Casey J. Mertz was hired on 9/15/2020. He interviewed here, after AJ Sears recruited him, and has been with the Grounds Crew ever since. Casey’s infectious smile and super friendly personality have quickly endeared him to the staff and students alike.
Casey loves to be outside, and he enjoys the crew he works with, too. He says he would probably still be working in construction someplace, if he had not come to work here.
His favorite memory is joking around with Bill, Franklin Hall resident, and Bill was pretending to shoot him with finger pistols. He looks forward to coming to work each day, because of our residents. He enjoys being able to help them in any way he can, and making them smile. The worst memory he recalls is when he encountered a skunk in the trash bin one morning when he was collecting trash from Main with his brother, Hank. He pulled a bag out, and there was a skunk under it!! He states he jumped back and over Hank to get away from it! He said they had to catch it in a trash bin and relocate it to the back of Stewart Home and School property. Yes! It sprayed, but luckily it was inside a barrel, with a lid on tight, when it did!
Since coming to SH&S, staff changes are what he notices occurs the most, in management and crew. But the most consistent thing he notices is the staff’s love and dedication to the residents. Regardless of the day, good or bad, the staff’s dedication to them is steadfast.
Casey’s Picks:
Fave Season— Summer
Fave Sports Team— Denver Broncos
Fave Food Place – Longhorns
In his free time, Casey enjoys fishing and hunting, and he helps coach his son’s football team. He collects baseball caps and fishing lures. (He is learning to make bobbers currently.)
When asked what was the craziest thing that has ever happened to him, he recounted the following… When I was in basic training, we had an exercise we had to complete, it was called Nic at Night. It was an infiltration course. The soldiers would have to crawl 200 yards with their face low to the ground while live ammunition was fired over their heads. EEEK!
We are so happy you are here now, Casey!!
Author: Krista Lumpkins