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Altoona Water Authority Field Operations Director Ray Dodson has retired, after 43 years with the organization.
Born in 1963 and raised in the Sixth Ward, Dodson started with the authority as a laborer in 1980, and has worked as a pipefitter, foreman and superintendent of water maintenance, he said, after a recent authority meeting.
As field operations director, he oversaw in-house and contract work projects.
The authority held a recognition for him on his last day, March 31.
Dodson always came to work with "a mission and a purpose," said General Manager Mark Perry, who has worked for the authority for 38 years himself. "Going back to his early years -- his crew days," Perry added.
The work wasn't always easy, given the challenges of weather, especially in winter, in watery ditches, looking for leaks, Perry said.
Dodson became field operations director in 2005, when Perry became general manager.
"We've grown to know each other pretty well," Perry said. "We've come to understand each other."
Such understanding will be hard to replace, Perry said.
Dodson was also a "great work companion," Perry said. "I'm going to miss that."
Dodson was "an integral part of this authority," with a tenure lasting longer than "a lot of our infrastructure" -- and thus, "fully depreciated," quipped Perry to the board.
"It's been a great career," Dodson said. "But it's time to move on."
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.