WaterOne’s Director of Finance, Darin Kamradt, was recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) in their Third Annual Hero Awards. The award, which recognizes extraordinary actions taken by finance officers during times of health, financial, natural, or man-made crisis, was selected by a committee of GFOA executives and will be awarded to Darin and five other finance officers from various cities.
Darin was nominated due to his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped keep WaterOne essential workers safe and able to continue producing and delivering tap water.
During the pandemic, Darin helped lead a virtual team to refund outstanding bonds which will save WaterOne ratepayers $4.5M over the next twelve years. Darin also organized an emergency team to procure food and appliances in case a team would need to shelter in place for an extended period of time. Darin enlisted the help of lab staff to create homemade hand sanitizer, and supported the Customer Relations and Distribution divisions by helping facilitate the authorization of a remote call center system. He coordinated a small army of volunteer crafters to sew homemade masks, which were provided to WaterOne employees and families when masks were difficult to come by, and even personally maintained the mask supply stations at WaterOne offices daily throughout the pandemic. Darin was also a test participant in the clinical trials that developed the Moderna vaccine.
Darin and other recipients of the award were honored during the 2021 GFOA Virtual Conference, which took place from July 12th through July 23rd.