The Ginn Group takes pride in being a Veteran-owned business, so we are excited to be working with Camp Southern Ground. This non-profit organization is located on 400 acres in Fayetteville, GA and is committed to helping veterans find their new mission in life. We spoke to Micheal Verne Jackson, the Facilities Manager at Camp Southern Ground and the person responsible for maintaining the world-class facility dedicated to serving youth and veterans, on what this project means to both organizations and how his role at The Ginn Group will help support Camp Southern Ground’s mission.
As part of supporting the facilities management at Camp Southern Ground, Mr. Jackson’s role includes problem-solving maintenance issues and HVAC and commercial refrigeration issues. In this role, he manages junior staff in maintaining equipment and supervises contractors as they provide Camp Southern Ground with repairs and install new equipment.
One of the most impactful responsibilities in Mr. Jackson’s role is finding ways to reduce vendor dependency, which has resulted in significant savings for Camp Southern Ground in irrigation and walk-in cooler systems. Although Mr. Jackson works on the grounds, he often collaborates with Darnell Walker, who oversees Business Development and Facilities Support at The Ginn Group, Inc., to develop systems that allow the maintenance team to identify, track, and resolve problems quickly and efficiently.
In the short time since embarking on this partnership, Camp Southern Ground has become more self-sufficient. The goal was to be less reliant on third-party contractors, and this has happened with the implementation of systems and processes. We encourage all staff to talk to our facilities management instead of contractors to streamline the process and solve most issues in-house. Mr. Jackson describes the impact this system has had as, “…building a culture of self-sufficiency and creative thinking.”.
This project has not only allowed us to support an organization and cause we hold very closely to our hearts, helping and supporting veterans, but has allowed us to grow within the civilian market. Mr. Jackson states, “For the Ginn Group, my role is just the beginning of the company’s plans to offer facilities management services to a variety of clients.”
We are excited to be working with Camp Southern Ground and eager to see what this partnership holds in the future!
