Rodney Lemburg, program coordinator, is the recipient of the 2023 Texas A&M AgriLife Vice Chancellor Award in Excellence for Business and Operational Staff.
Jeff Savell, Amy Swinford and Rodney Lemburg during the Vice Chancellors Awards in Excellence at Rudder Theater on the Texas A&M campus on Thursday, Jan 12, 2023 in College Station, Texas. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)
Lemburg has served in the operations department of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory’s (TVMDL) College Station laboratory since 2005. As the program coordinator, Lemburg works to maintain a safe and operational 93,000 square-foot facility. He performs and oversees routine maintenance to ensure the laboratory stays in peak operation during the week and on weekends.
The College Station laboratory operates using a sophisticated automation system. This system ensures all sections can perform testing efficiently, safely, and during all weather conditions. Lemburg is proficient at running this system and troubleshooting issues as they arise.
One of the main components of the automation system is the laboratory’s thermal tissue digester. This mechanism safely disposes of all the biological waste generated through testing and is typically run after business hours due to its long processing cycle. It’s critical the digester runs without issue as staff rely on its functioning throughout every business day. Knowing this, Lemburg frequently monitors the system overnight to ensure each cycle runs seamlessly.
“Oftentimes, Rod is addressing a problem before anyone even notices there’s an issue,” TVMDL Director of Operations Jordan Brod and Lemburg’s supervisor and nominator said. “This initiative is the embodiment of excellence.”
Among other positive attributes, Lemburg is best known for his teamwork. An example of this was last year during a leadership transition in the client services section. During this transition, the section was short staffed. Lemburg volunteered his time and abilities to help this section by taking out the garbage each day, reorganizing workspaces, and cross training to ensure this section could still provide exceptional service to TVMDL’s clients.
“It is reasonable to state Rod is the most dependable employee of the agency,” Brod said. “It is rare for him to not be one of the first employees to arrive each morning, ensuring the facility is ready and safe for work to begin. He has an unmistakable commitment to the operations team and TVMDL.”