Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Tennant Company Awards Grand Prize in "Custodians Are Key" Contest

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 07/06/20

Tennant Company, a leader in the cleaning industry, announced the grand prize winner in their inaugural “Custodians Are Key” contest. The contest launched in September and recognizes the work of K-12 custodians around the country. Kris Kantor of Hayes Elementary in Lakewood, Ohio is the grand prize winner and will receive a prize valued $5,000, while his school receives $10,000.

The 8-month long award program recognized 12 finalists chosen from more than 2,000 nominations from across the U.S. A committee of judges selected finalists and the winner based on the quality of the nomination and the impact the custodian makes on their school.

“We had so many amazing nominees for this contest, which made it challenging to whittle down to 12 finalists, much less identify a single person to win the grand prize. Kris Kantor’s clear devotion to students and staff is what gave him the edge.” said Lisa Hrpcek, Channel Marketing Manager, Tennant Company.  “There’s never been a more important time to herald the important work these heroes like Kris and the other nominees undertake for our schools.”

Kantor was nominated by school health aide Maureen Yantek. He’s described as “fastidious about organization and cleanliness” and makes an effort to learn everyone’s name at his school. Kantor created a program called “Kids with Kantor” where he works with students on special projects once a week during his lunch hour, building bird houses and decorative boxes while teaching kids about safety, tool use and teamwork.

“Kris lives by the motto that he has painted outside his office: ‘work smarter not harder.’” Yantek said. “This enables him to get his regular job duties completed efficiently and effectively, which leaves him time to engage with others. What truly sets Kris apart is the respect and kindness he shows to all students, faculty, and staff.”

The second annual “Custodians Are Key” will kick off September 15, 2020. Find out how to nominate a custodian at tennantco.com/custodian.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • Colorado School District Breaks Ground on Unified PK–12 Campus

    The Haxtun School District No. Re-2J in Haxtun, Colo., recently announced that ground has been broken on a renovation/addition project that will unite its two schools, Haxtun Elementary and Haxtun Jr/Sr High School, according to a news release.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Montclair State University Starts Construction on $120M STEM Building

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $120-million Interdisciplinary Science Building, according to university news. The university partnered with HoK Architects for the project’s design, and it’s scheduled to open in time for the 2028–29 academic year.