Edina Public Works Employee Wins Wastewater Operator Award

An Edina public works employee, Nate Behlen, recently won an “Operator of the Year” award from The Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association during its annual meeting in Grand Rapids. 

The city of Edina has more in a press release:

Winners of awards meet criteria of excellence in job performance, accomplishments, awards, education and training undertaken to further their performance, professional, community and civic activities and involvement in the advancement of the MWOA.

The MWOA is divided into six sections within Minnesota. The first step in the awards process is for each section to select candidates for awards from within their membership. The winners from each section then enter statewide competition. Behlen was nominated in the “Metro/Suburban” section. Each candidate submits an application packet, which is distributed to representatives from each section. Awards are then voted on, and the winners are announced at the Annual Meeting in July.

Behlen works for the Utilities Division of Public Works as a Public Service Worker. He is responsible for performing a variety of scheduled preventive maintenance tasks, troubleshooting and repairing water, sewer and storm water systems.

Public Works Coordinator Dave Goergen said, “Not only has Nate delivered excellent performance on his work assignments, but he has also shown that same dedication to high quality in his continuing education and professional licensure pursuits.”

Goergen said the award is an honor, explaining, “There are over 50 municipalities and agencies that fall into the Class SB range (cities with a population of 15,000-50,000), and thousands of operators, so to be singled out by his peers is a great honor. We are very proud of Nate’s efforts and he is clearly deserving of this award.”

Behlen was nominated for this award by co-worker Travis Iverson. Behlen is honored to have received this award but insists, “Everyone in our department is equally deserving of this award. I was fortunate to be nominated and feel lucky that I was chosen.”