On Good Authority February 2023

ON GOOD AUTHORITY

Monthly Newsletter for Employees & Families of the Western Virginia Water Authority Service Awards Luncheon Congratulations!

The Annual Service Awards Luncheon was held at the Berglund Center on Thursday, January 26. Employees from across the Authority enjoyed lunch and a ceremony that recognized the accomplishments and years of service of over 50 employees.

In 2022, we received several awards Finance received two awards from the Government Finance Officers Association: the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the FY 2022 budget ,as well as the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for the FY 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report Carvins Cove was awarded the VDH 2021 Bronze Award for Excellence in Waterworks The Hydrant Hysteria team finished second in the state at the VA-AWWA Distribution System Rodeo. We set a new donation record for United Way with $30,156 donated. Scott Shirley received the Arthur Sidney Bedell Award for extraordinary personal service to the VWEA. Brian Whitenack received the Sherry Williams Leadership Award presented by the VA-AWWA. We received second place in both the Vinton Christmas p Roanoke for our P won the champion

40 Years

Chuck Light

30 Years

Larry Hale

25 Years

Wayne Murrell

Paul Peery

20 Years

Greg Honeycutt

Cecil Hoyt III

Stephen Lofaro

Ladee Olemoh

Nate Ratliff

Ken Winslow

15Years

Taft Beasley

Hugh Blankenship

Woody Chisom

Mike Cubitt

Chuck Hartless

John Hawks

Mario Jones

Ragena Jordan

Brian McCafferty

Louis Morgan

Donnie Rowan

20Years

Randy Williams

10Years

Scott Agner

Guthrie Bond

CJay Bonds

Merritt Ford

John Frashure

Kevin Hall

Chris Huffman

Terri Love

Jennifer Meeks

Kenny Orr

Kevin Thomasson

Brian Whitenack

5Years

Ralph Bayer

Nick Blackwell

Tiffany Cumbee

Jay Graybill

Ian Hall

Nick Harrington

James Mason

Wesley Palmer

Ryan Rexrode

Spencer Rowe

Jesus Soria

Sydney Thompson

Charles Underwood

Mike Webster

John Wiley

Daria Zellmer

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25Years

40Years

15Years

0:

SPEAK UP!

Speak Up! Coming soon...

Have your voice heard with our new confidential Speak Up initiative! You can recognize fellow employees for a job well done or report issues of workplace harassment, bullying, violence, fraud, etc. through our various Speak Up channels. You will be able to contact our Speak Up team via email, phone, text or an online form.

For more information contact Robyn Tuck in HR

The Safety/Fleet/Risk Management tab on SharePoint has been updated.

Including:

EMEX-Incident Management Platform Updated Panel of Physicians

WOW Wednesdays Are Back

Join us each month for "Water Over the Weirs (WOW)" Learn from our guest speakers on a variety of different topics. Tune in on WebEx.

Feb. 8 - Neil Norris

March 8 - Public Relations

April 12 - Sandra Roberts

May 3- Dana Hargrove

June 14 - Steve NIchols

Try using the SBI Model for improving communication – Covered in Civility & Respect Training

February is Black History Month

Here are ways that you can honor Black History Month:

Support Black-Owned Businesses

I

Describe the situation Be specific about when and where it occurred.

BBehavior

Describe the observable behavior. Don't assume you know what the other person was thinking.

SSituation Impact

Describe what you thought or felt in reaction to the behavior.

"Sally, I would like to talk with you about our meeting yesterday."

"I observed you rolling your eyes when Tim was talking."

"I am worried about how this can impact team morale."

Learn About Historical Black Figures

Donate to Charities

Participate in local events

IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Action) groups are meeting monthly. The four focus groups are: Governance, Recruitment & Retention, Special Events and Education & Training.

If you would like to attend or be involved with one or more group meetings, please contact Neil Norris ext. 2957.

From Intern to Supervisor

Meet Caroline Blackwell

Caroline Blackwell was in her junior year at Hollins University when her Microbial Ecology class came on a tour of the Water Pollution Control Plant. This experience was inspiring for her and opened the door for the start of her career here at the Water Authority.

In May 2022, Caroline started as an intern at Spring Hollow to help manage the lead and copper compliance sampling that was taking place last summer. During her internship, she was able to job shadow the laboratory analysts to gain a hands-on understanding of what their day-to-day responsibilities include. She moved to Wastewater at the end of the lead and copper project, where she worked closely with Lisa Workman on paperwork and compliance

Caroline graduated in December 2022 with a B S in Biology and a B A in Environmental Studies She always had plans to stay local, and when the opportunity came for her to apply for the open lab supervisor position, she took the chance She said, "From the interview to my first day, I have had the best team to help me transition and be the best leader I can be "

Our internships are great opportunities for young people to explore careers at the Water Authority. "Working as an intern gave me real-life experience with skills I had learned throughout my college career," Caroline explained. "Networking, project management, and data organization are all things I used during my internship that helped me prepare for my career." We look forward to watching Caroline grow in her field and as a leader here at the Water Authority.

In the Field with Our GIS Team

Our GIS Technician Team plays an essential role in the Water Authority. They are the key to keeping accurate records, surveying, locating and identifying our assets throughout our water and wastewater systems. This data is then used to populate our GIS data maps When surveying assets such as manholes, they look at the GPS location, depth and directional flow of the service line Sometimes they need to use special tools, such as metal detectors, to find manholes that are buried underground

Megan Cupka, GIS Tech II, joined the Authority last year and has become a critical member of the GIS team Her role balances work in both the field and in the office to verify the Authority's assets and update our mapping systems She shared, "I really enjoy the people I get to work with and how varied the work is in this job. It's been a really great learning opportunity, and I'm gaining a lot of new skills."

Not only does this work help the Authority know where our assets are located, but it is an essential part of the design process for any new project Sonya Fox, GIS Tech III, has been with the Authority for 15 years, and spends most of her days in the field Sonya shared, "When our engineers are designing a project, they send us out to take inventory of all of the assets that they need They will design the project around the elevation and locations of assets that we have found. This also helps them know where fences and property lines are."

Thank you to these hard working women and the whole GIS Tech team to keeping such meticulous records of our assets across the Water Authority!

Mergan Cupka, GIS Tech II

Sonya Fox, GIS Tech III

Jan. 2023: Some of the Ladies of the Lab posing together at the Service Awards Luncheon. From left: Caroline Blackwell, Brianna Charlton, Janet Wilson, Lisa Workman, Heather Wray

Sept. 2021: Hollins University Microbial Ecology class tour of WPCP. Caroline Blackwell is third from the left.

Feb. 2023: Caroline at Spring Hollow Lab

Employee Referral Bonus

Tier 1:

An Employee who refers a candidate to the Water Authority and the candidate interviewed for a position will receive a $10 gift card from their choice of Wal-Mart, Lowe’s or Kroger

Tier 2:

If the candidate is hired by the Water Authority, the employee will receive an additional $150 after the candidate has worked a total of 160 hours (approximately 4 weeks).

Tier 3:

From our customers

Lindenwood sacrificed water usage yesterday for repairs of at least 2 watermain breaks, and by 11:30 last night water was flowing again! Well into the night with lights your folks worked so we could have water today! I know it must have been quite a job, but it's done, and I for one THANK YOU!

If the candidate works for the Water Authority a total of 1040 hours (approximately six months), the employee will receive an additional $300 Thanks for being a waterful friend! To: From:

As far as I can figure my water bill is the only thing in my life where the cost has not gone up substantially. That's a real blessing. I say this because you're doing a good service.