When Ted Meckes graduated from college, he found a job with the water utility in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois.
He never left in search of a larger community, bigger plant or higher-powered job: He found ample challenges and opportunities where he was. Growing up, he had all the earmarks of an engineer: “I always tried to take my dad’s lawn mower apart and put it back together — and my bicycle,” says Meckes, water division manager for City Water, Light & Power in Springfield.His choice of college and career began with a visit to Marquette University in Milwaukee, where his
