(May 25) Today at its 82nd Annual Conference and Membership Meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the Northwest Public Power Association presented the following awards to 12 individuals and one member utility team within the public power community.
Life Member Awards
Presented to policymakers and managers who are retiring from NWPPA member utilities and have made notable contributions to the association and public power.
Michelle Bertolino joined Roseville in 2002 and became the utility’s director in 2010. She was the first woman to be named director of Roseville, a utility that was founded more than 100 years ago. Bertolino served on the NWPPA Board of Trustees for more than 11 years and was president in 2021. She was also a past president of CMUA and a past chair of both BANC and TANC. She devoted nearly 30 years to the public power industry before retiring in 2021.
In December 2021, Scott Coe retired from Emerald PUD after nine years as the utility’s general manager and more than 33 years in the electric utility business. Coe came to Emerald PUD in 2012 following a 24-year career at the Bonneville Power Administration. During his last seven years at Bonneville, his focus centered on the support of public utilities, fostering his deep appreciation for public power. Under his leadership, Emerald PUD developed and implemented long-term strategic plans in both 2015 and 2020, and created Sharing Sun Community Solar, the GREEN Grant Program, an energy efficiency program, and much more.
Howard Gonser was first elected to the Northern Wasco County PUD Board of Directors in 1987. During his 35 years of service, he served as president of the board seven times, as well as president of OPUDA twice. Over the past three decades, many improvements were made to the PUD’s electrical infrastructure, including FERC licensing, construction, and continued operation of two hydroelectric facilities. Another accomplishment was the adoption of policies for the integration of new large single loads, which more than tripled the size of the utility during his time with the PUD. Gonser will be retiring at the end of this year.
Linda Gott has served Mason PUD 3 as a commissioner since 1999; she previously acted as the PUD’s representative to the Economic Development Council of Mason County for six years. In her nearly three decades with the PUD, Gott served on numerous local, regional, and national boards, acting to further the interests of public power. She has actively promoted the benefits of public power and its involvement in and build-out of rural telecommunication systems using fiber-optic technology. Gott will be retiring later this year.
During his 50-year career, Doug Nass spent more than 30 of those years working for public power utilities. Most recently, he served as general manager of Clallam County PUD for 15 years. Under his leadership, the PUD formed a balance scorecard performance metric and strategic plan; achieved APPA’s Smart Energy Provider award and three consecutive RP3 designations, including Diamond level in 2020; and implemented a county-wide OMS, GIS, and SCADA. Nass retired from the PUD on Jan. 15, 2022.
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