![Surprised by Recognition: This Operator's Unassuming Style Includes Building Great Rapport With His Team](https://cole-tpomag.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tpomag.com%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Fmg_0017.jpg?crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=620&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=75&w=1024&s=8d7e30b798d0a298f30fdb51e0f4ff09)
The team at the Joseph J. Carino Water Pollution Control Facility includes, from left, Wilfredo Garcia and Mike Wood, operators; Robert Butler, lead operator, process control; Tim Cronin, operator; Jeff LeMay, water pollution control facility supervisor; Tom Bjorkland, lead operator, maintenance; Mike Romejko, operator; Jared DeNardis, Daniel Kruger and Jim Kavanaugh, operators; and Jacob Plona, lead operator, collection system.
When Jeff LeMay got the call that he’d been named 2021 Regional Wastewater Operator of the Year by the U.S. EPA, “I kind of thought it was a joke,” he recalls.
“I get a call in my office and I pick up, and it’s somebody telling me they’re from the EPA. I’m like,...