FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE :
May 13, 2005
CONTACT : Jennifer
Neville , 720-962-7054, neville@wapa.gov
WESTERN RECOGNIZES HURON RESIDENT FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
LAKEWOOD , Colo. —Huron resident John Harris will receive Western Area Power Administration’s highest honor at a ceremony May 17 at Western’s South Dakota Construction Office, Huron, S.D. Western’s Administrator Mike Hacskaylo will present Harris with Western’s Exceptional Service Award during the ceremony.
“I congratulate John Harris for making outstanding contributions to Western. John exemplifies the values we have outlined in our People Goal by serving his customers and peers with great dedication. His multiple accomplishments remind us of the wide reach our organization has in our industry, our service territory and our nation,” Hacskaylo said.
UGP Construction Manager John Harris has supported South Dakota construction projects since he joined Western’s Huron, S.D., office as an office engineer in 1979.
He earns Western’s highest award for being the cornerstone of Western's Construction program. He managed the construction of many new substations including Wolf Point, Aurora, Exira, Virgil Fodness, Elk Creek and the Watertown Static VAR facility. He provided leadership for numerous microwave sites and transmission expansion projects and was key in getting more than 1,000 miles of overhead fiber optics on the Joint Transmission System.
As one of the original members of the Maintenance Design Coordinating Council, John was a key player in setting policy and design standards Westernwide. For the past 16 years he has been instrumental in the power system expansion in the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool area.
John’s unique knowledge of construction safety helped Western’s Upper Great Plains Safety Committee develop regional and Westernwide policies and procedures. In fact under his leadership, the lost-time injury rate dropped more than 70 percent and the severity rate fell more than 84 percent. At the end of February, there have been no lost-time accidents for a 51-month period.
When he's not working, he plays golf, works in the garden and yard, goes bowling, and loves to visit new places. Harris and his wife, Jean, have two sons, Nick and Nate. Harris plans to retire in June 2005 with more than 32 years of service.
Western Exceptional Award recipients:
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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