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Curtis retires after nearly 34 years with ITD

Ready to move onto a new phase is his life, D5’s Operations TSEA Wayne Curtis is set to retire Friday (March 15) after serving almost 34 years with ITD. Curtis began his ITD career in 1985 as a Transportation Tech. Apprentice and spent several years in traffic services maintenance. He was promoted to Traffic Services foreman shortly thereafter and gave the D5 shop a modern atmosphere.

From there, he was fortunate enough to land a position in the Safety/EEO field -- “a position where you will see the real tragedies on our highways,” Curtis recalls.

He spent the last 11 years as the Operations TSEA, "a very interesting and exciting position," he said.

Earlier this week, Curtis recalled one of his favorite memories from the past few decades. In true Curtis fashion, he begins his story with a huge grin on his face and quite the chuckle.

“The guys from Montpelier called the shop here in Pocatello because they needed a part. So the shop foreman grabbed one of the shop crew members to run a part down to Montpelier. Well, I was headed down to Malad in my truck, and this guy passes me and he’s just smiling and waving at everyone. It’s a nice summer day and he's just happy as a clam, driving down the road. He gets to Malad and the crews said, “No, we didn’t order a part."

So he says, "Well, I wonder what I'm suppossed to do with it, then."

So he calls the Shop and the foreman tells him, “You should take it tothe Montpelier shed. So he gets back on the Interstate and heads nort., I’m driving on SH-36 across and pretty soon here he comes behind me just waving and smiling, enjoying his drive. He pulls into Preston -- he forgot he was to go to Montpelier -- and shows the crews the part. They say they didn’t order a part.

So then he tells them, “Well, I wonder what I’m supposed to do with it, then.”

Now he calls the Shop for the second time and the foreman tells him, “I think you should take the part to Montpelier, like I told you the last time you called.” Now this trip should have been only a few hours, but at around 5 o’clock I’m headed home now US-30. Pretty soon, he passes me going to Montpelier just waving and smiling.

This ended up being like a 12-hour delivery going from Pocatello to Montpelier. This poor guy had no idea where he was going and he passes me three times not knowing what direction he’s headed. It was just funnier than heck. One of my favorite stories -- it always makes me laugh.”

After nearly 34 years of service with ITD in District 5, Curtis leaves ITD with a smile on his face, knowing he was a part of a great organization, amazing district and goes home with some pretty wonderful memories.

Curtis ends his time here at ITD saying, “As Ed (Bala), Steve (Gertonson) and I leave you, please remember that your co-workers are your friends and thaty our customers are your neighbors. If you follow the very simple vision of safety, mobility, and economic opportunity, fulfilling your personal goals will be simple. Thank you all for 30-plus years of friendship, comradery, and always getting the job done — it was very much appreciated.”

Although Curtis may be leaving ITD, he is not done lending a helping hand. After he retire,s he is planning on volunteering at the Idaho Food Bank and living a life of luxury picking up golf again!

Thank you, Wayne, for all your time spent with us here at ITD.Enjoy retirement!