East River Electric Power Cooperative recently presented service awards to 16 employees with years of service ranging from five to 40 years.
“I’d like to congratulate this year’s service award recipients and thank them for their dedication to East River Electric. The many years of service we celebrate today are a true testimony of the commitment of our employees,” said East River general manager and CEO Bob Sahr.
Substation and Control Manager, Doug Engbrecht, one of this year’s service award recipients, began working at East River 40 years ago. “I was hired as an apprentice meter technician and held various positions over the years, working my way up to my current manager position. East River helps people to grow within their profession, and when possible, encourages movement within the company to better themselves and the cooperative at the same time. I feel fortunate to have been able to work in the field and in the office and can appreciate the challenges that go with each area. It has been a great experience having worked closely with field and office co-workers at East River (and member cooperatives), and I couldn’t have asked for a better group to work with,” said Engbrecht.
Bob Gale, AV Coordinator, celebrated his 25-year work anniversary. “I feel very blessed to have ‘stumbled’ into this great career at East River,” shared Gale. “East River has been a great place to work and very flexible when it comes to family life. I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with and for. Everyone is kind and generous, willing to step in and help anyone out whenever necessary. I can’t imagine a better way of doing business – and a better way of life, really – than the cooperative way. It’s so much more fulfilling to work for the people that own the business than for faceless investors. To know what you do matters – even in a small way in my case – to the families and communities that receive power from East River.”
East River celebrated the years of service awards with a luncheon held at the Dakota Prairie Playhouse.
A listing of the awards is as follows:
- Five years: Jackson Entringer, Weston Resmen, Josh Rundell, Tyler Wermers
- Ten years: Stephen Haider
- Fifteen years: Ken Clements, Devin O’Day, Nick Reiff, Michele Whitlock
- Twenty-Five years: Janis Dailing, Jamie Denne, Bob Gale, Joanne Lovro, Travis Olson, Erik Traxler
- Forty years: Doug Engbrecht
Photo caption: East River Electric service awards were presented to (back, left) Ken Clements, Josh Rundell, Stephen Haider, Jackson Entringer, Weston Resmen and Jamie Denne; (front, left) Tyler Wermers, Erik Traxler, Michele Whitlock, Joanne Lovro, Devin O’Day, Travis Olson, Doug Engbrecht and Bob Gale.