Lookin’ at U – George Miedl

Each Thursday, we feature a medical center employee. This week, we learn more about:

• Name: George Miedl
• Hometown: Omaha
• No. of years at UNMC: 7.5 years

Tell us what you do here at UNMC.
I have been in a few positions – starting as a carpenter and presently working as a facility operations coordinator. I work with different customers on campus, different vendors and different staff members regularly. As each project comes across my “To Do” list – I look at it as a puzzle to be solved. The “puzzles” I focus on consist of roof projects, asbestos, carpentry and card access. This allows me the opportunity to work in nearly every building learning the architecture and the quirks of the campus. It is my goal to resolve the issues while meeting the budget and exceeding customer expectations.

Leadership is one of UNMC’s brand values. Tell of a time you witnessed a person or group demonstrate leadership at UNMC.

I have been working with the Facilities team for some time — so my exposure to teamwork, planning, execution and follow-up lie with this team. The best example of leadership I see now is the people who are aligning themselves to work together on the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center project. People come together from different areas and different schools of thought. It is difficult to tear down old opinions and build with an open mind — but the people on the project are demonstrating leadership in every meeting.

What is your favorite winter activity?
Basketball – my youngest children all play basketball. My son is 4 and in the Mighty Hoopsters. My youngest daughter is 8 and her coach named a defensive move after her – the Gigi – D (fence). My older son is 10 and thinks he’s the shorter version of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. I enjoy going to their practices and games and watching them develop into team players. As a family, we also enjoy watching college and pro games together and cheering for opposing teams.

List three things people may not know about you.

• I attended a Leadership class called Eagle Quest in 2002. In that course, we focused on mind over matter. The final test – walking barefooted 30 feet on hot coals!
• In high school I was a competitive swimmer (at Tech High).
• In October of 1993 I went bow hunting with Ted Nugent.