Who are some people under-rated and under-appreciated in their jobs? Offensive linemen in football? Front office employees for sports teams? Nursing assistants in hospitals? Custodians in schools?
Yes, all of those. But how about sewer and water system maintenance technicians? Most likely, they come in near the bottom of the list when it comes to getting respect. Yet, respect is what they deserve, and plenty of it.
Who does the daily work that keeps the sewers flowing? Who is on the spot when a main break floods the streets at 2 a.m.? Who is there when a sewer blockage threatens to cause flooded basements?
Who maintains the valves and hydrants to ensure that water service is reliable and that capacity to fight fires is not compromised? Who handles or oversees the inspection and rehabilitation programs that help control sewer inflow and infiltration, conserve treatment capacity, protect water resources, and help keep treatment expenses down?
Moment in the spotlight
You know the answers, of course. But chances are the people who benefit from the work of these maintenance technicians have no real idea what they actually do and how essential it is to their communities.
Well, here is a chance to give some of these great people a bit of recognition. Municipal Sewer & Water invites you to submit a tribute to a member of your team, or an entire crew, for embodying the best attributes of their profession.
Maybe you want to recognize a long-time crew member in honor of his or her impending retirement. Or someone who, besides being a great technician, is an excellent communicator and educator — someone who in contacts with customers always leaves a positive impression of the department.
Perhaps the person deserving praise is a crew leader whose team consistently performs at a high level, and who has a knack for keeping high-quality, experienced technicians onboard.
Or you might want to honor a crew for one particular accomplishment — for successfully completing a major long-term project on time and with good results, or for exemplary response to a specific emergency.
It’s up to you
This isn’t a contest — we’re not going to submit nominations to a panel of judges.
Nor is this an awards program — we won’t be sending trophies, plaques or certificates. Instead, we will simply publish the tributes in this magazine, so long as you send us reasonably complete information and a good picture.
So, here’s what to do. Send a write-up of perhaps 250 words that tells why the person (or crew) you want to recognize deserves to be honored. Be as specific as possible. For each person, provide not only the name but also the job title and how long he/she has worked for your department.
We’ll also need a good-quality digital photo about 2 megabytes in size. Make it more than just a plain “headshot.” For example, show the person or crew out in the field next to a piece of equipment they use often. Or take a close-up of the person actually at work on a project. Or, just use your imagination. In any case, make sure everyone’s face shows up clearly.
You can e-mail your submissions to me at editor@mswmag.com. Include contact information so we can get back to you as necessary. We’ll publish as many tributes as we can in future issues. All of us at COLE Publishing look forward to your submissions and to recognizing some truly deserving people.
