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While everyone is gearing up for winter and the holiday season the buzz around the NEPPA offices is about our move to our new Training Center in Littleton. Coming into my first year the challenge of working on a new facility seemed daunting. But, in reality, because of the folks in Littleton it has been far easier than anyone would have expected.

In September we wrapped up our weekly builder meetings and Littleton turned the facility over to us. We were incredibly fortunate in that when we took possession we were down to building out the office, creating a meter lab and getting a decommissioned sub-station installed. Next month, I will talk about the great contributions we have received, but this month I think it is important that we properly thank our new landlords at Littleton.

I got to know the folks at Littleton pretty quickly as a result of the project and they have a good team with skills and personalities that balance each other very well. We honored Scott Edwards, the Assistant General Manager, at our Annual Conference with a Special Recognition Award for his efforts. Scott was the builder captain of the project, running the building meetings and working directly with the general contractor. Midway through the project he had to adapt to a new superintendent, which coincided with the pace of the project picking up. 

But, like I said, it was a team effort and Savas Danos, the LELWD General Manager, was in all the meetings and at times, when things weren’t going as well as they should have, his sense of humor really helped!

As we reach the finish line I have enjoyed working with Alan Brown, the LELWD IT manager. He has been coordinating the server, lines, security system and programming for our new phone system. While working with him I realized that he has a great depth of knowledge about cyber security for utilities.

But if there is one unsung hero in Littleton is has to be Jerry Moscariello. If there is anything that Jerry doesn’t know about facilities or construction it didn’t show up on this project. If one of the subs didn’t do something properly, it was often Jerry who found it and frequently wound up fixing it. In the process of moving the training center from Pascoag and coordinating with the ongoing construction Jerry was the go-to guy. It got to a point where I was afraid to have a discussion on things we needed to do on site, because if Jerry overheard it, it would be done before I could even begin to follow up. My fear was about overtaxing this great guy.

Overall, all of the folks in Littleton have been great. Thanks to the crews who also got our pole yard up for our August classes.

The other unsung hero is our Steve Socoby. Steve is committed to creating the best training center possible and he had to perform a quick turnaround for us to execute the apprentice and advanced crew programs in August!

In order to truly appreciate the full scope of all of the work that went into our Training Center, please join us on Nov. 9 for our Annual Membership Meeting. We will also be performing the ribbon cutting ceremony. So, be ready for photo ops! Please come help celebrate this major milestone for all of our members and to thank our affiliate members for service to us this past year!