Down a long, institutional grey corridor, in the bowels of the school, chairs, desks and filing cabinets line the hall, waiting patiently to either be destroyed or fixed. In this hall Larry Stevens, lead custodian for Mt. Hood Community College, keeps his home base.

The ceiling is lined with pipes and on the wall a painted graph tracks natural gas and electric consumption from the years 1978 through 1989. Within these halls, the maintenance staff works diligently behind the scenes to keep the school running smoothly.

Stevens was recently honored for his work at MHCC when President Robert Silverman presented him with an Outstanding Support Staff Award. Stevens jokingly referred to the award as a bribe while standing outside his shared office space, which he equated to a closet.

Stevens is one of three full-time custodians, and is in charge of four or five more part-time employees. They staff the campus seven days a week, with overnight shifts five of those days.

Stevens began working at MHCC in November 1983 but was laid off due to budget cuts a few years later. He was rehired in 1987 when someone retired.

A typical day for the maintenance staff of MHCC is anything but typical. The staff arrives early and unlocks the main building on campus. They organize work orders, and it is Stevens’ job to supervise the other employees to make sure everything gets done. The tasks that to be need completed “vary from day to day,” said Stevens. “A typical day is total mass confusion.”

The staff has a daily schedule that is ever evolving, and they must respond to emergencies as they arise. Monday, Jan. 10 a restroom at the Bruning Center began to overflow, and as Stevens assigned someone to take care of it, he reminded his staff they are “not strapped to this campus.” Whenever there becomes a need, one of the staff members may go to the Bruning Center or the Maywood Campus, taking from the available staff on the main campus.

Stevens takes it all in stride and said, “We have to make sure everybody’s happy.”

Stevens was honored at the Board of Education meeting Jan 12, and was honored once again at the Foundation Board meeting Jan. 26. Despite the fact he is being honored at these events, “I have to set them up,” said Stevens, alluding to the work that goes into preparing rooms for such occasions.

It is not all work though. Stevens’ outside interests include photography. He purchased a digital camera last year and spends his free time taking photos. His favorite subjects include scenery, birds and coastal landscapes. He also likes to go the mall and photograph people. “You can people watch anywhere,” he said.

Stevens is the proud owner of a pair of cats, brother and sister litter mates. “They’re great,” he said.

Stevens also enjoys movies, but isn’t so enthusiastic about television. “Get cable, get 76 channels of nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing really worth watching.”

Stevens likes a variety of movies from comedies to musicals to dramas. “I’m the same way with music, I listen to all of it,” he said. He doesn’t listen to rap though, taking the stance that his parents’ generation thought the same way about rock and roll. “Kids like it, that’s fine.”

Stevens is a light-haired man in his late forties with a wide smile and a jovial attitude. He plans to stay at MHCC until his retirement. “Then what happens, I don’t know, it’s too far down the line,” he said.

Stevens unintentionally offers sound advice to everyone when talking about his work flow; “Don’t make anything in ink. Do it in pencil, you never know when you’re going to have to change your plans. Don’t let anything frustrate you.”

Just then, Stevens’ radio went off announcing that Public Safety had spotted a Gresham police officer on campus. Chuckling, he said, “Gresham P.D. is here. Hide the custodians.”