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Meet Mark Lazarz: District Inventory Specialist

Smiling man with white hair and a Kansas City World Champs shirt poses in front of large shelves and boxes in a warehouse

Colleague camaraderie makes working in LSR7 a joyful experience for Mark Lazarz

Title: Inventory Specialist

Department: Purchasing & Distribution

Years in LSR7: Eight

How would you describe your job to a stranger?
The Reader’s Digest version? I watch everything that comes in and out the door. We manage deliveries for a full working warehouse. We supply all the food, both dry and frozen, for the district. All the custodial supplies, general supplies, health items, everything that supports the schools and the kids. That’s why I’m here.

What do you enjoy about it?
I like the flexibility and the freedom that you have to prioritize your day. Our goal is always for all orders to be ready for the next day for the drivers to take out. It’s a big job but we have a lot of good guys and gals to work with in the building.

How would you describe the team that you work with here?
The team works well together. We have a variety of individuals and each person brings their own strengths to the table.

How would you describe Lee’s Summit?
There's a lot of things to do here. You are far enough away from Downtown Kansas City that you can feel a sense of a smaller town with green space, but you're still close enough where you can go to a ballgame, the art museum or any of the entertainment districts. There’s so much to do around here!

We heard you are the longtime organizer of the annual Nutrition Services/Purchasing & Distribution Department chili cook-off. Tell us more.
Many of the companies I worked for before joining the district were family-type companies and I consider the people that I work with family. And I have a little competitive spirit. Shortly after I started in the district I jumped right in and said, “Hey, how about a chili cook-off?” And that’s how we got started. Being a competitive person I spray painted a ladle gold and made it the trophy. Nutrition Services has won for the past four years, and one day I’m going to take them down. But really this is just another way for us to have a kind of camaraderie. We’re all in this together.

If I asked you to describe working for LSR7 in one word. What would your one word be?
Joyful.

A smiling woman with brown hair poses with a gold lade with six other individuals standing in an office

Nutrition Services Department Assistant Director Lindsay Salazar (second from left) with her colleagues after winning the 2023 Nutrition Services/Purchasing & Distribution Chili Cook-off organized by inventory specialist Mark Lazarz (far left).