From Staff
How many apartment maintenance workers does it take to replace a lightbulb?
It wasn’t part of the contest. But several other tasks were.
Faucets were repaired, icemakers installed and deadbolts tested at the First Coast Apartment Association’s Maintenance Mania. Over 100 apartment maintenance professionals came for the annual competition in February at the University of North Florida.
The top five contestants will go to the state competition in October. Three clocked qualifying times for the national competition in June.
Think your maintenance guy is fast? It took Christophe Huber of Horizon Realty 51 seconds to install four ceiling fan blades. But when asked about his time, Huber said “That’s not so good.”
Next to him, Matthew Field of Finlay Management was happy, though, with the 31.91 seconds it took him to replace a miniature water heater.
Kyle Slagle of Avesta Homes was in the zone, repairing a leaky toilet valve in 15.21 seconds, a score he called “fantastic.” Slagle would go on to win First Place Overall in the competition for his combined score on eight tasks.
Leslie Scott of Horizon Realty was a little more laid back. It took him 40 seconds to test a deadbolt.
“I don’t know if it’s a good time,” he said. “I’ve never timed myself before.”
The top five winners were: Slagle, Jimmy Garcia of Matrix Residential, Sean McMaster of Avesta Homes, Vance Prince of Avesta Homes and Jose Serrano of St. Johns Pointe apartments.