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Safford employee wins water award
Story and photo By Jon Johnson, Assistant Editor, Eastern Arizona Courier Published on Sunday, May 9, 2010 11:54 AM MST
Safford water division manager Eric Buckley was surprised this week when he was awarded the Water Distribution Operator of the Year award from the Arizona Water Association on Wednesday.
Buckley is in charge of Safford's water system, which includes several water tanks, wells, pump houses, about 245 miles of pipe lines and more than 7,000 connections. He said his department keeps the system up and running by performing maintenance and installing new systems.
Buckley was nominated for the award by Trueline Engineering, which has a contract with the city.
Utility Director Jay Howe called Buckley to a budget meeting Tuesday, and Buckley said he was surprised to see his wife and a room full of people waiting for him. The group congratulated Buckley with a cake and informed him he would have to travel to Glendale on Wednesday to accept the award at the Arizona Water Association's annual conference and exhibition.
"They completely caught me off guard," Buckley said. "I was the only one in the organization that didn't know."
The association handed out various awards in different categories, but there were only two handed out for operator of the year – one for a small system (50,000 customers or less) and one for a large system.
Buckley was quick to credit those around him with the success of the department and said no one man could shoulder such a burden on his own.
"If this deems me successful, it's because I'm surrounded by really good people," he said. "I have a really good crew, and I have good support from Jay and all the management."
Buckley said he is lucky because he sits back and dreams the dreams while other people make them a reality.
"They honor me, and yet I'm not the one out there with a shovel in my hand; these other guys are," he said. "And I'm not writing the checks. Somebody else is doing that, so I'm lucky to be in the position I am."
Buckley also gave credit to Trueline Engineering for its efforts in putting its "wild" ideas on paper.
"We work with a really good engineering firm," he said. "And that really is our ticket because that makes our dreams reality."
Buckley stressed that while it is humbling to win such an award, he would rather the city be recognized and not just himself.
"I'm just part of the machine. . ." he said. "It's a team effort. I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of really good people. They may make me look good, but without them I'd be toast. . . The organization is the one to thank, not me."
Posted on 5/10/2010
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