By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
Maybe a door won’t shut completely. Maybe a chair needs to be assembled. Maybe a large desk needs to be moved to a different office.
When these situations arise, the Puyallup Tribe’s Maintenance Department comes to the rescue. Once a work order is received, it shouldn’t take long for the issue to be resolved.
Puyallup Tribe Director of Maintenance Dave Williams has worked for the Tribe since 1982 and has been in his current role as director since 1996. He said he is proud of the work of his staff members. Lead Maintenance/Groundskeeper Burt Benado has worked in the Tribe’s Maintenance Department for the past 15 years.
“Burt does everything and he is always everywhere. He is great at communicating with his workers,” Williams said. “Everyone learns off of each other and when a new person comes in, they show them what to do and they adapt to whatever needs to be done.”
Benado said his crew is responsible for maintaining 17 buildings throughout the Puyallup Reservation. The staff is tight-knit and often goes to lunch together and engages in friendly banter in their second-floor office in the Tribal Administration building.
“We come here and sit in the office together every morning and we like to joke around and have a good time,” Benado said.
Employees of the Maintenance Department quickly become adept at electrical, plumbing, groundskeeping, basic assembly, event setup and janitorial work. Their duties depend on what type of work orders come through Benado’s desk. Some days, the crew may have five to 10 work orders while other days they may only receive one or two. The work orders are placed on a bulletin board for every employee to see.
“They don’t say things like, ‘That’s not my job or I don’t do that.’ They are hard workers and try as hard as they can. They don’t say no, and they don’t argue or anything like that,” Benado said.
Benado said he often accompanies staff members to make sure projects are completed correctly.
“I will be standing right there with them to make sure things are being put together right. If it’s not, we will take it apart and do it all over again,” he said.
On the first Wednesday of September, Benado and his crew made the short drive to Adult Family Services located on East 32nd Street. The work order requested the assembly of two chairs that had recently been delivered. Staff members Victor Corrales and Brandon Sanchez constructed both chairs in 20 minutes.
While maintenance staff members need to be a jack of all trades to succeed, Benado said being the groundskeeper is one of the most important aspects of the job.
Groundskeeping is a task Corrales said he takes upon himself when he reports to work every morning.
“When I show up to work I usually walk around the area to see how clean it is. If I see a mess, I’m going to take care of it,” Corrales said. “I’m just helping out my people and keeping the land clean. It brings me happiness.”
Juliet Benado has worked with her dad in the Maintenance Department for the past 14 years and said the main reason the department thrives is because everyone has the same exact job title (maintenance/groundskeeper). Employees are cross-trained and know what to do when different situations come up, she said.
“You just show up and you do your job. We all do the same things. We can cover things easily,” Juliet Benado said. “If there is a big job that needs to get done, we all know each other’s skills and we know how each other works. We have a great team.”
