{"133051":{"#nid":"133051","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Fate Guides Leasure\u2019s Animal Rescue Work","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat started as an effort to keep a stray cat from being euthanized turned into a way of life for Michael Leasure.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy wife and I have rescued more than 25 dogs and cats over the years,\u201d said Leasure, associate director of energy conservation for Facilities. \u201cOur strategy is to rescue animals that fall in our path, meaning that we don\u2019t seek them out.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt all started in 2001 when Leasure and his future wife found two wild kittens and their mother. The couple took the cats to the Humane Society only to learn that the mother would likely be euthanized \u2014 and Leasure wasn\u2019t willing to accept that answer. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI told my wife Renee that I was going to tame that wild cat,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had some tough times initially, but now the cat, Mona Lisa, loves me to death.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the cost to rescue an animal can be anywhere between $250-600, Leasure takes it in stride. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe couple does not charge a fee for people to adopt the animals. Before they will give the animal to a new owner, the two require the prospective owner to visit their home (with any pets), and they will visit the person\u2019s home. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAnd we have said \u2018no\u2019 to people,\u201d Leasure said, which is part of the reason why he and his wife have six permanent pets \u2014 all of which were originally rescue animals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Leasure and his time at Georgia Tech. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be when you were a child?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI remember the moment in high school when I realized that I wanted to be an \u003Cbr \/\u003Eengineer. I was sitting in a McDonald\u2019s parking lot, where I was working at the time, and my buddy asked me what I wanted to do with my life. He said he was going to be an engineer like his father, and I had an a-ha moment. I always enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together, so being an engineer sounded like a good fit for me, too. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI worked for Pillsbury in Tennessee for many years doing project engineering. But I wasn\u2019t feeling challenged anymore. So I moved to Atlanta to be closer to my sister and took another job for a company that I later learned was going under. I soon found myself interviewing for a job at Tech as an infrastructure manager in Facilities. And 14 years and two promotions later, here I am.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is something that you\u2019d like for people to know about your job?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EThese days, most of my time is spent overseeing a staff that includes 15 engineers. My job is to keep everyone on track and to coach people on how to solve problems related to keeping energy costs down. I wish people realized that although there are things to improve about energy conservation in the buildings on campus, we\u2019ve come a long way. For example, 20 years ago the administration started updating the central chiller plant (the source of most air conditioning on campus). We\u2019ve been working on this behind the scenes for a long time and have made some great progress. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is most satisfying about your work?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI still get to create and fix things. For example, the College of Computing had a lecture hall that flooded every time it rained. For more than 10 years, many people tried to fix it \u2014 but my team finally did. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThere\u2019s a bench in front of the Ferst Center that is next to a statue of former dean George C. Griffin. I really like this spot because it\u2019s shady and usually cool. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best piece of advice you\u2019ve ever heard?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EPresident Reagan used to have something on his desk that said, \u201cThere\u2019s no limit to what you can do if you don\u2019t care who gets the credit.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EFirehouse Subs \u2014 they have the best meatball sub. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something about yourself that others might not know.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI had such severe dyslexia that by the fourth grade I still could not read. Thankfully, my parents recognized the problem and got me help. Now, I will soon graduate with a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat started as an effort to keep a stray cat from being euthanized turned into a way of life for Michael Leasure.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"What started as an effort to keep a stray cat from being euthanized turned into a way of life for Michael Leasure."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-05-29 13:22:21","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:18","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"133011":{"id":"133011","type":"image","title":"Michael Leasure","body":null,"created":"1449178659","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:37:39","changed":"1475894759","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:59","alt":"Michael Leasure","file":{"fid":"194724","name":"mike.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mike_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mike_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":600023,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mike_0.jpg?itok=6IQ266D_"}}},"media_ids":["133011"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1851","name":"energy conservation"},{"id":"3157","name":"Facilities"},{"id":"13927","name":"Michael Leasure"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}