MPUA 2017 ALLIANCE AWARDS
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2017 ALLIANCE AWARDS LUNCHEON Today we honor individuals, utilities and communities that have served the municipal utility industry with honor and distinction. Because of their outstanding efforts, our jobs are made easier and more fulfilling. These select few have been nominated by their peers to receive these awards and to be recognized by us here today. Please join us in congratulating these recipients. AGENDA Welcome & Introduction of Master of Ceremonies (Chuck Bryant, Carthage Water & Light Director) Presentation of Alliance Award Winners Recognition Awards Booth Prize Drawings 2
MARK PETTY John Tom Tinsley Distinguished Service Award This award is given to an official of a member system who has provided distinguished service to the Alliance organizations for at least 10 years. Mark Petty has been Director of Kirkwood Electric since 2006. Mark has more than 31 years of experience in the public power industry, having formerly served as the director of the Public Lighting Department for the City of Detroit, Michigan. Under Mark s leadership at Kirkwood Electric, the utility performed significant financial and operational turnarounds, and has received national recognition for its performance as a municipal utility. Mark is a licensed professional engineer in both Missouri and the state of Michigan. Mark has served as chairman of the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission in 2011 and chair of MPUA s Joint Operating Committee in 2012. He has also chaired the Missouri Prairie State Owners Committee, and he currently serves as the chairman of the Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities. 3
BRUCE HARRILL Dan A. Watkins - Gary L. Whorton Personal Service Award This award is given to an individual from a utility in the Alliance who has actively participated in the Alliance for at least 5 years, and whose special public or community service has been a credit to public utilities. Bruce Harrill has served since 2004 as the City Administrator for the City of Waynesville. Prior to his work at Waynesville, he was an Assistant City Administrator at St. Robert. He currently serves as the secretary for the Municipal Gas Commission of Missouri and is a Member-At-Large on the board of MJMEUC. Bruce has also served on the board of Missouri s One Call System since 2012, now serving as its Vice Chair, where he often represents the issues and perspectives of small cities for that non-profit group. Other public service Bruce has carried out include serving on the board and as past president for the Pulaski County Growth Alliance, and the boards of the Sustainable Ozarks Partnership, and Waynesville - St. Robert Regional Airport. Bruce s public service in Waynesville and throughout his region brings credit to himself, to the City of Waynesville, and to all municipal utilities. 4
SENATOR DAVE SCHATZ Dick Malon Public Service Award The Malon Public Service Award recognizes publicly elected or appointed officials whose activities have furthered the objectives of municipal utilities. Senator David Schatz has served in the Missouri Senate since 2015, and served previously as a State Representative. His senate district includes the cities of Sullivan, Berger, and St. Clair. Senator Schatz s support of municipal utilities includes a strong commitment to voter involvement in utility decision making, with appropriate protections of public assets. His influence helped thwart efforts to lessen voter impact on the sale of utility assets in 4th class cities. 5
MAYOR KEN MCCLURE Dick Malon Public Service Award Springfield Mayor Ken McClure has a long history of leadership in energy and in advocating for public power. Ken served on the Missouri Public Service Commission from 1990 to 1997, completing his service as Chair of the PSC. He began work for City Utilities of Springfield beginning in 1997, and was City Utilities Associate General Manager when he left there in 2005 to become Chief of Staff for Governor Matt Blunt. He served two years as the Governor's Chief of Staff before transitioning to Missouri State University in 2006, rising to the level of Vice President for Administration at MSU. He retired from the University in 2014, was elected to the Springfield City Council in 2015. And in April of this year he was elected mayor of the City of Springfield. Throughout Ken s career, he has been a tireless advocate for the health and welfare of Missouri s utilities, at local, state and national levels. 6
DARRELL DUNLAP Paul Jensen Individual Achievement Award The Paul Jensen Individual Achievement Award is given to an employee of an Alliance member utility who has been an active participant in Alliance affairs for at least 5 years and accomplished special achievements for his/her utility. Darrel Dunlap has been Utility Superintendent for the City of Fulton since 2005, responsible for directing electric, natural gas, wastewater, and water utility systems in Fulton. Darrel served on executive committees of MJMEUC in several past years, and served as its chairman in 2010. Under Darrel s leadership, Fulton has completed a rebuild of its natural gas system, a water system upgrade, and is currently completing a major upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant. Fulton is also in the process of fully integrating smart grid advanced metering and billing systems for electric and water utilities. During Darrell s tenure the city s electric utility has twice been recognized with APPA s RP3 designation. 7
BEVERLY HICKS Jack Swearingen Seven Hats Award This award recognizes an individual for special skills needed to carry out the many responsibilities involved in serving a municipal utility with no more than 2,500 electric meters. Since 2015, Beverly Hicks has served as City Administrator for the City of Willow Springs. She started with the city as its Financial Officer in 2006. During her 11 years of leadership as the city s budget and finance officer, the city has built substantial reserves for electric, water and sewer operations, and has proactively supported replacement of old water & sewer infrastructure and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant. Beverly is engaged in far too many local boards and committees to list here, and for the past year she has served as Secretary for the board of the Mid-Missouri Municipal Power Energy Pool. Further modeling the many hats for this honor, she also serves as emergency management director for the City, providing management assistance needs while responders are on scene, opens the storm shelter and activates storm sirens for weather emergencies. 8
CITY OF COLUMBIA Buddy Bennett-Lee Barker Community Service Award This award is given a member utility for special achievements or sustained performance to improve the quality of life in its community. For over 35 years, the Columbia Water & Light Utility Services division has offered energy efficiency programs. Over the last seven years, Columbians have spent 36 million dollars in the local economy on efficiency upgrades. The last few years, the Columbia team has focused on social equity and affordable housing. Working with the public housing authority and the city s Community Development department, they offer customers rebates, zero percent loans and an attic insulation program for low-income tenants. The Utility Services team participated in 40 events in economically challenged areas of Columbia, reaching 3,700 citizens in 50 days to increase participation in energy saving programs. The low-income programs have saved customers an average of 25 percent on their utility bills. Stimulating the local economy while taking care of the underserved population shows Columbia Water & Light s dedication to the community.
TAMMY HAMBLEN Honor Award The Honor Award is given to an individual who s service to the local utility represents exceptional service in their everyday work, a goal we all need to strive to attain. Tammy Hamblen has been Wastewater Treatment Supervisor for the City of Carrollton since 2013. Prior to becoming wastewater supervisor in 2013, Tammy served Carrollton for (20 years), beginning her work in the city s street department and then as a wastewater treatment operator since 2006. In 2015 she was nominated and honored by her peers as Outstanding Supervisor by the Missouri Water and Wastewater Conference, a recognition for her years of exceptional service to the water and wastewater industry and the city.
KARI GOODMAN Special Mention Award The Special Mention Award is given to an individual whose contribution to the local utility doesn t match the criteria for our other awards, but whose service is deserving of the recognition of the Alliance. Kari Goodman is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Hannibal Board of Public Works. Joining HBPW as a Customer Service Representative in 2012, she took up her current position in 2014. In her time as Public Relations Coordinator, Kari refurbished the utility s website, making it a more effective tool for visitors to find information. Kari has also been effective at increasing the Board of Public Works presence in social media, increasing public awareness of HBPW s many community service projects. Most significantly, Kari leads a group of HBPW employees in planning and carrying out a week-long celebration for Public Utilities Week each October. Designing the event as an opportunity to give back to the Hannibal community, Kari has led the utility in thousands of hours of volunteering at local schools, parks, cemeteries, and not-for- profits.
Alliance Resolution LARRY SUTTON An Alliance Resolution and plaque will be given to Larry Sutton in recognition of his service to MPUA. Larry Sutton served as City Administrator in the City of Houston from November 2007 through May 2017. He has served on the MJMEUC Executive Committee since 2014, rising to Chair of MJMEUC in September of 2016. He was also the first Chair of the Mid-Missouri Municipal Power Energy Pool (MMMPEP). Under his leadership, the City of Houston obtained more than $6 million in grants, built two new roads to alleviate highway traffic, built a new industrial park, and made major airport improvements. On the utility side, Larry oversaw the replacement of a 30- year old sewer plant in 2011. And when Houston and several other mid-missouri cities learned that their wholesale power arrangement was going to be terminated, Sutton assisted in the creation of MMMPEP, to ensure Houston could purchase wholesale power with rate stability.
RECOGNITIONS APPA Safety Award Carthage Water & Electric Plant Kirkwood Electric City of Lebanon APPA Reliable Public Power Provider Carthage Water & Electric Plant Conway Corporation City of Fulton Independence Power & Light Marshall Municipal Utilities City of Nixa Springfield City Utilities Century Award Poplar Bluff, MO Supervisory Leadership Certifications Carthage Water & Electric Plant, Hannibal BPW, Jackson, Marshall Municipal Utilities, Monett, Nixa, St. James, Salem, and West Plains New Municipal Members Gilman City, MO Norborne, MO 9
PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS 10
2017 SPONSORS Special thanks to the sponsors of our Alliance Awards Luncheon: Spiegel & McDiarmid Piper Jaffrey