District 4's Potter named 2016 Maintenance Person of the Year

Rick Potter of the Fairfield maintenance shed has been named the ITD Maintenance Person of the Year for consistently performing his TTO/maintenance operator tasks in an exceptional manner, for embracing challenge and for seeking opportunities for growth.

Potter (pictured immediately below), who has been with ITD in the Fairfield Maintenance Shed since 2011, is known district-wide for his positive attitude on the job, embracing teamwork, and assisting in improving techniques and operations.
 
“He’s as nice a guy as we have, he works hard all day long and is dependable,” West Shoshone Area Foreman Jarrett Porter said. “Rick is quiet and leads through example, but he is great at finding solutions to problems, especially personnel issues and conflicts. He can discuss and lead through issues so I don’t have to be brought in to take care of it. He is a leader for our group.”

As written in the nomination, “In every action, Rick is looking for innovative practices and works to accomplish even simple tasks more quickly, efficiently, and safely, using the tools and equipment at his disposal. His effectiveness in communication and collaboration has improved the work output and overall success of his fellow employees.”

In addition to completing winter maintenance on his assigned road section of Idaho 46 in Camas and Gooding counties, Rick is always willing to assist across foreman-area boundaries to plow when and where necessary to provide safety and mobility for Idaho travelers.

His summer duties are exclusive to front line maintenance activities, but in the last year he has also led inmate labor crews (a first for D4), has assisted with the driver’s education outreach program in Camas County, assists with inspection and completion of access permits, and has lead special landscape and building projects in D4.

He has enhanced and made more efficient the activities of both the Fairfield Shed and the West Shoshone foreman area by introducing different management techniques, contributing to the office and paperwork duties, and assisting in data input of winter maintenance information.

Pictured below: Potter (in middle) flanked by wife, Tami, and D4 District Engineer Devin Rigby.

Rick has taken a leadership role in the new techniques of GPS-based stockpile measurements. He was the first in D4 to learn the software, apply the approved survey methods, download and input the data, and complete initial data processing. In 2016, Rick worked independently – and mostly exclusively – on stockpiles throughout the district. Potter is also taking a leadership role in completing GPS data collection for the D4 culvert inventory, completing the West Shoshone Foreman area nearly all by himself and teaching individuals in other foreman areas how to get the required information.

Prior to joining ITD, Potter was a manager of a landscaping company. When not at work, Rick and his wife own and operate Buttercup Nurseries in Fairfield. His love for greenhouse horticulture is exhibited through his business selling flowers, vegetables, and hanging baskets.


Published 10-21-16