Kahle receives President's Award for Staff Excellence

Pitt-Bradford honored Richard Kahle, facilities director of the Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center, during Honors Convocation on Friday.

Kahle received the President's Award for Staff Excellence from Lawrence Feick, interim president.

“Rich is one of those unsung heroes whose work might be easy to overlook because everything he touches goes smoothly,” Feick said. “We are so pleased to honor him in this way and to shed a little bit of light on all of the behind-the-scenes work he does in one of the most visible buildings on our campus. When I think of Rich, I think of his consistent professionalism and excellence.”

Kahle's supervisor, Athletic Director Bret Butler, nominated him for the award.

Butler explained that Kahle handles not only the details of setting up, running and tearing down athletic events in the Sport and Fitness Center, but also commencement, admissions programs, summer camps, Midnight Madness, Big 30 events, and non-university programs such as the annual Senior Expo and the recent veterans benefits fair.

Additionally, he does the same for events held at the Kessel Athletic Complex and for numerous fun runs, trail walks or tailgate events that happen at the university, including several statewide Little League tournaments.

“His positive fingerprints are on every home athletic event and every requested event in the Sport and Fitness Center and Kessel Athletic Complex,” Butler said.

“He's the first to arrive and the last to leave. Not to mention his mechanical abilities - he saves our facilities management department many hours with his mechanical knowledge and abilities.”

Head tennis coach Susan Schenfield works frequently with Kahle. “Always in the forefront of his mind are the department's and university's vision, values and goals. With his ability to think outside the box, he comes up with innovative solutions that create a more positive and productive place to work.”

Kahle and his wife, Mariann, live in Bradford. Their daughter Lauryn is an athletic training student at Pitt-Bradford, and their daughter Laney is a student at Bradford Area High School.