December 13, 2022 Regular Session Board Meeting Ben Lujan Maintenance Achievement Award for Alvaro Rivera

The Ben Lujan Maintenance Achievement Awards, in its 16th year, were created to recognize New Mexico Public School maintenance and operations staff and teams dedicated to maintaining quality facility conditions supporting their education environments and the success of teachers, students and communities. The awards, named in honor of the late Speaker of the House, Ben R. Lujan, continue his passion for the students of our State in acknowledging the hard work our maintenance/custodial staffs perform on a daily basis to provide for educational facilities that are outstanding in form and function.

It is with great pleasure that I present the 2022 (FY 2023) State of New Mexico Ben Lujan Maintenance Achievement Award to Mr. Alvaro Rivera. Mr. Rivera has been employed with our District for 15 years and is currently our Lead HVAC/R Technician for the Las Cruces Public Schools Physical Plant Department.

Mr. Rivera has proven to be an asset to his team and to the District. He goes above and beyond and gives 100% each and every day. His attitude, work ethic and professionalism are just a few of the many amazing qualities he possesses. Mr. Rivera leads a team of six Journeymen HVAC technicians who are responsible for all of the District’s 3100 refrigerated air conditioning units that provide heating and cooling for 41 school campuses. He also provides oversight for our high schools that utilize chillers and boilers to provide conditioned air to our staff
and students.

Mr. Rivera graduated from the Doña Ana Community College in 2002 with an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science and began his Las Cruces Public Schools career in 2007 in our HVAC department. He has been the lead HVAC tech for the last five of his fifteen years.

Mr. Rivera is not only a model team member with the Las Cruces Public Schools, but also currently serves on the CSEC-Las Cruces Bargaining Team as the Vice-President for the Physical Plant. In his role, he represents employees in tough situations when needed and collaborates with Las Cruces Public Schools administration in working to support all classified employees in being the best they can possibly be.

Mr. Rivera always has the students, teachers and staff’s best interest in mind and understands the importance of maintaining an optimum learning environment. We are honored to have Mr. Rivera on our team and greatly appreciate his work ethic, dedication and impact that he has here within the Las Cruces Public Schools.

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