A Beacon of Leadership: Keeping Teams Safe and Mission Ready

Three Contracts, One Mission

Chad Langford has spent more than 24 years working on a range of AbilityOne Program contracts. He started as a custodian with PARC, a Utah-based AbilityOne federal contractor in SourceAmerica's network, and quickly proved himself as a hard worker and leader. In October 2015, Langford began working for Beacon Group on the Hill AFB total facilities maintenance contract. Over the next several years, Langford moved to different contracts and different states, worked in non-supervisory and supervisory positions, including very physical roles. One of those contracts required grounds maintenance and snow and ice removal on a 274-acre campus.

Langford has cerebral palsy, which affects movement and posture, and experiences seizures. This creates walking difficulties and he has no use of his left hand, but before asking for assistance, Langford adapts and prefers to “find a way to do it.” With his positive attitude, years of experience in a variety of roles, and patient manner, Beacon Group promoted Langford to Lead General Maintenance Worker in June 2024. In his new role, Langford impressed his team by keeping them on task while being sensitive to their individual needs. In 2026, Langford was promoted to Assistant Site Supervisor.

A Beacon of Safety

While Langford's roles and contracts have changed over the years, one thing remains the same: his hard work and dedication to safety. His constant safety mindset has affectionately gained him the title of “safety officer” among his colleagues. Langford encourages his colleagues to stop what they are doing and determine whether there is a safer way to work. Langford ensures individuals use the proper personal protection equipment (PPE).

Langford conducts inspections and administrative work wearing a reflective belt and promoting safety. As part of his responsibilities, he tracks life expectancy of safety items such as safety harnesses for use on scissor lifts and coordinates with leadership to replace them at the right time. His attention to safety for himself and his entire team speaks to the camaraderie and support found within their crew. That strong support and team bonding stood out to him at the very start of his work with Beacon Group. It is one of the reasons this role is more than just a job for Langford. It is a long-term career.

A True Combat Multiplier

In 2025, Langford became a certified trainer on forklift and scissor/boom lifts to address a lot of the requirements on Beacon Group's Hill AFB total facilities maintenance contract. He has since trained and certified 17 forklift operators and 21 scissor lift operators. This has increased the amount and variety of services Beacon Group is able to provide the DoD customer. This allows the Air Force to focus on its war-time mission as Beacon Group employees care for their equipment and facilities. Langford's team has received dozens of letters of appreciation from the government customer noting their attention to detail and attributing their work to increased productivity.

Success in numbers

• In his first year as Lead, Langford's crew completed 10,927 work orders in the 45 buildings/properties he oversees on Hill AFB.
• Of the 10,927 tasks, Langford inspected 4,934 of them or a 45.2% inspection rate. Beacon Group's government-approved QCP requires 15%.
• In these inspections, Langford found 30 work orders that needed improvement, giving his crew an annual quality rating of 99.6%.
• In the 15 months after Langford was promoted to Lead, his crew of seventeen only experienced one minor safety accident/incident that resulted in zero days of lost work

Beacon Group Testament

“Chad is a fantastic worker and Lead/supervisor, but he fully believes in the mission of SourceAmerica, the AbilityOne Program, and our organization Beacon Group,” Thomas Ashton, Beacon Group senior program manager, said.

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