FEATURE BY MICHELLE ERVIN
CFM&D SALUTES ARVID STONKUS As we wish our founding and long-time publisher well in retirement, we look back at the history of the magazine, and with it, the legacy he leaves the facility management industry
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hat’s a facility manager? It’s a question that has been asked many times. It’s a question that Arvid Stonkus asked too, when he found himself at a facility management exhibition and conference in Toronto 30 years ago. It’s also a question that Stonkus answered much earlier than most. For that reason, the founding publisher of CFM&D undoubtedly deserves credit for helping to put the profession on the map in Canada. As he retires, some of the people who know him best look back on his contributions, recognizing him as a smart businessman, personable colleague, generous mentor and loyal friend who has done so much to champion the industry. At that first facility management exhibition and conference, Stonkus, who was publishing computer magazines at the time, recalls being struck by the mixed bag of products on display. There were computers and computer software alongside flooring, furniture and lighting. He says he was intrigued to find out who the trade show’s attendees and exhibitors were and what magazine would cater to them with editorial on the benefits of investing in work spaces to promote productivity. As it turned out, that publication didn’t exist — yet — so he struck a deal with trade show manager Jim Chambers, then facility manager for Ernst & Young, to launch a magazine at the following year’s show. The first issue of Canadian Facility Management, as the magazine was originally known, launched in April/ May 1987. It featured the York Mills Centre, which was under construction Canadian Facility Management & Design
� in Toronto, in the debut cover story. With its interior structure, individual lighting systems and raised floors, the building was marketed by the developer as intelligent. “At that time, the facility management career path was just beginning to evolve, because of the construction of ‘intelligent’ buildings,” says Stonkus. “Previous to that, the decision maker for buying products for the office really fell to the administrative assistant (or CFO or CEO in large buildings), but certainly not a
Arvid Stonkus, the founding publisher of CFM&D, helped put facility management on the map in Canada
specialist with an understanding of how people worked in the workplace, based on the structure of the interiors.” He traces the beginning of the profession back to an invitation-only meeting hosted by Herman Miller in Michigan. It was there that facility managers from Fortune 500 companies, including those who would go on to found the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), gathered to discuss the office of the future, in the context of these emerging intelligent buildings. April 2016 CFM&D 21