APGA President and CEO, Bert Kalisch, presented the city of Rocky Mount, N.C., with two national awards during the city council meeting on Monday, September 24. Rocky Mount is the recipient of the Public Gas System Achievement Award, which is given to only one public natural gas system whose performance is recognized as having made substantial contributions to the community, other utilities and the goals of APGA. The award recognizes a gas system that has expressed a willingness to exchange ideas and technology with others to ensure the gas industry will be the safest and most knowledgeable of all utilities. The presentation was made to Rich Worsinger, Energy Resources Director, and Mayor David W. Combs.
The city also received the Gold designation award in APGA’s prestigious System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) program. SOAR is given to natural gas utilities that demonstrate excellence in the four operational areas of worker safety, workforce development, system integrity, and system improvement. SOAR applications are reviewed by a team of experts from the APGA Operations and Safety Committee and awarded a rating based on total cumulative points achieved from the four program criteria areas. A Bronze designation is awarded if the utility scores 80- 89 percent of the possible points; Silver for 90-96 percent of the possible points; and Gold for 97-100 percent of the possible points. The Gold designation is the SOAR award’s highest level of recognition. Rocky Mount is the only recipient at the Gold level this year and one of only two systems to receive the Gold level twice.
Congratulations to the City of Rocky Mount!