Northern Michigan University's Blizzard Response Team of 2022-2023 is awarded a Distinguished Team Award. The response team displayed effort and dedication to keep the campus open and safe during one of the worst winter storms in recent history.
On the first day of the holiday break, the Great Lakes region and the Upper Peninsula were struck by a winter storm referred to nationally as a “bomb cyclone.” Locally and on campus, the three-day blizzard produced more than two feet of snow and white-out conditions that could have rendered campus impassable for those who lived and remained on campus over the holiday break.
Beginning on the first day of the holiday break through Christmas Day, the team plowed, shoveled, repaired equipment and assisted stranded students who had to travel. Those assigned to shovel building entries traversed campus on foot to work in harsh conditions to clear areas where plows could not access.
The storm's severity also took its toll on equipment, and on Christmas Eve, a plow critical to the operation broke down. On Christmas Day, NMU's mechanics repaired the equipment and stayed to plow with other team members so the campus was accessible for the students.
Team members, all from Plant Operations, are: Patrick D. Bawden, Andrew L. Buckmaster, Thomas A. Dagenais, Gregory S. Ely, Bradley A. Gischia, Jesse Hanford, Daryl J. Johnson, James M. Murray, Jacob P. Nease, Terry D. Norman, David A. Raudio, Jeffrey D. Skoog, and Andrew W. Smith.