David Roberts, a member of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290, received the 2011 Craftsmanship Award for steam and boiler pipefitters from the Southwestern Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
A second generation steamfitter from McMinnville, Roberts works for Gormley Plumbing & Mechanical. He was nominated for the award by SOLARC Architecture & Engineering of Eugene for his work on a difficult boiler retrofit improvement project at the City of Eugene’s Echo Hollow and Sheldon swimming pools.
Roberts was the foreman on the project.
“Dave’s work sequence and fine quality craftsmanship has been a pleasure to observe in the field,” noted Steve Loges, project manager for the City of Eugene’s Central Services-Facility Management Division.
Gene Johnson, a principal at SOLARC, said Roberts displayed “a personal commitment to excellence in his work, which was an essential ingredient in the timely completion of the projects in these two facilities, involving tightly defined construction periods and critical pool re-opening dates.”
Gormley project manager Douglas Mero called it “a great honor for both David and our company.”
Roberts is a 39-year member of the union, starting out as an apprentice in 1973. He has worked for Gormley for approximately 18 years.
“It’s nice to get the recognition from the architects and engineers,” Roberts told the Labor Press. “For me personally, and for our company, it’s just the way we do business. It doesn’t take any more time or effort to do it right.”
