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    Employee Shoutout-New Chief of Maintenance Engineering for the Little Rock District

    Employee Shoutout-New Chief of Maintenance Engineering for the Little Rock District

    Photo By Erin Jimenez | Josh Hendricks the new Chief of Maintenance Engineering for the Little Rock District... read more read more

    LITTLE ROCK, AR, UNITED STATES

    03.04.2020

    Courtesy Story

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District

    Position:
    Previously, I was a Hydraulic Engineer working in Reservoir Control Section as the system engineer and lead regulator for Nimrod Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and Clearwater Lake. This week, I started my new position as Chief of the Maintenance Engineering Section within the Operations & Technical Services Branch.

    Years with SWL:
    10 years, 6 months.

    Hometown:
    Benton, AR

    Education:
    Bachelor of Science in Civil & Construction Engineering and A.A.S. in Land Surveying.

    Certifications:
    Professional Engineer, Professional Surveyor, and Certified Floodplain Manager.

    Hobbies:
    Spending time with my wife and three children, serving in my local church, hunting, fishing, and working outdoors.

    Q: What positions have you held in the district?
    A: I started in 2009 as a Land Surveyor in the Survey & Data Section. I spent most of my time working on the survey crew, performing structural deformation surveys on the Little Rock District’s structures. In 2014, I moved to the Hydraulics & Hydrology Section to work as a Hydraulic Engineer. During my time in H&H, I built hydraulic and hydrology computer models that were used to forecast stream flow and inundation extents and to compute duration/frequency statistics during theoretical and actual storm events.

    In 2017, I moved over to the Reservoir Control Section to work as a Hydraulic Engineer. I served as the system engineer and lead regulator for Nimrod Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and Clearwater Lake. In this role, I computed daily inflows into the lakes based on current rainfall values and soil moisture conditions upstream of the lake. Using these inflows, I computed and forecasted pool elevations and scheduled appropriate releases through the controlled spillways. As the saying goes, “water never sleeps”.

    Q: What was your favorite job position and why?
    A: I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Reservoir Control. Each day I was able to quantify a task, work through any complications, and produce a solution. This satisfies the engineer part of me. I also enjoyed working so closely with the personnel at each of the lakes; we have such a great team here in the Little Rock District. I am also extremely excited for my next opportunity as Chief of Maintenance Engineering Section. I realize the added responsibility of being a supervisor and understand that many challenges await. But, I look forward to each one of them!

    Q: What are your professional and personal goals?
    A: Professional – My short term professional goal is to face head-on the upcoming challenges that I will inevitably face as a new Section Chief. I want to do whatever I can to help the Maintenance Engineering Section continue their legacy of providing well-respected, quality engineering services to the region.

    My long-term professional goal is to become an expert at leading those around me. I want to make a positive impact on those who I have - and will have - the privilege of working with over my career.

    A: Personal – My faith is my overall priority. Nothing I do in this world has any weight to it if I am not continually growing in my relationship with the Lord and in my understanding of who He is and who He says that I am. Also, I want to be a better husband and father today than I was yesterday, and I don’t want to take a single moment of this life for granted.

    Q: What do you enjoy most about being a Hydrology Engineer?
    A: The most enjoyable part of being a Hydrology Engineer was understanding the mission of the Corps of Engineers and realizing how my day-to-day tasks played into the success of that mission. The work we do is vital to the nation. If there isn’t someone to regulate our reservoirs, bad things can happen.

    Things like power supply and water supply can diminish for a larger number of citizens. Navigation along the MKARNS can be interrupted if our navigation locks and dams are not operating properly, costing the nation in resources and product. We are a mission-essential organization. Many things begin to crumble (both figuratively and literally) if we don’t do our job, and do it correctly. If I’ve got to be working, I might as well do something that matters.

    Q: What has been your favorite project you have worked on?
    A: Hurricane Harvey was a major disaster and many people lost everything. Being able to assist the Hydraulic Engineers in the Galveston District in evacuating flood storage in Addicks and Barker Reservoirs in an appropriate manner was something that I will be proud of for the rest of my career. I saw the devastation that the hurricane had on the Houston area and I met many people who were feeling that devastation first-hand. But, to see the way USACE personnel from all over the country stepped in and helped out made me extremely proud to be a part of this organization.

    Q: What ways have you found to balance your home life with the busy schedule you have at work?
    A: One of my life mottos is that “I want to work to live, not live to work.” Thankfully, the leadership in the Little Rock District understands and agrees with this motto. It is easy to have your priorities in order if your organization shares those same priorities with you. I am also thankful to have a wife who understands the importance of what we do and who supports me during those times that I may have to temporarily give a little more attention to my work than to my family.

    Q: Tell us something about yourself we don’t know.
    A: A perfect Saturday for me is one spending time working outside on my family’s property. Physical labor such as cutting firewood, bush hogging, woodworking, gardening, and mowing the yard is a stress reliever for me. Plus, it’s good exercise! My father taught me the value of being able to put in a day’s worth of hard labor, to not be lazy, and to be independent. I have grown to really enjoy this type of thing, oddly enough, and I am trying to teach my children the same lesson.

    Q: Tell us about your new promotion, what will you be doing now?
    A: I will supervise a team of engineers who are tasked with providing engineering solutions for both preventative maintenance and major rehabilitation projects throughout the Little Rock District. The Maintenance Engineering Section is full of technical experts that have been providing top notch service to the region for a long time. While I will miss my time in Reservoir Control, I realize how fortunate I am to be able to be a part of this team.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.04.2020
    Date Posted: 03.04.2020 16:12
    Story ID: 364496
    Location: LITTLE ROCK, AR, US
    Hometown: BENTON, AR, US

    Web Views: 24
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN