Summer 2023 Ubits by Tacoma Public Utilities

Ubits Summer 2023

p Public Utility Board members Carlos Watson, John O’Loughlin, William Bridges, and Elly Claus-McGahan join Director Flowers and Monique Wells (who threw the first pitch), for the on-field check presentation for the TPU Senior Assistance Fund.

Utility hits it out of the park for the Senior Assistance Fund Hundreds of happy faces came out to Cheney Stadium on the hot summer evening of Aug. 24, grabbed their coveted event night T-shirt and cheered on the Rainiers to their 5-1 win against the Las Vegas Aviators at TPU Night at the Tacoma Rainiers. Employees and the public were invited to enjoy a night of baseball that included a TPU Night at the Rainiers T-shirt and ballpark hot dog. Employees and their families could also buy a special ticket package including the previous perks, plus seating on the party deck. The night was more than a winning game, camaraderie, and a meal; it was a special night to celebrate this year’s 185 Service Awards honorees and raise money for our Senior Assistance Fund. For every TPU ticket package purchased, $5 was donated to the Senior Assistance Fund, providing one-time grants to seniors needing assistance with their utility bills. Moments before game time, Director Jackie Flowers and Public Utility Board members came to the field to accept a $2,635 check from ticket package

donation proceeds and an anonymous gift. Board members on the field were Carlos Watson, John O’Loughlin, William Bridges, and Elly Claus-McGahan.

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Our Senior Assistance Fund is truly impactful, and one way we can give back to our community,” said Social Responsibility Manager Christina Turner. “I want to give a shoutout to Customer Services because they connect directly with our customers, especially seniors, and listen to their needs.”

The Service Awards honorees were recognized on the score board marquee, outfield LED banner, in The Dirt program, and congratulated by the game announcer throughout the night. Following the check presentation, Monique Wells, customer accounts supervisor, celebrating her 35 years of work and dedication to the utility, threw out the first pitch! This was the second year that an honoree with the most years of service for the year, was

selected to throw out the first pitch.

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TPU Night at the Rainiers was such a fun experience! I was a bit nervous yet had a blast throwing out the ceremonial first pitch,” said Monique Wells, Customer Services. “The event was a perfect representation of the big-hearted people at TPU - combining raising money for our Senior Assistance Fund and celebrating our Service Awards honorees! I am proud to be a member of the TPU family!”

Over 250 people filled the party deck. Many more had tickets in the stands for a total of 477 TPU ticket packages sold for the sellout game.

In this issue 2

Water employee becomes national champion

New Utility Board member

You’re excelling in community giving

From Instagram hearts to a trophy:

“ p Tacoma Water’s meter challenge and pipe tapping teams take national top honors at the AWWA competition.

Tacoma Water teams take top honors at American Water Works Association competitions Employees at Tacoma Water showed their fast-paced skills and won first and second prize in two categories at the 2023 American Water Works Association conference in Toronto. Carlos Camacho won the Meter Challenge Competition and is the new national champion. He defeated the defending champion in the finals with a time of 41.78 seconds. The win automatically qualifies him for the national competition in Anaheim next year.

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I would like to thank Tacoma Water for sending us to compete in this year’s AWWA competition. It was a lot of fun and I was very proud to represent the utility. I also want to give a huge thanks to my coach Chris Hicks for helping me bring home the gold; our many after-hours practices paid off! I’m really looking forward to next year’s competition,” said Carlos.

What’s in the Watershed” wins an honorable mention for Social Campaign of the Year at Ragan PR Daily Awards

The wild inhabitants of the Green River Watershed made their way to New York City when our TPU Communications team’s “What’s in the Watershed” campaign was recently recognized by the PR Daily as part of its Social Media & Digital Awards. From opossum to moose, the popularity of the animal stars posted on social media has made the series the longestrunning and most successful campaign for TPU to date. With the goal in mind of educating residents how TPU protects these inhabitants and the water quality, the series became a fan favorite.

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Followers learn about new critters each month and that if the water is suitable for local nature, it’s more than fit for their households. Earning this award signifies that this campaign is working, and our customers are becoming more aware about where their water comes from,” said Social Media Manager Steven Shortt.

This award was made possible through the collaboration of Tacoma Water Restoration Biologist Natalie Schmidt (content research) and watershed staff (videos and photos), along with TPU Communications and Marketing staff Valerie Lorfeld (content management) and Steven Short (social media post prep). You can read this fun feature the first Wednesday of each month in Newsline.

mytpu · Follow

The Women’s Tapping Team of Jessa Messer, Sarah DeGidio, and Sami Pielak, coached by Geff Yotter, secured second place in the tapping challenge with a time of 2:26 seconds, only to be beaten out for first place by the two-time defending national champions in their final attempt. Our Men’s Tapping Team, including Carlos Camacho, Robert Maurer, and Zach Shoemaker, coached by Troy Newman, persevered through numerous challenges to complete their taps against a deep field of competitors. Congratulations to all the competitors who spent many hours preparing for the national competition! Water pipe tapping is a team event where a coach supports three participants tapping into a live water main to create a service connection as fast as possible. The meter challenge is a race to assemble a Zenner water meter as fast and accurately as possible. The honor makes them some of the smartest, fastest, and strongest water employees in the country.

427 likes

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mytpu It has been decades since a moose sighting on the west side of the cascades. One was spotted recently by our very own Paul Cotie, a Tacoma Watershed Inspector. #reels #tacoma #wa SEPTEMBER 23, 2023

zeefooey Nice shot 50 W

mytpu Opossums are some of our most shy friends in the Green River Watershed. #opposum #nature #pnw #GreenRiver #Tacoma #WA #reels APRIL 14, 2023

the_exploits_of_lisa They're great! Glad you posted this, I've been seeing so much hate on random IG reels! 73 W

la_missmonique I’ve been there! 51 W

agritcitynemophilist Are there no moose because 9f habitat destruction? Or another reason?! 51 W

dugganhomes Wow! Where did they see it? 51 W

lorivonderhorst So cool! 51 W View all comments

p Instagram posts for “What’s in the Watershed” featuring a moose and opossum show a couple examples of the social media monthly feature that qualified for an honorable mention with Ragan PR Daily Awards.

Tacoma Power hits another advanced meter project milestone The Tacoma Power Meter Shop met a major advanced meter project milestone at the end of June by completing all assigned Commercial & Industrial (C&I) advanced meter upgrades. Over the last two years, they exchanged 9,115 meters, substantially meeting the goal. However, due to supply chain issues, the team still needs 115 more meters. Throughout the project, the primary focus was communicating with customers to ensure the upgrade went smoothly. Even though most large customers have a bypass switch so the power wouldn’t be interrupted during the exchange, Monica McIntyre, advance meter customer service technician in the Meter Shop, contacted each customer to explain the process and alleviate any concerns. She then worked with the account executives assigned to the businesses to schedule appointments. Once on site, the technicians answered questions and confirmed the customer was comfortable before upgrading.

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The team understands that losing power during business hours can be very disruptive, and provided exceptional customer service and minimized customer impact when service interruptions were required,” stated JD Smith, T&D Meter Relay Services field operations supervisor. “The pandemic brought challenges that no one could have planned for, but the team collaborated to ensure they completed the work on schedule.”

p Back row left to right: Chris Morgan, Trent DeJardine, Jeff Shoch, Cody Smith, Pat Eckroth, Justin Angove, and Rebekah Rakestraw. Second row left to right: Sean Vasquez, Garrett Richardson, Steve Whipple, and Mike Davis. Front row left to right: Scott Ceralde, Rick Wacker, Monica McIntyre, Louis Allen, and Andrew Fisher. Not pictured: John Williams, Scott Fannin, Kirsten Russell, Lynette Mason, and Vikki Gonzales (retired).

The new advanced meters improve service by providing faster responses to outages and leak notifications, automated meter reads, and new tools that allow customers to view and manage their power use. Now that our utility has upgraded most of the C&I meters, our commercial customers can view their usage data in hour increments rather than total usage over a monthly billing period. We started receiving electric meters from Sensus and are working with Tribus, our meter installation vendor, to ramp up the upgrades for residential and small commercial customers. They are on target to complete the water meter upgrades by early Q1 2024 and electric meters by Q4 2024.

Anita Gallagher joins the Public Utility Board with insider experience Anita Gallagher, an independent government relations consultant and freelance writer working primarily in the public policy arena, recently joined the Public Utility Board. Before starting her business, Anita led government relations in the Pacific Northwest for Lime, the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company. She also led government relations in the Tacoma City Manager’s Office, and many of you may know her from her time as Regional Relations Manager for TPU. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Criminal Justice, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, both from Washington State University. Anita is President-elect on the Board of Directors for “Downtown: On the Go” and serves on the University of Washington-Tacoma School of Urban Studies Advisory Board. She is also an American Leadership Forum Class XXX fellow.

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I am excited to serve my community as a member of the Public Utility Board. While working in the Utility, I learned firsthand about the operations of each of the three utilities and was proud of our collective work to provide excellent customer service,” said Anita. “As a board member, I will focus on maintaining our value proposition to customers, enhancing affordability for vulnerable populations, and strategic planning to ensure that we are well-positioned to meet future demand for our services.”

Former Board member Holland Cohen departed in July, creating the vacant position. Anita will serve Holland’s term through June 30, 2026. The Board is a five-person governing body for TPU. Board members are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Tacoma City Council. Members serve a five-year term without pay. You can attend meetings in person or virtually and should check MyTPU.org and Tacoma Public Utilities social media for times and Zoom information. Meetings are also broadcast live and live streamed by TV Tacoma.

Power and water utilities step up and out to educate the community It has been a busy year for our Tacoma Water and Tacoma Power event staff. Bernie Peterson, Rochelle Gandour-Rood, Tyler Cummings, and several others hosted a record number of tabling events in our service area this year, kicking things off with the Tacoma Home & Garden Show in January, and the Remodeling Expo in March. Power and Water partnered at more than 20 events this year, with each division hosting several others on their own.

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It’s always great to be out in the community to share new developments about Tacoma Water, answer customer questions, and teach them about our programs and services” said Tyler Cummings, sustainability analyst.

The utilities also expanded the types of events they participated in this past summer. Events included everything from community celebrations, farmers markets, street fairs, family educational events, sustainability events, and resource fairs to meet our customers where they are and share information about our programs and services. Educating families about our services, opportunities for energy savings, and sustainability, were the primary goals of participation. Thousands of community members stop by our utility’s booth, making our ability to have in-depth conversations with hundreds. The staff adapted our booth from event to event to make it relevant. Sometimes, they offer fun kid’s activities such as buttonmaking and finding camouflage wildlife in photos, or they have people “spin the wheel” for a prize, but with the expectation of being asked a question such as “Can trees help reduce your electric bill?” This past season, Water was incredibly excited to share its new kids’ activity book with the community and Power introduced our Income Qualified Rental Program. Other messaging focused on power and water conservation, water supply, water quality, and rebate programs. Events are promoted on MyTPU.org/Calendar and via social media primarily.

p TPU summer interns take a trip to the Green River Watershed

Summer interns share their TPU experiences through Intern Blog This summer 24 interns participated in the TPU Summer Intern program. Interns were welcomed throughout the utility to help departments, but most importantly to learn and develop their future career paths. A Summer Intern Blog was new this year, highlighting their journeys. Interns Celine Paez and Miles Rankin, who worked in the Public Affairs and Communications Office, oversaw the development and story writing for the blog. Celine and Miles took the opportunity to introduce themselves and then dove into sharing stories from other interns in a weekly blog post shared on Unet and in Newsline. Intern Lauren Pype, shared a video tour of the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. In the video, she demonstrates the hands-on experience she is gaining during her time at the hatchery by taking scale samples, tagging coho molts, and giving viewers a peak of their Visitor Center. Jenny Lansang, a recent Pacific Lutheran University graduate, earned her degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. She is Tacoma Power’s Asset Investment Planning intern. Jenny previously worked for her college’s student financial services office. The asset investment planning team is building a centralized inventory for an upgraded maintenance management system. Creating the system involves taking data from TPU campus assets like electric vehicle chargers and emergency equipment. Through inventory tracking, the team assesses the work and labor needs of different workgroups, such as electricians, mechanics, and engineers. Jenny mapped out exit signs across the TPU campus, ensuring their operations comply with regulations.

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I want to get my master’s degree. However, I want to find out what I enjoy and am passionate about before continuing my education,” shared Jenny.

Intern Jonathan So loves computer science – however, a new interest piqued for Jonathan: Electrical Engineering. Starting in college, Jonathan took on many fantastic projects including building his multimeter that launched his new passion for the electrical side of engineering. He studies Computer and Electrical Engineering at University of Washington Seattle. He is expanding on this new passion with his work for Transmission & Distribution. Juliann Luu, an intern for the Electrical and Control Systems team at Tacoma Water is also a computer and electrical engineer at the University of Washington but does a different job for the utility. Juliann tests pipes and their corrosion, aiming to improve water quality. Juliann attributed many of her qualities and successes to her parents, who worked hard for their children. The interns also had the opportunity to come together this summer to tour Tacoma Water Headworks, where they learned about the Green River Reservoir and its function as Tacoma’s primary water supply behind the Howard Hanson Dam. The group toured various sites including a stop to view the reservoir and a visit to the Green River Filtration Facility, where we filter and disinfect Tacoma’s water before it reaches our customers. You can find the full list of blog stories, including Lauren Pype’s video tour of the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery, on Unet by hovering over “News & Calendar” and clicking on “News.”

Excelling in employee giving opportunities and fundraising for 2023 Our employees outdid themselves the first half of the year through Community Connection. Last spring, we celebrated the return of the in-person TPU Bowl-a-Thon. Four hundred people, including bowlers, employees, employees’ family members, and friends, raised over $20,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound – more than we’ve raised at a Bowl-a-Thon in 13 years!

p Linda Brent is all smiles while bowling at the annual TPU Bowl-a-Thon.

Two of this year’s other community events exceeded more than a combined $13,000 worth of donated items. The Food and Basic Supplies Drive benefited My Sister’s Pantry with over $4,200 of goods, while the School Supplies and H.U.G.S. Drive (hats, underclothing, gloves, and socks) racked up $9,000 worth for clients at HopeSparks. Several employees also came together for two Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity building days to address our community’s pressing need for affordable housing. Through Habitat for Humanity, we worked to help their clients and future homeowners build their homes.

$20,000+ Boys and Girls Clubs

$4,200+ worth of food and basic supplies

$9,000 in donated items

2 Rebuilding Together days

p Employees and their families and friends raised over $20,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.

$3,800 Senior Assistance Fund Dam Ride

bits & pieces

The summer wrapped up with our TPU Dam Ride, a time for cruising out to utility dams and raising money for our Senior Assistance Fund. This program is entirely funded by our employees and helps seniors with a one-time grant to help pay their utility bills. The Dam Ride raised $3,800.

p The School Supplies and H.U.G.S. Drive provided $9,000 in donated items to children and families this school year.

Twenty Director’s Mentoring Circle participants chosen for professional development The Director’s Mentoring Circle (DMC) is an employee development program designed to enrich professional development, broaden their business acumen, increase their professional network, and allow them to engage more closely with Director Jackie Flowers more than they otherwise might. Twenty were chosen to participate in the program. Half of those from Customer Services, MSO, Power, and Water will participate this fall, and the second half will take part beginning this winter. Fall participants are Emily Woodward, Chris Juchau, Julie DeYoung, Megan Davis, Anna Hudson, Aimee Higby, Roberta Haegele, Jenni Chadick, Tammy Smith, and Richelle Krienke. Winter participants are Taylor

Oakes, Courtney Rose, Gary Maguire, James Southern, Alli Abraham, Gretchen Galuska, Courtney Addington, Vallene Pearson, Kathryn Weller, and Jennaca Stogsdill. The DMC group mentoring sessions are held over three consecutive months, meeting once each month for a 90-minute facilitated conversation between the director and employees. The sessions cover topics from the current state of the utility and its path forward, to breaking down silos, hybrid and telework, equity, non-managerial career advancement, work culture, and much more.

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Look who is off on their next adventure

hellos & goodbyes

RETIREES FOR MAY – JULY 2023

Steve Bicker, Tacoma Power assistant section manager for Energy Conservation, retired after 15 years

Scott Mertlich, Tacoma Power wire electrician, retired after 28 years

Terri Broggin, Tacoma Power building maintenance assistant supervisor, retired after 27 years

Rick Munson, Tacoma Power senior technology manager, retired after 25.5 years

Jim Cockrill, Tacoma Water heavy equipment operator, retired after 22.5 years

Clay Norris, Tacoma Power section manager for Power Management, retired after 8 years

Nancy Douglas, Tacoma Water administrative assistant, retired after 28 years

Alice Phillips, Tacoma Power line equipment operator, retired after 35 years

Bruce Ellis, Tacoma Power line electrician, retired after 25 years

James Sant, Management Services deputy director, retired after 11.5 years

Vicky Gonzales, Tacoma Power utility services representative, retired after 19 years

Joan Thornhill, Tacoma Power energy services representative, retired after 37 years

Tenzin Gyaltsen, Tacoma Power utilities technology director, retired after 11.5 years

Don Warren, Tacoma Rail locomotive engineer, retired after 20 years

Deborah Kienast, Tacoma Power custodian, retired after 19 years

Richard Webber, Tacoma Power senior wire electrician, retired after 35 years

Paul Korbuszewski, Tacoma Power building maintenance worker, retired after 14 years

Daniel Wessel, Tacoma Power senior substation operator, retired after 15 years

John Lambert, Tacoma Power senior field operations supervisor, retired after 33 years

Thomas West, Tacoma Power network construction technician, retired after 25.5 years

Ronda Martin, Tacoma Power office administrator, retired after 36 years

Zack Zeiger, Tacoma Power principal associate electrical engineer, retired after 7 years

Remembering those we have lost Gary Carrara’s wife Gail Carrara, shared that Gary passed away away on April 20. He began his 27-year career with Tacoma Water in June 1978 and retired in 2005 from his position as Water Distribution supervisor. Bill Berry, former Rates, Planning and Analysis section manager, passed away on March 31. Bill served at Tacoma Power for 10 years before retiring on March 31, 2022. Bill was a leader in developing and implementing our Outward Mindset training and a long-time supporter of the United Way.

Because of Bill’s commitment to United Way, this year’s fundraising campaign from Sept. 13 to Oct. 4 was dedicated to his memory. Employees provided additional monetary support by purchasing paper hand cutout “high fives,” representing Bill’s well-known and loved signature move and the positive words he always had for co-workers. Community Connection displayed the impressive array of hand cutouts in the Administrative Building North’s ground floor hallway to recognize each person’s gift in remembrance of Bill.

Say hello to the new faces around TPU

THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE BEGAN WORK FROM MAY – JULY 2023

Anthony Alonso Equipment Operator Tacoma Water

Alicia Arzate Real-Time Energy Trader Tacoma Power

Aldo Avina Principal Applications/ Systems Engineer Tacoma Water

Julie Banerjee Principal Energy Conservation Analyst Tacoma Power

Brandon Boucher Vehicle Parts Assistant Tacoma Power

Jeff Brantley Network Construction Technician Tacoma Power

Kelli Delaney Administrative Assistant Tacoma Water

Ryan Espedal Real-Time Energy Trader Tacoma Power

Abigail Fresnares Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Adam Gallion Emergency Management Analayst Management Services

Josh Gile Senior Associate Civil Engineer Tacoma Power

Wyatt Gill Line Electrician Apprentice Tacoma Power

Jason Hamer Locomotive Mechanic I Tacoma Rail

Chris Hicks Line Electrician Apprentice Tacoma Power

Eddy Hix Business Services Manager Tacoma Power

Monique Igitol Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Yue Liu Principal Data Analyst Tacoma Power

John McGraw Real-Time Energy Trader Tacoma Power

George Morrow Building Maintenance Worker Tacoma Power

Erika Navarro Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Colleen Neel Energy Conservation Analyst Tacoma Power

Beth O’Brien Administrative Assistant Tacoma Power

Kelley Pendrak Senior Business Systems Analyst Tacoma Water

Larissa Reidy Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Kathryn Rice Administrative Assistant Tacoma Water

Tanisha Shelton Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Jillian Sibblies Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Caleb Solomon Rail Trainmaster Tacoma Rail

Bob Umbarger Electrician Tacoma Power

Malakai Ventura Line Electrician Apprentice Tacoma Power

Samuel Williams Natural Resources Analyst Tacoma Power

Devynn Williams Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Jarrel Williams Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Nate Yahn Line Electrician Apprentice Tacoma Power

Alex Yoon Deputy Director Management Services

Jackson Youn Senior Business Services Analyst Tacoma Power Not pictured: Paul Vedder Hydro Utility Worker Tacoma Power

Paul Zaldivar Customer Service Representative Customer Services

Bethany Correia Customer Service Representative Customer Services

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Meet the 2023 Executive Interns Three executive interns were selected this summer to job shadow Water Superintendent, Scott Dewhirst, Power Superintendent, Chris Robinson, and Director Jackie Flowers in the fall. For six weeks, each executive intern will shadow their executive by attending various operational and strategic meetings. They will complete a personal project and give a presentation at the end of the program. They will also visit and tour various workgroups for exposure to different business functions. The 2023 interns were selected through a competitive application process in late spring and early summer. Candidates submitted mini-essays and were interviewed by a panel comprised of a cross-section of TPU employees. In 2020 the Executive Internship Program was put on hold due to the pandemic, which delayed Ahlmahz Negash’s appointment in the program. She was able to rearrange her schedule to step in this fall. You can read about our interns’ experiences in the program in a future issue of Ubits.

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Robert Asagai, customer service representative lead, will intern with Director Jackie Flowers. Robert was inspired to become an executive intern by his curiosity of the decision-making processes within upper management.

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I would imagine that they employ a balance of learned experience, critical thinking, and forward thinking to accomplish our shared mission. Learning new skills from this experience would be useful not to only me, but also my team, and my department. I could get a hands-on understanding of the role of an executive within the utility.”

Gary Maguire, utility services representative for Power, will intern with Water Superintendent Scott Dewhirst. When asked what he was most looking forward to in the program, Gary said,

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I hope to gain an understanding of how TPU develops policies and procedures that affect my current position as a USR and ultimately how they impact our customers. I want to gain an understanding of the many components that are examined, analyzed, and incorporated when developing and/or reviewing TPU projects. And I would like to learn more about TPU’s involvement in the Tacoma Climate Action Plan.”

Ahlmahz Negash, principal data analyst, Power Management, will intern with Power Superintendent Chris Robinson. Ahlmahz is looking forward to the opportunity for some unconventional learning during her time as an executive intern. She enjoys having conversations with people within the utility and is passionate about philosophical discussions around things such as poverty, capitalism, and grid infrastructure.