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UF TREEO ~ Gator
Bites
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September 27, 2007 |
Volume 3, Number 3 |
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Environmental
Training Courses: Train-the-Trainer
For Environmental Occupations Oct. 9-11,
2007 Gainesville,
FL #080106 Cost:
$695 Coordinator:
Stephanie West, swest@treeo.ufl.edu or 352/392-9570
x216 Oct. 11, 2007
Gainesville,
FL #080104 Cost:
$250 Coordinator:
Stephanie West, swest@treeo.ufl.edu or 352/392-9570
x216 FDEP SOP
Sampling Training For Groundwater, Surface Water and
Wastewater Oct. 23,
2007 Gainesville,
FL #080055 Oct. 24,
2007 Gainesville,
FL #080068 Cost:
$295 Coordinator:
Stephanie West, swest@treeo.ufl.edu or 352/392-9570
x216 Nuts and
Bolts of LEED Process: For New Construction and Major Renovation
Projects Oct. 23-24,
2007 Tampa,
FL #080486 Cost:
$425 Coordinator:
Laurel Brown, lbrown@treeo.ufl.edu or 352/392-9570 x231 For
more Courses Visit: |
Long Time Destin Water Users Employee Bids FarewellTerry Watkins retires after 34 years of exemplary service.DESTIN – 34
years ago Terry Watkins climbed down into a man hole on his first day on
the job at Destin Water Users (DWU). Cockroaches scurried as he cleared
out the clogged sewer line, which frequently backed up into the home of a
retired principle. Twice a week, this was to be Terry’s job, and with a
wife and a baby at home Terry couldn’t refuse the $2.10 an hour it would
earn him. Although
this may not sound all that alluring now, it is a pleasant memory relayed
with a soft smile from Terry as he sits in his nearly empty office at DWU
preparing for his retirement. As the
Plans & Programs Manager at Destin Water Users, Terry’s desk used to
be stacked with papers and folders. Now, he has cleared almost everything
except for his computer and a few reports that he has left to finish.
Terry moved
to Ft. Walton Beach in
1960 to finish high school, then
moved to Destin in 1971 and found his way to DWU a few short years
later. “They were looking for someone to get a water license, and they
thought I would be a good candidate for that,” Terry explains. From that
first day when Terry was the “low man on the totem pole” in a staff of 7
employees, to today where Terry holds two licenses, a Class C Water and a Class B
Wastewater and is certified to teach Backflow and Cross Connection Control classes through the University of
Florida TREEO Center to water
utility company employees, plumbers and others relating to water systems
from all over the southeast --
Terry has done it all. “I have done every job here at DWU, except for financial
manager.” Through all
of his positions and years at DWU, all of the promotions and recognitions,
Terry views the opportunities that DWU afforded him as the highlights of
his career. “When I first came to work here, George French, who was the
head of the Board of Directors, told me we needed volunteer firemen. He
was the volunteer fire chief, and he said, ‘If you are going to work here
you have to be a volunteer fireman.’” Since that conversation, Terry
discovered his passion for emergency service. He has completed 23 years
with the volunteer firemen, serving as chief for 14 years and fire
commissioner for 4 years – but this was just the
beginning. Terry now
describes himself as an “emergency service junkie” because of the laundry
list of organizations that he either started or has served on for the
length of his career. Terry received his emergency medical technician
(EMT) certification shortly after joining the volunteer firemen and has
served part time riding in ambulances for 23 years. Next, he co-founded
the only Search & Recovery Dive Team in the Destin area, and was soon
asked to join the Sherriff’s Auxiliary, which he has served on for 30 years, spending 18 years as
head of the Auxiliary. Another organization that has kept Terry busy in
recent years is the Disaster Medical Assistance Team, which provides
medical treatment to victims of disasters like Hurricane Katrina and Rita;
Terry spent a considerable amount of time aiding victims of both storms on
the Gulf Coast. Terry’s passion for helping people is nothing new, “I’ve
always tried to do the right thing,” he says. Although he
is retiring, Terry isn’t simply leaving. With the organizations he is
involved in and the classes that he is teaching, he
will continue to see a lot of the DWU employees that he calls his family.
“We are just like a family. I get up, I come here. This is my family. I
see these people more that I see anybody else in my life,” he explains.
Terry will, of course, continue his service to the Sherriff’s Auxiliary
and the Disaster Medical Assistance Team as well. With the exception of
spending more time with his family and fishing near the Black Creek -
Choctawhatchee River area in Freeport, retirement will be much of the same
as working for Terry. He will still be serving the people and the
community he has cared for since he began work at Destin Water Users 34
years ago. Barrels conserve water and moneyBy PATRINA A.
BOSTIC patrina.bostic@heraldtribune.com EAST MANATEE -- It is the oldest water collection
system ever devised by mankind. Solid Waste Grants
The Small
County Consolidating Grant is awarded to counties with a population fewer
than 100,000. It allows the county to be reimbursed for activities
relating to solid waste including recycling, litter control and waste
hires. To
learn more………
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