Les Sprinkel

Position: Head CustodianSchool: South Albany High SchoolSchool District: Greater Albany Public SchoolsCity, State: Albany, Oregon
About the Nominee: Les Sprinkel was nominated by his principal, Brent Belveal.Les, or as he is more commonly known, "Mr. Awesome" is the glue that holds South Albany High School together. He consistently goes above and beyond any job requirements to help his colleagues meet the needs of their students and our staff. He is a "yes guy; when a wild idea is presented, his first response is "yes" followed by working collaboratively to make it happen. Each year, he oversees the school-wide talent show -- from soliciting participants, to holding auditions, to setting up the sound and lighting systems for the full school assembly, to running sound, to forming a staff band to sending the kids out of the assembly!In addition, he runs sound and lighting for the school's theater productions, and he nearly single handedly sets up gradation with over 4000 individual seats and the stage. Beyond this, he works security during the graduation ceremony, staying until the middle of the night to make sure that the facility is left in better condition than before. He sets up sound systems for South Albany's dance and cheer teams and runs sound for their weekend competitions. He has also led a worship team at his own church for many years. South Albany hosts a different church in the gym on weekends, which he completely coordinates to create a great environment for that organization. Mr. Awesome has wowed audiences with his rendition of the national anthem and is truly a Renaissance man; he sets up, builds, runs, and cleans up for many huge events each year.He does each of these tasks with a smile and a twinkle in his eye and has found a way to be a true servant leader by making every day at South Albany a great day for students and staff. All of this is in addition to keeping every classroom spotless and functioning on a daily basis for 1350 kids and a hundred staff.Last April, South Albany had an arson fire destroy a huge part of campus that included the cafeteria, food service, Family and Consumer Studies classrooms, the band classroom and the choir classroom. Mr. Awesome has gone above and beyond by putting many, many volunteer hours into making sure that the students had the best possible situation, in spite of many hurdles. He has patiently worked with modular classrooms, 12 hour a day construction, no storage and classrooms moving, managing everything with a smile and a "can do" attitude, even in the most difficult situations. He has supported the school's kitchen staff, who have been serving breakfast and lunch from a "trailer house" parked in our gym parking lot for the last 16 months. Again, he does everything with a smile and a cheery "yes" to their requests. Mr. Les Sprinkel is truly a LifeChanger![nominee_videos nominee_email="les.sprinkel@albany.k12.or.us"]