In a silver Prius with about 97,000 miles on it, Gary Reed drove throughout Eastern on Wednesday to visit all of the transformations on campus he helped facilitate in the last 23 years.

From the limestone gate in front of Old Main to the 19,000-square-foot Renewable Energy Center on 18th Street, Reed, the director of the Facilities, Planning and Management Office, pointed out all of the changes he and his 150-person staff created.

Reed’s imprint on the campus will live on past June 30 when he will retire.

During the nostalgic drive weaving throughout campus, Reed said it seemed like there was something to talk about at every turn.

“The university is always evolving and always alive,” Reed said. “That is the great part about my job because a new challenge presents itself with every day that improves our legacy at Eastern.”

Stop by stop, he explored the history of each project such as “Fort Nantz,” named after director emeritus Jim Nantz, where they store construction materials located beyond the athletic fields, which once surrounded an old dairy farm that became a safety hazard once the wooden beams had rotted.

Inside the storage lot, the crumbles of concrete foundation still remain from where the barn once stood.

Reed was first hired in 1989 as the superintendent of utilities at Eastern when he helped operate the scrubber system for the coal-fired central plant.

Now, in place of the recently demolished scrubber system lays a layer of gravel.

As he set the Prius in neutral in front of the gravel lot, William Hine, the dean of the School of Continuing Education, approached carrying papers in one hand and a soda in the other.

“I just wanted to say thank you for all of you and your team’s hard work at getting rid of that eyesore,” Hine said as Reed rolled down the window. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Reed became interim director in November 2003 and assumed the full position in June 2005.

Reed recalled not only his crowning achievements like the Renewable Energy Center, but also the most immense disaster during his history at Eastern, which was the fire that engulfed the third floor of Blair Hall in April 2004.

Staff members were using heat guns to strip away lead paint and copper around the windows.

Sparks caused the interior to smolder, which went unnoticed during the inspection.

Several hours and 400,000 gallons of water later, the fire department had still not been able to contain the fire, he said.

“Luckily no one was injured, but faculty lost their life’s work in that fire, and it was like they lost a child,” he said.

Reed said after he retires this summer, he will miss the people he has served and formed relationships with the most.

“I have carved out so many friends in the last 23 years that it is hard for me to distinguish them from family,” he said. “I could go anywhere and work and be associated with buildings and grounds and piping, but what makes this job really unique is the people you work with.”

Stephen Shrake, the associate director of design and construction, has worked with Reed since he came to Eastern in 1994 and said they met when the last of eight buildings in Greek Court were being constructed.

“I will miss his sense of humor that he brings to the office everyday and his outgoing attitude,” Shrake said. “We all bring something to the table, and he recognizes and respects that.”

Shrake also recalled spending time with Reed outside of the office. In 2003, friends and colleagues went to Reed’s 24-acre home in Effingham for “Reedstock,” where a stage was set up for them to express their musical talents and chow down on some barbeque.

President Bill Perry said he met Reed during his first or second week as President at Eastern in 2007.

Perry, Reed and a few other administrators traveled down to the basement of Old Main and trekked through the steam tunnels, which are almost 100 years old, to the power plant.

Perry said Reed wanted to show him the conditions and operations of the power plant first-hand. “He said they wanted me to do better than learn about Eastern from the ground up,” Perry said.

“They wanted me to learn from below the ground up.”

He described Reed as energetic, focused, personable and hard working.

“Every time you meet him, he has got a smile and a positive attitude,” Perry said. “He brings his own stamp and special abilities to the table.”

Reed said he always had the goal of retiring when he turned 60, which will happen next April, but is leaving a year early because of the changing atmosphere with the pension system.

This summer, more than 100 members of the Eastern community will retire.

“If I wait until after July 1, my pension might be reduced by 8 percent,” Reed said.

Reed also helped create the position in the Facilities, Planning and Management Office for a customer service specialist in order to strengthen the connection with the campus community.

Jeff Wilson, who became the customer service specialist in February, said Reed fought to strengthen the office’s ties with students, faculty, staff and administrators by teaching others about their role on campus and making them more comfortable.

“I strive to make our relationship more collaborative since we face such a comprehensive slate of challenges each day,” Reed said. “It is like taking care of a small city because you have residents who are depending on this city to operate properly.”

In his time outside of work, Reed said he enjoys taking motorcycle trips with his wife and doing mechanical tinkering with his son, who graduated from Eastern in Spring 2009.

Reed and his son built a motorcycle together for about five years, and he handed his son the vehicle title after he graduated.

He said he plans to stay active after retiring by possibly working as a contractor or consultant concerning a power plant or a sustainable-energy initiative.

“I am not going to retire and be an old man in a rocking chair and just loaf and die early,” he said. “I am not going to expire. I am going to move on to a new challenge.”

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].