Clean-water plant teams often feel isolated — they work on the outskirts of town, not in visible places like the fire station, city hall, or the library.
Imagine the team at the treatment plant in Albert Lea, Minn., out in the country well beyond the city limits. Rick Ashling, plant superintendent, says even most city employees had never been to the facility — until he and his team made a special effort to start forging connections with them.
Last September, Ashling invited the entire staff from city hall to a special cookout that included plant tours led by members of the eight-person
