Photo By Edward Rivera | Miles Waldron, Senior Hydropower Program Manager for the Southwestern Division...... read more read more
The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, but for Miles Waldron, Senior Hydropower Program Manager for the Southwestern Division, watching the construction of the various structures of the system in his youth led him to a career in civil works.
“I watched the development and building of the locks and dams on the MKARNS and other flood control structures during my primary and secondary school years,” said the native of Little Rock, Ark. “Civil works, like what the Corps of Engineers does, and radio were big influences in my choice of career.”
Waldron graduated from Little Rock Central High School and attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. While working in Georgia he completed his Master’s in Business Administration at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga.
“I was in a cohort of students at Dalton, Ga., working with students from the region, made up primarily of people working at multiple flooring manufacturers,” said Waldron. “I worked for Texas Instruments, Defense Suppression and Electronics Group, for three and a half years after graduation from the University of Arkansas.”
Waldron joined the Corps of Engineers in November 1986 and has been a part of many USACE projects throughout his 34 years of service. For Waldron, however, it is the people, and the impact he can have on them, that makes his job rewarding. It’s always gratifying to bring in new employees into an organization and assist in their development as they to contribute to the organization, he said.
He added that being part of the Southwestern Regional Hydropower Asset Investment Project team is his most influential assignment.
According to Waldron, the project allowed USACE, the Southwestern Power Administration and their preference customers, represented by Southwestern Power Resources Association, to use Section 212 of Water Resources Development Act of 2020 to defer power receipts to fund Maintenance Management Technicians, a Regional Maintenance Manager and a Regional Hydropower Asset Investment Manager.
“We began using Section 212 in 2018. It was initially funded for three years, and we have worked with SWPA and SPRA to move forward with this effort into the future.”
Waldron states the most unique aspect of his position are the many organizations and people that he interacts and works with to achieve and sustain the mission. Also unique is his interest in amateur radio and being a member of the Civil Air Patrol.
“I developed an interest in electronics and radio in high school. Something many people do not know about me is that I am an Amateur Radio Extra Class Operator (ham radio) and was a Commander and Mission Pilot of a Civil Air Patrol Squadron,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.03.2021 14:47 |
| Story ID: | 402357 |
| Location: | DALLAS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LITTLE ROCK, AR, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Waldron shares some rewarding USACE experiences from his 34 years of service, by Edward Rivera, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Army Corps of Engineers
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