FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : July 28, 2003

CONTACT : Jennifer Neville, 720-962-7054, neville@wapa.gov

WESTERN RECOGNIZES ARVADA RESIDENT

FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE

LAKEWOOD , Colo. ,—Arvada resident Steve Webber will receive Western Area Power Administration’s highest honor at a ceremony July 30 at Western’s Corporate Services Office. Western’s Administrator Mike Hacskaylo will present Webber with Western’s Exceptional Service Award during the ceremony.

“I congratulate Steve Webber for making outstanding contributions to Western. He exemplifies our values by negotiating complex land matters with customers and landowners to create the best possible result for Western and its customers. His skills, initiative and commitment help to make Western a premier power marketing and transmission organization,” he said.

Webber, a realty specialist, receives Western’s highest honor for exemplary service handling complex land matters. For the past 19 years, Western has benefited from Webber’s expertise on acquiring easements, access roads and substation and telecommunications sites both through purchase and condemnation.

Webber’s ability to coordinate the views of different Western offices helps Western present a united front. His skills in negotiating fair prices and easement conditions maintaining positive relations with landowners while satisfying customer needs for the lowest possible prices. Webber was Western’s lead negotiator in obtaining a right-of-way renewal across the Ak-Chin Indian Community in Arizona . He worked with Western employees to offer the tribe an acceptable settlement.

One of his greatest contributions was providing lands support for the Path 15 Upgrade Project. He pioneered Geographic Information System use to identify access roads and coordinated six negotiators from five different Western offices on this high-profile program. Despite project delays, Steve ensured that more Western acquired more than 100 land tracks for the project on schedule.

Webber started with Western in 1985 as a clerk. He and his wife Cathy live in Arvada , Colo. , with their three children Ryan, 16, Kevin, 14, and Mikayla, 7. He spends his free time golfing, playing basketball, reading and watching his kids’ sports.

Western Exceptional Award recipients:

• Are recognized as experts in their fields
• Consistently go above and beyond what is normally expected on a long-term basis
• Perform additional assignments, such as dedicated participation on committees or task forces
• Involve themselves in outside activities that reflect favorably on Western
• Help accomplish the goals of Western’s Strategic Plan

Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of power from hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy.

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Serving the West with Federal Hydropower