3 minute read
Closing Thoughts
Tim Gatz
2019 was a big year for Tim Gatz – he was appointed Secretary of Transportation by Gov. Kevin Stitt as well as named the executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Gatz is no stranger to the department – he started at ODOT in 1990 as a drafting technician and worked his way up the ladder.
An Oklahoma native, Gatz has received a variety of accolades in his career, including the Oklahoma Good Roads and Transportation Association’s Bill Skeith Stewardship Award, as well as the Governor’s Public Service Award. Gatz lives in El Reno with his wife, Sandy, and their two sons. We caught up with him and got his thoughts on ... ... his dedication to ODOT.
I am but one among a sizable group of long-tenured Transportation Cabinet employees. I think the most signi cant factor for me has been being a part of an organization that truly believes that our employees are our most important resources. We care about one another and, in many cases, are absolutely trained to look out for each other. ere is a great deal of job satisfaction that results from making a measurable di erence for Oklahoma citizens and in improving our infrastructure to support future generations. ... what drew him into transportation.
At the time I graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, Oklahoma’s unemployment rate was somewhere around 7-8% and jobs were hard to nd. I am a fourth generation Oklahoman and had no desire to leave the state, so ultimately, I worked part-time and as contract labor.
After about a year, I was extremely fortunate to land an entry level, fulltime position as a drafting tech with ODOT. A landscape architecture degree is not just about horticulture and plant material. It turns out that the surveying, construction materials and construction management, design, project management, urban planning and computeraided drafting education I received at OSU was a great t for the transportation sector. It was still supposed to be the job that was going to get me to my next job. But I wasn’t afraid of hard work, the department had plenty to do and was full of great people meeting some pretty extreme challenges every day. So, some 30-plus years later, here I am, and I still love the people I work with and every minute of the job we do together. ... ODOT’s main responsibilities.
You really don’t have to look any further than the back of our business card. We are responsible for providing a safe, economical and e ective transportation network for the people, commerce and communities of Oklahoma. My job is to make sure we stay aligned with the Governor and the Legislature to accomplish that mission through the wise investment of and stewardship for the taxpayer dollars with which we are entrusted. Also, I serve as the head transportation team builder. I have the privilege to work every day with incredible state, county, local and federal o cials along with ODOT and private-sector engineers, contractors, equipment and material suppliers, administrators and other professionals who are dedicated to the same mission. ...his hobbies.
My time outside of work is focused on spending as much of it as I am able to with my family, especially my wife Sandy. Her support is the only reason that I get to do what I do and sometimes, that’s not easy on her. Someday I’ll nd those lost hobbies and interests, but right now there’s work to be done.
Photo courtesy the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
