John Schouveller joined the Mall of America team as Maintenance Manager in January of 2015. He manages critical areas of operations including external maintenance, internal maintenance, and internal gardening. He has a team of approximately twenty-five people who are highly skilled in their respective areas. Major responsibilities for the external maintenance team includes maintaining cleanliness throughout the massive property, efficient and timely snow removal, landscaping, and external gardening. In short, this team works hard to ensure that guests arrive to a welcoming, well maintained, and clean MOA. The internal maintenance team has responsibilities that mirror the external team – only within the confines of the 5.6 million square foot building. This team also collaborates closely with other MOA teams on events, holiday décor and more. They set up and break down the staging, seating and equipment needed for hundreds of events, decorate for the holiday season over the span of four weeks, maintain all vertical transportation and take care of general maintenance throughout the building. Mall of America boasts more than 30,000 live plants, and the internal gardening teamwork are to care for the plants in an environmentally sustainable way. They also care for unique tropical plants that offer a surprise to unsuspecting visitors including an orange tree, pineapple plants and Birds of Paradise plants. These teams have faced significant challenges over the years. Playing host to countless guests, media outlets and fans during the week leading up to Super Blow LII was a massive undertaking, but also incredibly rewarding. Another major challenge was shutting down this massive building for three months (and subsequently reopening it) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining the Mall of America team, John’s career was in the trucking and construction trades industries. He brings a wealth of experience to Mall of America.
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Ep. 17: Decorating the Nation’s Biggest Mall
Boasting hundreds of holiday trees, giant size ornaments and enchanted snowflakes…. What really goes into decorating Mall of America for the holiday season? In this episode our special guest, John Schouveller, Maintenance Manager at Mall of America, shares how he and his team take on the incredible ...