Kent State Zamboni Driver Paints Ice for Last Time

Rich Mest has seen plenty of unusual activities take place on the two rinks at the Kent State University Ice Arena, from penguins frolicking on the ice to the hockey-loving couple he let get married at center ice.

On Wednesday, Mest walked out onto the newly laid ice, grabbed a paint brush and put down color for the last time. It’s a job he’s performed every spring since 1981.

The Kent native is taking nearly 31 years worth of happy memories with him Friday when he exits the building for the last time as maintenance supervisor. Co-workers are honoring him at a party June 30, which is his official retirement date.

Bill Switaj, ice arena manager since 1994, said Mest’s retirement is noteworthy because he’s played a unique role at Kent State for such a long period of time.

“A lot of people on campus move around to different buildings during their careers. But Rich has literally been in the same building for 31 years, doing something that really nobody else does. It’s such a unique, specific role,” Switaj said.

And, he added, Mest is really good with ice.

“There’s an art to putting ice down and then maintaining it properly. It’s a lot more complicated than people realize … It’s a real balance, and he’s an expert at it,” Switaj said.

Mest, a 1977 graduate of , made a career leap from fire to ice when he landed the Kent State job in late August 1980. He had been working as a “hot roofer” on flat roofs when a friend told him about the ice arena opening for a maintenance repair worker. Mest got the job, thanks in part to his carpentry experience.

At the time he didn’t even know that a Zamboni was a manufacturer and name brand of ice resurfacing vehicles that arena visitors love watching in action. But he learned quickly.

“Everyone is always amazed when they watch the (Zamboni),” Switaj said. “Rich has not only been responsible for putting down the (new) ice each year, but also he has been the main driver and caretaker of our ice resurfacing machines.”

He said Mest has kept the arena’s Zamboni in tip-top operating shape since 1992, even converting it from gas to propane power a few years back to be more environmentally friendly.

“He’s put a lot of time and effort into keeping (the Zamboni) going. It’s a very complicated piece of machinery that performs a variety of functions,” Switaj said. “It takes a long time for somebody to get comfortable driving it, much less maintaining it.”

Kent State’s Zamboni now plays a back-up role to the zero-emissions Ukko Icecat that was purchased in late 2006.

But the Zamboni will always have a special place in Mest’s heart. “Through the years people have recognized me at stores and festivals and such. They’d say, ‘Hey, you’re the guy who drives the Zamboni at Kent State,’” he said with a smile.

Mest – whose job has included scheduling ice time at the arena for events like hockey camps, birthday parties and broomball leagues – has enjoyed meeting hundreds of people through the years. And getting to know decades of student employees has been a high point, resulting in several friendships that continue today.

Mest beams when sharing memories of unusual events that have occurred at the ice arena during his tenure.

The funniest? In 1985, the now-closed Sea World of Ohio was creating its Penguin Encounter exhibit. A trainer called Mest to ask if they could bring some penguins to Kent State to see how they would react walking around on an ice base.

“They brought five or six penguins and we put them in the recreational rink. They were running around out there and (defecating) all over the ice. When asked if that would hurt the ice, I had to admit I didn’t know because I’d never had penguins (defecating) out there,” Mest laughed.

His most touching memory? About 20 years ago, during the arena’s annual spring maintenance shutdown, a hockey-loving couple called to ask if they could get married on the ice.

“I met them here, turned on the lights and pushed a couple nets toward center ice. They threw down carpet runners, walked out there with a minister … and got married,” Mest said. “The whole thing was about 20 minutes start to finish. It was crazy, but they were so happy and so excited. They were all smiles.”

And interesting events? How about nearly 20 years of watching Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. workers testing new tires on the ice? Mest said the company rents the regulation-size rink about four times annually to conduct skid testing and road testing, each of which requires very different methods of ice preparation.

“It’s really neat because they have this computerized truck full of equipment that measures all kinds of (tire) reactions. They’ll change the tires on that truck 30 to 40 times when they’re here (testing),” Mest explained.

But after 31 years, he’s ready to retire, ready to play more golf and to finally attack the “'honey-do’ list that dates to the 1980s” at his Stow home. “No doubt I’ll miss it. I’ve never minded coming to work,” Mest said.