Movers and Shakers
Ben Mason
District sales manager of American Cast Iron Pipe Company’s Minneapolis district sales office will be retiring January 31after more than 40years of service. Ben joined American in 1970 and was assigned to the Ductile Iron Pipe Division in 1971 as a sales engineer in the Dallas district sales office. Following transfers to Minneapolis and Chicago, he was named district sales manager of the Minneapolis district sales office in 1976. He was promoted to assistant division sales manager in1984 and division sales Manager in 1985.In 1988, he was named Sales Manager of American’s Flow Control division and held that position until returning to the Ductile Iron Pipe Division as Birmingham district sales manager in 1992. He was subsequently named district sales manager in Minneapolis in 1993.Ben has served on the Minnesota Section AWWA Water Utility Council, chaired the Minnesota Associates Council, served on the Minnesota Section board and has served two terms on the Manufacturers Associates Council (MAC) of AWWA. As the MAC liaison, he was a full member of the AWWA Standards Council. Ben was honored for his distinguished service and commitment to the water industry by being selected for the 2007 George Warren Fuller Award. A native of Anniston, Alabama, Ben graduated from high school in De Ridder, Louisiana. He holds a degree in civil engineering from Auburn University, where he graduated in 1969. At Auburn, he was a member and president of the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the Student Engineering Council. He is married to the former Pamela Miller of Canton, Minnesota, and they have two children, Jeff (Tedi) and Jenny (Will), and two grandchildren, Sam and Lucy. After retirement, Ben and Pam plan to travel and visit with friends and family. He is looking forward to spending more time with Jenny, Will, Sam, and Lucy in Brookhaven, Mississippi, as well as travel to Washington, D.C. to visit Jeff and Tedi. Ben will enjoy golfing, fishing, and continuing to volunteer and serve at Faith Covenant Church in Burnsville, Minnesota.
Cliff McLain
July 1972…for me, I was 2-1/2 years old. For Cliff McLain, he was just beginning what was a storied career of almost 38 years for Moorhead Public Service (MPS). There are some that say, “all good things must come to an end”, and for Cliff his retirement as the Water Division Manager at MPS means countless hours of fishing for that elusive walleye on Franklin Lake just outside of Pelican Rapids.
After graduating from Moorhead State University Moorhead in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Cliff’s career began at MPS as a water plant operator. He was initially responsible for the development of the water quality control laboratory with implementation of certification for bacteriological analysis. After receiving his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from North Dakota State University in 1979, Cliff was promoted to Water Plant Supervisor. He became the Water Division Manager in 1983 with the additional responsibility for the distribution system. He has been involved in numerous water projects over his career at MPS including the design and construction of new well fields in the Buffalo aquifer, pilot studies for dual media filters and ozone disinfection, and the design and construction of a 10-million gallon per day (MGD) lime-soda ash softening treatment plant with ozone disinfection (the first of its kind in Minnesota), to name a few. Cliff was also responsible for developing the water main and meter replacement programs, wellhead protection plan and implementation, source water assessment, and security plan for MPS.
Cliff has long been recognized as a leader in the drinking water industry within the State of Minnesota. In addition to being a Registered Professional Sanitary Engineer in Minnesota, Cliff holds a Class A Minnesota Water Supply System Operator license. It was Cliff’s passion for serving the water industry that led him to become involved in the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) back in 1980…when the Minnesota Section was a part of the North Central Section.
Cliff’s service to AWWA was no less than extraordinary. From 1983 through 1991, Cliff served on the Board of Trustees and was a member of the Section Education and Membership Committees. He served as the Minnesota Section Chair in 1989 through 1990. In 1994, Cliff was honored for his distinguished service and commitment to the water supply industry by being selected as the George Warren Fuller Award winner for the Minnesota Section. Since 2000, Cliff served nine years on the AWWA Standards Council, including a term as Vice-Chair. He was the liaison to the Technical and Education Council, Utility Quality Programs Committee, and the Water Utility Council. He is presently the Chair of the AWWA Standards Council Disinfectants Committee and serves on the NSF 60/61 Joint Committee- Drinking Water Additives. He was further honored for his contributions to the Minnesota Section and the water supply industry in 2006 by being awarded the Leonard N. Thompson Award. In addition to his involvement in AWWA, Cliff has actively been involved in other civic water industry activities including the Clay County Planning Commission, the Red River Basin Water Quality Team, the Lake Agassiz Water Authority, the Clay County Local Water Plan Advisory Committee, and River Keepers.
Cliff and his wife, Janeen, live in Moorhead. Their son Daniel will graduate from Moorhead High School and attend the University of Minnesota this fall. Cliff’s other three children live in the Fargo-Moorhead area. After retirement, Cliff plans to travel, work on his house, and catch a lot of fish.
--written by Brian Bergantine, AE2S
BONESTROO ANNOUNCES NEW ASSOCIATES
St. Paul, MN (December 3, 2010) – Bonestroo, an engineering, planning, and environmental science firm based in St. Paul, recently named eight new associates. The firm’s associate program recognizes practice builders and provides a forum for leadership development. Associates are chosen based on their effectiveness in meeting the goals of the firm and its clients.
CEO Jerry Bourdon says, “The dedication to and enthusiasm for client service and innovation demonstrated by the new associates will continue to enhance Bonestroo’s ability to meet our clients’ evolving needs.”
New associates are:
Paul Bockenstedt (St. Paul) – An ecologist, Bockenstedt joined Bonestroo in 1997 and has more than 25 years of natural resource management experience advising public and private clients across the Upper Midwest.
Christina Goodroad (St. Paul) – A professional planner, Goodroad joined Bonestroo in 2006 after serving for 11 years in city planning positions for Twin City metro area communities and two years with a private development firm. Her expertise includes economic development and local and regional planning.
Nancy Hanzlik, PE (St. Paul) – A registered engineer specializing in transportation, Hanzlik is a senior project manager with 25 years of experience. With a strong commitment to delivering complex roadway projects on-time and within budget, she also serves as a mentor and guide for young engineers and project managers.
Kurt Johnson, PE (St. Paul) – A registered engineer specializing in water and wastewater, Johnson joined Bonestroo in 2006 with 30 years of consulting engineering experience. His broad-based water and wastewater system expertise includes capital improvement planning, design of lift stations, treatment facilities, and large-diameter wells, and rate investigations.
Brian Lennie (Milwaukee) - A senior scientist, Lennie joined Bonestroo in 1994, specializing in natural resources, including wetland delineation and mitigation, lake management, threatened and endangered species surveys, and stream restoration. He serves as project manager and client service manager to both public and private clients in Wisconsin and Illinois.
Dennis Miranowski (St. Cloud) – Miranowski joined Bonestroo in 2006 as a business development manager. He has more than 20 years of public administration and private development experience. He serves clients throughout Central Minnesota and plays a key role in expanding Bonestroo’s service offerings to the Fargo-Moorhead region.
Mike Roznowski, CHMM (Green Bay) – Roznowski is the Industrial Sector Leader. An environmental engineer and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, he joined Bonestroo as a result of the 2009 merger with Northern Environmental. He oversees a variety of engineering, environmental, and health and safety services for industrial and manufacturing clients nationwide.
David Sanocki, PE (St. Paul) – A professional civil engineer, Sanocki joined Bonestroo in 1994 and specializes in municipal engineering. He has played a key role in serving the firm’s long-time clients.
Ranked 197th among design firms nationally in Engineering News Record’s list of Top 500 Design Firms, Bonestroo is one of the Midwest’s largest full-service engineering, planning, and environmental science firms. The firm provides innovative, practical solutions to the government, private, energy, and industrial markets. Service areas include engineering; environmental; health and safety; planning, development and redevelopment; recreation; surveying and construction services; transportation; and water and natural resources.
Bonestroo has 12 offices located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and North Dakota. (www.bonestroo.com)
SEH
John Friel, PE, recently joined Short Elliot Hendrickson’s (SEH) St. Paul Wastewater Group as a Sr. Professional Engineer. He is responsible for providing technical assistance and direction to clients on municipal and industrial wastewater issues, design and construction administration for wastewater treatment facilities, wastewater treatability studies, facility planning, and technical review.
Prior to joining SEH, John spent the last 15 years serving as a project engineer, project manager and senior civil engineer at AECOM, Bonestroo and Barr Engineering. His experience at AECOM and Bonestroo included managing and project engineering municipal water and wastewater projects throughout the U.S.; and his most recent experience at Barr included working on water, stormwater, and wastewater evaluation and design projects for private mining, power, and other industrial clients.
John earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Marquette University, a master of business administration from DePaul University, and a master of science in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota.
John is a member of Engineers without Borders, he is the Minnesota Section Vice Chair of the Central States Water Environment Association (CSWEA), and he has sat on committees for the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association (MNAWWA), Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and American Consulting Engineering Companies Minnesota (ACEC/MN). John is a licensed professional engineer in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Mark Wallis, P.E. has joined MSA’s Duluth office as a Water Specialist and Senior Project Manager. He will be responsible for leading their Minnesota water specialty group. For the past 25 years, he worked at a Twin Cities firm where he prepared water system master plans, distribution system hydraulic modeling, and designed water utility facilities for more than 20 cities and townships. He is a licensed professional civil engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Christopher Larson, PE, recently joined Short Elliot Hendrickson’s (SEH) St. Paul Water Group as a Sr. Professional Engineer. He is responsible for providing technical assistance and direction to clients on municipal and industrial water issues, design and construction administration for water treatment facilities and appurtenances, water studies, facility planning, and technical review.
Prior to joining SEH, Chris spent the last 15 years serving as a project engineer and project manager at Dames & Moore, Clayton Environmental, Bonestroo, and HR Green. His experience included designing and managing municipal water treatment plant projects, wastewater projects, and major sewer conveyance projects. Chris is the Engineer for the Joint Powers Water Board of St. Michael, Albertville, and Hanover where he is working on the only Aquifer Storage and Recovery project in Minnesota.
Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1995 and a master’s of science in environmental engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2007.
Chris sits on the Research and MAC committees for the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association (MNAWWA). As part of the MAC committee, Chris is in charge of the Pipe Tapping Competition that will debut at the 2010 MNAWWA Annual Conference.
Chris is a licensed professional engineer in Minnesota.
October 2008
Bob Cockriel, Utilities Superintendent, for the city of Bloomington was awarded the Minnesota Public Works Association (MPWA) Superintendent of the year.
The purpose of the award is to recognize public works individuals from all management levels who have made significant contributions to the profession.
Bob has served the public for over 30 years. Bob received his bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Metropolitan State University. He later received a master's degree in Infrastructure Systems Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Congratulations, Bob!
September 2007
Karla Peterson has succeeded Dick Clark, who retired in July, as supervisor of the Community Water Supply Unit in the Minnesota Department of Health Section of Drinking Water Protection (DWP).
Karla came to MDH in June of 1994 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota, taking over the duties of plan reviews, certification, and fluoridation. She later got her master’s degree in public administration from Hamline University in St. Paul. Karla has been the manager for a number of Safe Drinking Water Act rules and is also the chair of the Minnesota Section AWWA.
March 2007
Chris Catlin is the new superintendent of water plant operations for Minneapolis Water Works, reporting to Shahin Rezania, the director of Water Treatment and Distribution Services.