General Manager's Employees of the Season Awards

Last month during the December 11 meeting of the EID Board of Directors, the General Manager's Employees of the season were announced. These awards highlight employees who go the extra mile in their daily service to the District.

Employee of the Season

Bret Stouffer

Bret Stouffer was named Employee of the Season for his hard work and dedication in taking the lead to acquire a new camera van for the District. This particular purchase involved a great deal of research prior to the bidding processes and then, once the bidding process was complete, field testing of all qualified bidders’ equipment to make sure they met the District’s specifications. Brad’s attention to detail and “no-stone-left-unturned” attitude went a long way to ensure the District gets what it’s paying for!

Teams of the Season

(L to R) Larry Bezanson, Jerry Stewart, Jason Lawrence, Mark Scott, Mike Stickney,
and Jim Sadler

The Team of the Season award went to two separate groups of employees—the Ultraviolet Disinfection Implementation team and the Office of the General Manager support team.

The ultraviolet disinfection team consisted of wastewater plant operators, maintenance employees, and SCADA personnel. They were recognized for their efforts in installing a new ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system at the Deer Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in August 2006. The multi-disciplinary effort was the culmination of two years of construction, training, and planning. The construction phase required multiple plant shutdowns and flow diversions during velocity testing, all done while ensuring regulatory compliance at all times. Since the UV process is fundamentally different from chlorine disinfection, it required the whole group to embark on a steep learning curve to understand the various parameters for successful operations and to maintain close communication during and after installation. “I am very proud of the effort this group has put forth,” said Dave Powell, Assistant Department Head of Facilities Management (Engineering) and EID’s District Engineer. “This was a sustained effort from the entire group at Deer Creek.”

(L to R) Jennifer Kitchen, Patricia Johnson, Pam Hall, Peg Campbell,
and David Eggerton

A team of employees from the Office of the General Manager also received a Team of the Season award for their exceptional support in “keeping things running smoothly” in the offices of the General Manager and General Counsel during a lengthy trial this past fall. The team worked cohesively to keep communication flowing and the workload in hand while their managers attended the trial.

Supervisors of the Season

Karen Coleman (L) and Lori Grace

Lori Grace, Supervisor of Development Services, and Karen Coleman, Supervisor of Utility Billing Services, were recognized as Supervisors of the Season.

Lori received this recognition because of her expertise and willingness to work as an invaluable information resource for District co-workers as well as for customers. When called on for information she is thorough and dependable and strives constantly to ensure that her staff achieves high customer service standards,. During the past season, Lori and Karen provided their staffs with five days of customer service training and special recognitions during national “Customer Service Week.” Lori also works closely with the General Manager’s Office in dealing with customer challenges.

Karen was recognized for her significant departmental and personnel duties. She is a willing and able team player regardless of the issues. In particular, she provided valuable assistance in helping diffuse a potentially negative publicity inquiry from the media by digging into the situation and verifying facts. “Karen is a wonderful ambassador for the District,” said Mary Lynn Carlton, Public Information and Outreach Manager. “She is prompt and professional in troubleshooting potential problems regarding District customers.”

Managers of the Season

(L to R) David Witter, Steve Setoodeh, David Powell, Chich Goss, Don Pearson, Deanne Kloepfer,
Tom McKinney, Bob DiNunzio, Mark Price, and Phil Knapik

Department Heads and Assistant Department Heads were recognized for their hard work and dedication in keeping the District’s business running smoothly while General Manager Ane Deister and General Counsel Tom Cumpston were preoccupied with a lengthy trial. “This group did an amazing job at keeping everything moving along without any problems during the last quarter,” said General Manager Deister. “I really appreciate their efforts and am pleased to call them our managers of the season.”