Demanding management program sets great expectations

Operator Trainee Les Rice poses before Thurmond Dam’s spillway gates July 6. Rice is a 4th-year operator trainee in the Savannah District’s Operator Training Program. The competitive program accepts only an elite crop of qualified candidates who must endure 4-5 years of demanding requirements surrounding dam operations.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – J. Strom Thurmond Dam currently operates at 98 percent proficiency but its operators are expected to perform above this percentage.

Operator Trainee Les Rice routinely meets these lofty expectations inside an examination room where he must demonstrate working knowledge of complex power systems and operations or risk losing his only source of income.

Contracting staff redefine business as usual

SAVANNAH, Ga. – A few hard-charging Savannah District professionals looking to rattle business as usual enrolled in Auburn University’s Construction Management Program, a degree-awarding program promoted to mend information and communication gaps between construction and contracting specialists.

Lucky 13 tour new Diamond Elementary School site

Thirteen contest winners of Archer Western Contractor’s poster contest toured the site of the new Diamond Elementary School currently under construction at Fort Stewart, Georgia May 3. Diamond students from kindergarten through 6th grade submitted posters emphasizing safety themes in recognition of Safety Week celebrated May 2-6. The winning submissions were printed on the firm’s calendar that will be available throughout the Fort Stewart community. The culminating tour allowed students to preview the jobsite, which is about 60 percent complete, donning hard hats and safety glasses. Construction is overseen by the Corps of Engineer’s area resident office at Fort Stewart and scheduled to be completed December 2016.

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks garnished the construction site of the new Diamond Elementary School where 13 wide-eyed students discovered diamonds aren’t forever but they can be your best friend.

Distinguished communicator tops Georgia’s largest Toastmasters community

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Much like a sport, mastering communication techniques takes skillful execution predicated on the investment of time, practice and experience.

However, a parcel of passion can elevate those dedicated to their craft.

“I eat, sleep and breathe Toastmasters,” said Renee Atkins, a Corps supervisory management support specialist and Toastmasters International enthusiast.