FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : July 21, 2003

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

Western recognizes Jamestown resident for exceptional service

LAKEWOOD , Colo. ,— Jamestown resident Mike Baldwin will receive Western Area Power Administration’s highest honor at a ceremony July 23 at Western’s Upper Great Plains Regional Office. Western’s Administrator Mike Hacskaylo will present Baldwin with Western’s Exceptional Service Award during the ceremony.

“I congratulate Mike Baldwin for making outstanding daily contributions to Western. A Western original, Mike exemplifies our values by serving his customers and peers with great dedication. His skills, initiative and commitment help to make Western a premier power marketing and transmission organization,” said Hacskaylo.

Baldwin, an electronic equipment craftsman, started his Federal service in 1975 with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as an electronic equipment mechanic in Jamestown , N.D. , and stayed ever since.

Baldwin receives Western’s highest award for taking the lead in programming and commissioning new equipment. Specifically Baldwin is cited for exceptional service for commissioning Communications and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition equipment, and doing an exceptional job with telephone exchanges, meter scaling and interfacing and Local Area Network operations. He is also recognized for being motivated to learn and apply new technologies.

Baldwin is a self-starter, who keeps up with changing technology and has the natural ability to teach others how to deal with computer or technical problems within their specific knowledge and skill levels. He successfully works with people from utilities and operations, as well as vendors, peers, supervisors and management, using his easy-going style and cordial persona.

Before working for Western, Baldwin was an electronic technician for White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and originally lived in Bedford , Ind. He and his wife Virginia, have a daughter Gretchen who just graduated from Moorhead State University . Baldwin spends his extra time working out, walking, biking, playing tennis and occasionally golfing.

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