 |
Ken Hedler/The Daily Courier
From left, Shane Shatzer, Guy Crawford and Stefan Padilla of CH2M Hill OMI in Prescott Valley stand outside Prescott Valley's sewage treatment plant. The Arizona Water & Pollution Control Association recently honored them. |
|
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Guy Crawford, Shane Shatzer and Stefan Padilla hold jobs at CH2M Hill OMI that are as interconnected as the pipelines that deliver water to Prescott Valley residents.
Padilla, water operations and maintenance supervisor, said he and Crawford, the wastewater supervisor, work with the wastewater plant staff. OMI contracts with the Town of Prescott Valley to provide water and sewer service, and recharge the aquifer with effluent (treated sewage).
"I'm putting water in the pipe. He's fixing the pipe," Padilla said.
Crawford interjected, "Stefan is sending the clean water to everybody."
Their colleague, Shatzer, distribution and collection supervisor, said, "I take care of (water and sewage) or my guys take care of it and make sure it stays in the pipe."
Shatzer, Crawford said, "also makes sure the wastewater gets down to me and I treat the wastewater. In reality, none of us could do what we do without the other."
Their teamwork paid off professionally in May at the annual awards ceremony of the Arizona Water & Pollution Control Association, OMI Project Director John Bowman said.
Bowman successfully nominated the three for awards in their management categories for communities with fewer than 50,000 people: Crawford as Wastewater Supervisor of the Year, Padilla as Water Operations Supervisor of the Year and Shatzer as Distribution Operations Supervisor of the Year.
Bowman said the awards are competitive because the under-50,000 category constitutes the majority of water/sewer utility providers in the state.
"It is definitely a testament not only to their expertise but of the quality of the service delivered by their respective teams," Bowman said.
Padilla, 33, said the awards are significant because their peers recognized the trio.
"Everyone was congratulating us within the company," he said.
Padilla, Shatzer, 32, and Crawford, 51, said they enjoy the variety of their work.
"You get to go outside," Padilla said. "You get to interact with the public. There is rarely a day that my planned day goes as planned."
Padilla is the newest employee at OMI, having joined nearly eight years ago as an operator trainee.
By contrast, Crawford started with OMI 21 years ago as a mechanic in Hood River, Ore., and transferred to Prescott Valley four years ago from Gresham, Ore.
Like his peers, Shatzer has worked his way up the corporate ladder. He started as a crew worker in 1998 with the predecessor company, the now-defunct Shamrock Water Co.
Editor's note: If you have a suggestion of a local person to feature in Achievers, call 445-3333, ext. 2041, or send an e-mail to khedler@prescottaz.com.
|
