Chris Traweger’s job requires him to get his hands dirty, quite literally, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s Wednesday morning. Chris is ready to take on another day as a maintenance and construction coordinator for the agency.
He hops into his work vehicle and heads to the first site of the day – a Family Treatment House being flipped for a new family. Before the new tenants arrive, the home needs to be inspected, repaired and restored to flawless condition.
Chris climbs the stairs to the Dewdney Street unit with a handful of tickets (work orders) to tackle. He sets to work on the kitchen cabinet repairs and moves on to re-secure dressers to the wall. A baby gate repair is next on the list, but with missing equipment and supplies, Chris ventures to the nearest hardware store and then to a Fleet Street storage space. Once everything is loaded Chris heads back to site to hang the gate and head for lunch - but not before commenting and closing the Dewdney tickets.
A short time later, Chris is on the road again.
No meetings today, those are tomorrow.
Chris arrives at Wascana Drive, the final destination for this Wednesday afternoon. Another house flip is underway for a different family. Chris unloads his tools for the final time today, joining a technician inside the unit. The two tend to several miscellaneous tasks before closing out their tickets and the business day.
Ranch Ehrlo Society has a significant inventory of properties within its portfolio, spanning the communities of Prince Albert, Corman Park (Saskatoon), Moose Jaw, Pilot Butte, and Regina.
Within the mix are houses, schools, apartment buildings, offices, maintenance shops, and more. The logistics of ensuring these properties are functioning safely, efficiently, and meeting the agency’s high standards of excellence requires a special team of dedicated professionals in the fields of property management, maintenance, and construction.
Chris Traweger is one of these skilled employees.
With strong attention to detail, ability to multitask, and a can-do attitude, Chris is the modern day ‘jack of all trades’ with his work taking him to properties across the agency.
Chris says the job is unlike any other.
“I work out of my truck for the most part,” he said half-jokingly. “It’s very nomadic in a way, there’s always lots going on.”
Chris has been with Ranch Ehrlo for five years and in his current role for two. He said one of the most attractive attributes of working property management at Ranch Ehrlo is the flexibility.
“I like the freedom as not being stuck in one place every day. Because we are such a vast operation we’re always out and about meeting new people, troubleshooting new problems, and finding creative solutions to meet the needs of participants.”
Chris works with a team of five others in the southern part of the province, while the northern properties have a smaller crew dedicated to property management at Corman Park and Buckland campuses.
“I’m the guy that bridges the gap between the boots on the ground and the managerial roles,” he explained. “I coordinate jobs, send emails, answer phone calls, but also have a bank of (work) tickets to fulfill myself. There’s also a lot of trips to Home Depot,” he laughed.
While the agency does rely on vendors at times, Chris said they try to keep repairs and maintenance in-house when possible, tackling as much as capacity allows for – except for plumbing and electrical work.
“We all have our strengths,” he said of the team, “we play to those and collaborate when we need to.”
Chris and his colleagues generally work a Monday through Friday, 40-hour week throughout the year. The only anomaly is the winter months when staff are on call every third weekend to push snow at the Pilot Butte campus, but with winters like this, those calls are infrequent.
“We try to plan our week in advance, but we have priority protocol in place so if an emergent situation arises that can bring change in a hurry,” said Chris. “Every day is a little bit different. You never know exactly what to expect.”
