Sister Rita Scott: "...she's extremely knowledgeable of the operation of the entire plant."

     “I love the Mount. I love the Ursuline community. I believe we need to provide a safe, pleasing environment for those who are residents here, for our guests, and for our employees. It should be a comfortable, secure environment. Many of the things I do provide for that.”

     Sister Rita Scott, plant administrator for the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, was asked why – after 20 years in education and 11 years in business administration – she made a most unusual career change, accepting the job of plant administrator, a “nuts and bolts” type position five years ago.
      Even though she was happy with her work as associate business administrator in the Motherhouse business office, Sister Rita couldn’t resist applying for the plant administrator position when it was posted in September of 2001. “I have an innate ability – a gift from God – to see and work in construction and maintenance areas,” says Sister Rita. “I’ve always had it, probably got some of it as a child working at home helping my father and brother. I’m also gifted with an extreme amount of common sense. I served on committees that have to do with stewardship, buildings and grounds. I really started working in the construction area while I was principal at Blessed Mother School in Owensboro. The committee was formed and I was one of the members to work on chapel renovation here at the Mount. I served on that committee for two-and-a-half years. After I came to work out here, I got involved with some of the day-to-day renovation of the chapel, which was finished in 1992.”
        Since 1992 Sister Rita has been involved with numerous construction, renovation and demolition projects at the Mount.

     Sister Rita is a native of Louisville, one of two children born to Louisville banker Charles Scott and his schoolteacher wife, Louise. Her brother, Charlie, is one year and three days older than she.
     As a child, little Rita Scott took piano and tap dance lessons. She has fond memories of tap dancing in nursing homes and for veterans in military hospitals as a little girl.
     She attended kindergarten at Camp Taylor Elementary public school before beginning her Catholic education at Saint Thomas More for first through sixth grades. Her final two years of grade school were at Saint Agnes. Throughout grade school, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth taught her.
     It was on to Assumption High School for four years where she played basketball, volleyball, softball, and ran track. During her four years of high school she was a member of the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Program’s Choral Group. Taught by the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Rita graduated from Assumption in 1965.

    While attending high school, Sister Rita received her calling to religious life. “There were two Sisters of Mercy I became close friends with and talked with  quite often about religious life,” Sister Rita recalls. “I used to help them do their classroom work and one thing led to another. I visited five different communities. A friend of mine had a sister at Mount Saint Joseph. Her family knew I was interested in religious life and they started bringing me down with them when she had visiting days with her family. Almost immediately I felt called to this community due to the hospitality of everyone involved, the openness, prayerfulness, and cheerfulness of everybody I was in contact with.”
       In September 1965 Rita Scott entered Mount Saint Joseph as a postulant and began her college courses at the Mount. Three years later she moved on to Brescia College for her junior and senior years and upon graduation began a 20-year career in education – one year at Saint Bridget in Vine Grove (4th grade teacher), two years at Saint Paul in Leitchfield (5-8 grades), one year at Mother of Good Counsel in Louisville (4-5 grades), eight years at Saint Teresa in Glennonville, Missouri (4-8 grades, teacher and principal the last five years), two years at Saint Andrew in Harrodsburg (5-6 grades, teacher and principal), one year at SaintJoseph in Bowling Green (5-8 grade, teacher), four years at Blessed Mother in Owensboro (principal), and one year at Saint Angela Merici in Owensboro (principal), following the consolidation of Owensboro catholic grade schools. Along the way she earned her master’s degree from Saint Louis University and her principalship certificate from Spalding University in Louisville.

     Sister Rita “stepped away” from education in 1990 to become the associate business administrator at the Mount, a position she held until taking the plant administrator job five years ago, heading a staff of 13, eight in the maintenance department, five on the farm staff.
    After the renovation of the chapel and the main dining room, Sister Rita moved on to supervise the renovation of the Guest House in 1994.
    The Conference and Retreat Center was renovated from 1996-1998. “I didn’t start out leading that project,” says Sister Rita, “but the Leadership asked me to take it over and I finished it.”  She continued, “A committee was formed to study our infirmary building (Lourdes) and the community agreed to build Saint Joseph Villa and renovate Saint Ursula Hall. I was project manager for those two projects.”
     Many other projects have occurred – the parking lot south of Saint Angela Hall, the new sewage treatment plant, the demolition of Maple Hall and the old water tower, construction of the parking lot on the Maple Hall site, the new cemetery road. Rewiring, plumbing projects and a host of other little things keep Sister Rita busy, leaving her little time to keep up with the long list of other duties listed on her job description – to name a few: maintain warranty records, perform budgetary and invoicing responsibilities, oversee the campus telephone operations and voice mail system, keep up to date on all government regulations, maintain the fire alarm system and equipment, and coordinate burial activities associated with the cemetery.

     Sister Rita's supervisor is staff administrator Christine Clayton. “The scope of Sister Rita’s job touches everyone here at the Mount,” Christine says. “She managers her staff in a way that allows them to work to the best of their ability and her knowledge about everything on campus is unmatched. Sister Rita is very easy to work with, and I appreciate all she has done to get me up to speed in my new position.”
     Sister Rita’s staff consists of maintenance manager Dave Eby and maintenance staff members Daniel Casey, David Mehlbauer, James Spence, Paul Clouse, Charlie Estes, Rick Blandford and John Teets. Also farm manager Bruce Blandford and farm staff members Mark Blandford, Mike Stelmach, Nick Dant, and Bryan Dant.
     “My staff is dependable, knowledgeable, consistent and thorough,” says Sister Rita. “They are all hard workers, they’re collaborative, conscientious, courteous, respectful, environmentally conscious and reliable.” She points out that some of them are licensed and certified in their specific fields of study, such as electrician, HVAC journeymen, chemicals, sewage treatment plant, etc. “I firmly believe that more heads are better than one,” she says. “Male and female perspectives could be different so you can offer something from your own point of view.”
      Farm manager Bruce Blandford says of Sister Rita, “She’s been great to work with. She’s always available, listens to what you have to say, is open to your input and follows through on what she says she’s going to do.” He adds, “She’s extremely

knowledgeable of the operation of the entire plant, is very good at prioritizing needs and at keeping costs within reason. And she’s very easy to work with, and is well liked by everyone on my staff.”
     Maintenance manager Dave Eby has similar praise for Sister Rita. “She is probably one of the top three people I’ve ever worked for,” he proclaims. “She’s fair, all business, very dedicated to her job. She is also a very compassionate individual. She’s also a very quick learner when faced with new challenges and new technologies.” Eby adds, “My whole staff gets along with her well. They all have respect for her and she in turn respects them. Overall, I can’t imagine any sister anywhere in the country doing the job that Sister Rita does here.”
     Sister Lois Lindle, local community life coordinator for the Ursuline Sisters, works directly with Sister Rita on a regular basis. "Sister Rita was invaluable to me when I came on board as local community life coordinator one year ago and continues to be a great support. She is generous, cheerful, patient and dependable. Ask her for help and the job will be completed in a timely fashion. I've recognized these gifts from afar for many years but now I experience them daily."
      Health Care Administrator Sister Betsy Moyer says her department benefits a great deal from Sister Rita’s work. “I find Sister Rita always ready to take over in a crisis. She is efficient, competent, and Johnny-on-the-spot. The words that best

describe her are from a cartoon from my childhood: Never Fear, Mighty Mouse Is Here! Seriously, no matter what is needed or what happens, Sister Rita and her outstanding staff assess and complete the tasks in a timely manner.”
     This year Sister Rita celebrated her 40th jubilee as an Ursuline sister. As she looks back over 40 years in religious life she admits some of her fondest memories are those spent in the classroom.
     “It was always special to see the children you are teaching awaken to the concepts that you are teaching and they learn them and then want to learn more,” says Sister Rita. “It was also special to be involved not only with the children in the school, but with the parish family and all the families. I worked mainly in the rural parishes and rural education is the love of my life – because you didn’t just teach at school. I was a basketball coach, I drove a school bus when needed, and helped to run the parish when we had no pastor. We took communion to the sick. We just did it all and we all thoroughly loved it because you were totally involved with all the people and did many things for everyone.”
     Sister Rita’s life has taken her down some interesting roads. From tap dancing for veterans, playing basketball for the Assumption Rockets, 20 years in education, 11 years in business administration, to the unique position of plant administrator, overseeing the daily operations of the Mount Saint Joseph Motherhouse plant facilities, maintenance, security, grounds and farm. She has certainly lived an interesting life and the last five years may have been the most challenging.
     As Dave Eby says, “I can’t imagine any sister anywhere in the country doing the job that Sister Rita does.”
     And, as everyone agrees, she does it quite well.