Mr. Larry James Edwards

Custodial Manager, Lamar University

15 Year Service Award Winner

Began Working in 2003

‘My wife graduated from Lamar in 1987 or 1988. I have been working in Maintenance for years. After Adele and I got married, I was working for Walmart and was a maintenance supervisor or custodial manager. I started to have vision problems. I was unable to drive. So, I became visually impaired or legally blind. It is a blessing. God is good. I applied to Lamar University, back in 2003 for a simple custodian job. It was a God-sent thing.  I have been here 18-19 years. I have worked my way from custodian to department head. Lamar has been a blessing. It has given me all the tools I needed to work with as a visually impaired person.  They just supported me 100%. It is a great institution to work for, especially for people who are struggling and have disabilities. When I came to Lamar, they didn’t look at my handicap, they looked at me.’

‘During my time here, I gained a lot of friends. I am also a minister, made lifetime friends. I have been through a lot of hurricanes, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Rita. We just went through the pandemic. It was a challenge to the University and all its employees. During the hurricanes, several people were displaced. So, we were working with a limited group of people. We had to come in and make sure the campus was secure for the workers. We had to come in because we are considered essential employees.

‘During the pandemic we changed our whole custodial program around. We went through a color code system. It’s a vital system for everybody involved. We had to clean or wipe with certain colors. We used red mops and red rags only for cleaning contaminated areas. The blue mops and blue rags are used for cleaning general areas. No one should see a red mop or red rag cleaning places that is not contaminated. We had to keep infections and cross-contamination down. We went to a program through S.T. Johnson. I found it on the internet. It has been a tremendous help.  It helped us save money on chemicals, just making it much easier, and keeping everybody safe.’ 

‘One of my only regrets is I wish I could do more for my employees, because my people are at the bottom end of the pay scale. It will change. As they say, it may not be when you want it, but it is always on time.’