City of Bryan's Watkins named Boss of the Year
Bryan City Manager David Watkins was named Boss of the Year by the Better Business Bureau this week.
Watkins, who has been Bryan's city manager for the past two years, was one of seven nominees considered for the award. The winner was selected based on votes cast at a BBB event last month. Each person's attendance at the event allowed him or her to cast one vote for Boss of the Year.
"I have the honor of working in the best organization in the state," Watkins said. "I cannot express the thrill and pride I felt ... when it was announced that I was named Boss of the Year by the BBB. I am so proud of what we are accomplishing as a city government in Bryan."
One of his employees wrote in a nomination form that Watkins "is a dynamic, energetic leader. He inspires the 800-plus City of Bryan employees to provide great service to our citizens day after day. We are proud to work for David Watkins."
Finalists for the 2008 Boss of the Year Award included Bill Kelly, MHMR Authority of the Brazos Valley; Judi Henneke, The Pharmacy Shop; Barbara Pearson, Blinn College; Paul and Taylor Marvin, GKG.NET, Inc.; and James and Karen Arents, Care Plus Dental.
Larry Lightfoot, president of the Better Business Bureau, said the organization started the program almost 10 years ago.
"We do it for a couple of reasons -- recognizing bosses, you hear about it, but no one does anything about it. Bosses are good people and need to be honored by employees," Lightfoot said. "It's a great way to have fun and recognize these good folks."
Previous winners include Dr. Bill Birdwell, DDS; Celia Goode-Haddock, University Title Co.; Drs. Jim and Karen Arents, Care Plus Dental; and Steve Harper, Brazos Valley Bank.
Local firm's gear to help ISS crew with water safety
Patented technology developed in the Brazos Valley will be on board the space shuttle, which is scheduled to launch Friday.
Engineers from O.I. Corp. said they would watch with anticipation as a next-generation Total Organic Carbon Analyzer they developed is sent to the International Space Station, allowing it to be fully manned for the first time since its inception.
The $1.8 million project took more than a year to complete.
Gary Erickson, engineering manager for O.I., said the implementation of the firm's technology would allow astronauts to safely drink reclaimed water from any number of sources, including condensation and urine. Once the water has been processed and purified, astronauts will use the analyzer to test organic carbon levels in the water to ensure that it is safe for human consumption, he said.
Previously, water supplies on the International Space Station were limited, and the space station could be only partially manned at any given time.
Officials said that O.I. began the project to develop a specialized analyzer for the space station in 2006 after being retained by Wyle Laboratories Inc., one of the nation's leading providers of specialized engineering and scientific services for the Department of Defense and NASA.
O.I. has been designing and manufacturing TOCAs for more than 37 years, and its products are used worldwide to serve a broad range of applications in the field of water analysis, company officials said. They now are working to design and produce an online analyzer for the U.S. government using the technology developed for the Space Station project, according to a statement from the company.
The design team for the space station project was led by Gary Erickson. Team members include Noel Bauman, Corrine Bergee, Tim Cloud, Kevin Morris, Charles Neill, Michelle Ramotowski, Nate Rawls, Rich Simon, Armando Solar-Schultz and Karl Williams.
O.I. Corp., which does business as O.I. Analytical, designs, develops and manufactures analytical instruments that detect, measure, analyze and monitor chemicals in liquids, solids and gases. The company is headquartered in College Station and is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol O.I.CO.
West Corp. to host food drive and donate funds
West Corp. in Bryan-College Station will host a food drive Saturday while donating $500 to the Brazos Valley Food Bank.
"We are thrilled to support the community in this way," said Mildred Davis, director of human resources with West Corporation in Bryan-College Station. "We hope this event will help make the holidays a little brighter for individuals and families in need."
Representatives of West Corp. and the Brazos Valley Food Bank will be on hand to accept donations of nonperishable food items -- such as canned vegetables, canned fruit, soups, etc. -- in the parking lot of Wal-Mart SuperCenter, 2200 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
"Once again, West Corp. is helping the Brazos Valley Food Bank help others," said Theresa Mangapora, executive director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank.
"The food bank relies heavily on companies like West to fulfill our mission of alleviating hunger for our neighbors in need. We really appreciate this food drive, the bounty that will come from it and all the hard work that West employees and administrators put into it."
Officials say that the Brazos Valley Food Bank strives to alleviate hunger in the Brazos Valley by distributing food and educational resources to neighbors in need through a network of hunger-relief partners. The Food Bank distributes more than 2.1 million pounds of food annually to more than 38,000 moderate- and low-income people. More information is available at www.bvfb.org.
-- Staff reports
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