The responsibilities of Facilities Maintenance Department extend across the 42-acre Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon campus. Their responsibilities include: maintaining the Sisters Motherhouse and Villa, Valley Catholic School (three school buildings, Athletic Center, athletic fields, Field House, grandstand, press box, covered play area and swimming pool), Maryville (skilled nursing and memory care), the maintenance warehouse and shop, four residential houses, 11 parking areas – plus two satellite locations on the Oregon Coast. They’re responsible for plumbing, painting, carpentry, electrical and mechanical systems, exterior and interior lighting, flooring, ceilings, walls, windows, roofs, gutters, doors, locks, pumps, motors, small engines, motor vehicles, playground equipment, irrigation systems, signs, fire alarms and extinguishers, kitchen equipment, laundry, furniture, office equipment, water heaters, boilers, HVAC, fences, grounds work, tree cutting, pressure washing, tools and parts inventory – and more. They oversee construction projects, equipment testing and recordkeeping. They ensure compliance with regulations, working with city and state fire marshals, state elevator inspectors, the Washington County Health Department, City of Beaverton and Clean Water Services. Because they are so often asked to help move items across the campus, they will tell you that they are also “asset relocation specialists.”

The Finance Department, in collaboration with campus leaders, oversees the financial efficiencies of the campus. From development and stewarding of the budget to the preparation of monthly and annual financial statements, the Finance Department ensures consistency, accuracy and strong financial accounting procedures and internal controls. They serve as liaisons to our auditors and investing consultants, as well as playing an integral role in strategic planning.

The Human Resources Department seeks to foster a positive, professional employment environment across the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon campus. Their responsibilities include the development and maintenance of HR programs, compliance activities, recruitment/selection/orientation processes and pay practices. The SSMO Ministries HR Department administers employee insurance and retirement programs, and develops/updates employee handbooks. They also assist management in promoting wellness, as well as health and safety practices. They have a significant role in supporting supervisors to proactively address employee issues and concerns as they arise.

In the past five years, the number of technology devices on campus has doubled, jumping to more than 3,000. Today, the campus is home to 525 computers, 135 laptops, 175 printers/copiers/fax machines, 510 phones, 550 campus iPads (including those for students at Valley Catholic School), 105 security cameras, 101 secure doors and over 1,000 simultaneous wireless devices on any given business day. Our campus utilizes several information security technologies and a secure high-availability wireless network with 192 wireless access points across most of our 42 acres. The campus has 75 servers across three generator-backed server rooms with redundant cooling. The campus also has a high-availability firewall cluster that hosts four high speed internet connections to four different ISPs delivered via fiber entering the property in different locations.

The communications and marketing team is responsible for marketing, media relations, online presence (social media and web), photography and videography – as well as the print and electronic materials that support of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon campus. Their responsibilities including Spirit magazine (issued twice annually) and three monthly electronic newsletters: Maryville Today, VC View, and A View from the Dome. They oversee five campus websites, three Facebook pages, two Twitter accounts, and the campus presence on Instagram, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn. Their honors include a 2015 Spotlight Award for excellence from the Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for their work in support of Valley Catholic School and a 2017 Spotlight Award for the team’s work on an issue of Spirit magazine devoted solely to the history of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon. They have received multiple honors from the Hermes Creative Awards, which showcase “the messengers and creators of traditional and emerging media.” Team members received one platinum award, two gold awards and an honorable mention for their work in publications, graphic design and video (2016) and two platinum awards, three gold awards and two honorable mentions for their work in publications, graphic design, writing and video (2017). Their work on Spirit magazine has also been honored by the MarCom Awards, an international competition for marketing and communication professionals, earning a platinum award (2016) and a gold award (2017).

Strategic planning and oversight for the SSMO Ministries Corporation leadership includes: board recruitment and orientation, employment (hiring, supervision, professional development, evaluation), facilities (building usage, security), fiscal responsibility (budget, billing, investments), health and safety, legal (leases, agreements, record retention), mission effectiveness, policies and procedures, strategic plans (development and ongoing review), and external partnerships. The SSMO Ministries Corporation Leadership Team meets as a group each week. In addition, the SSMO Ministries Corporation president holds individual weekly meetings with the leaders of Maryville, Valley Catholic, the SSMO Foundation and each department in the SSMO Ministries Corporation. The SSMO Ministries Corporation Board of Directors meets six to seven times each year, usually every other month.