically on facility maintenance, “recreated the standard” for how people see flooring in those challenges, Stanley said.
MASMS is likewise committed to promoting excellence in the operation and care of educational facilities and facilities management. The group consists of more than 900 individuals in facilities, grounds, health and safety and operations departments for Minnesota K-12 and higher education organizations.