July EOM is Bill Ulery

The staff in Facilities and Services have to be ready for just about anything, so on August 8 when stationary engineer Bill Ulery got a call about water coming out of a light fixture in the PAC restaurant – even though he wasn't sure what he was going to do about it – he grabbed a ladder and headed over to check it out.

Everything in the restaurant was fine; it was just one of the more creative excuses dreamed up to lure an unsuspecting Employee of the Month into his or her party.

This time it was even more unexpected because Bill was EOM for July.

"It just took him this long to get here," quipped Dave Barrows, executive director of Facilities and Services, as he made the official presentation.

"Seriously, though," Dave continued, "when I was thinking what I was going to say about Bill, the one word that came to mind was 'unflappable.' And that applies to all these guys (the engineers). They do their job well, they take their time, and they do what it takes to keep this place running on a shoestring." Then turning to Bill, he asked, "Is there anything you'd like to say?…Speak slowly."

And Bill obliged. "I'd like to thank everybody," he said. "I appreciate it. I like this job. I've been here 27 years. In fact the other night I had a dream where I was in Marine bootcamp, so yeah, I'm happy to be here."

"My worst dream would be that you weren't here," said Dave.

"Let's eat," said Bill.

Bill's wife, Carol, three of their children, and a granddaughter were also in the crowd helping him celebrate.