Stroud Family has been Integral to the History of the HCWA
Perhaps no family has impacted the history of the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) more positively than the Strouds, with four Stroud family members currently on staff, following the first generation of Stroud brothers who established the family’s legacy at the water utility.
“We put it together and they’re keeping it going,” says recently retired HCWA veteran Donald Stroud, who worked 39 years as an installation and repair crew operator for the Authority. “We were raised to do the very best job you can, and let your work speak for itself.”
Lesa Walker, HCWA Operations Manager, who Donald affectionately referred to as “boss lady” when they worked together, can attest to the skill in which he operated heavy equipment while installing or repairing water lines throughout the county.
“Donald was the best equipment operator I’ve ever seen,” says Walker. “I remember when he was on the crew installing a main water line at Eagle’s Landing, and he cut out the hole perfectly. It was amazing how he could work an excavator.”
“I enjoyed my time working here (at the HCWA); it was a great place to work,” says Donald. “I loved to lay water lines and my curiosity (about how things worked) was insatiable.”
Donald remembers laying some of the first water lines in Henry County with shovel in hand when he started in the field over 40 years ago. He takes pride in being an integral part of the workforce that established the first water service for residents and businesses of Henry County. As the County and its Water Authority grew, however, he appreciated the utility’s investment in equipment to make his job easier.
“They (the HCWA Board and Management) gave us what we needed to get the job done,” which enabled water line installation and repair to keep up with the unprecedented growth in Henry County, notes Donald. “We always got along great,” he adds, noting the culture at the HCWA is like a work family. Summarizing his career, Donald concludes: “I loved what I did.”
While Donald started with the Authority in 1983, he was not the first Stroud hired at the HCWA. His brother Willie “Hump” Stroud preceded him on staff in 1978, while his brother Danny Lee followed him by joining the ranks in 1984.
Although Willie and Danny Lee have since passed, and Donald retired in 2022, the next generation of Stroud men continue to serve the HCWA with distinction.
HCWA Operations today include Donald’s nephews Wayne Blanton, Nick Clark, and Chris Walker, as well as his brother-in-law J.D. Walker, who all are working currently at the Authority in similar capacities as the Stroud brothers.
Wayne Blanton is the 2023 Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) District 3 Top Water Distribution System Operator. He is a foreman in HCWA Operations who leads one of the three water line repair crews who oversee the maintenance of the Authority’s nearly 1,400 miles of transmission and distribution water mains.
“My uncles (Donald and Danny Lee) told me what a great place this was to work, so they asked them (Authority management) to consider me when they were hiring,” recalls Blanton. “I think I may have worked two weeks before I was officially hired (in 1996). I guess they saw something in me and that I was going to stick around. It’s been a great career ever since.”
Nick Clark currently works on the repair crew under the direction of his cousin Wayne, although he started with the Authority in 2004 on his late uncle Danny Lee’s crew. However, neither of the two foremen showed favoritism to family members.
“We hold each other accountable, and when we’re working, we’re not really thinking about being related,” says Nick, when describing his work relationship with his cousin, who was the one who referred him to the Authority 20 years ago when Nick started. “I let him know what’s expected and he does the same for me,” adds Blanton.
Chris Walker, who is a recent HCWA Leadership Academy graduate, was working and advancing up the ranks at Briggs & Stratton in McDonough until their plant closed in 2014, displacing nearly 500 employees in the process. With a wife and three young children to care for, he admits that panic set in at that time.
His uncle Donald then recommended him to his managers at the HCWA, and Chris hasn’t looked back. He joined the Authority 10 years ago and started out working on a landscape crew, prior to advancing to a position handling leak repairs. His latest promotion saw him become an equipment operator, where he works currently in HCWA Operations.
“This company takes care of you, and I really enjoy the work,” says Chris. “My greatest joy comes from customers who are so grateful to see you arrive to take care of a repair that results in their water service being restored. Their appreciation when we take care of them is my greatest reward and makes it all worthwhile.”
Chris notes that the advancements in technology help him and his fellow HCWA employees do their job better and more efficiently today.
As an example, when he’s called to repair or replace a water line, he has the benefit of a tablet, which provides information and insights on the nature of the water line and its history within the HCWA system. However, he recalls one instance years ago when some of the water distribution system information must have been entered incorrectly.
While arriving at the site, Chris recalls that his tablet noted the water line due for repair was an 8-inch line, but his uncle Donald corrected him and said he remembers it being a 6-inch line instead. And he was right. But how could Donald have possibly known to outsmart the Authority’s smart technology? Because he had installed that very line by hand more than 30 years earlier.
In that one instance, the collective contributions of the Stroud family to the HCWA had come full circle. The history of the Henry County Water Authority is littered with stories of these men and their fellow employees working through inclement weather, under less-than-ideal circumstances, to keep the system operating for approximately 70,000 water customers.
It’s like Donald Stroud said: “We put it together, and they’re keeping it going.”
Captions for photos (top to bottom):
The Stroud family has been integral to the history of the HCWA, with two generations collectively providing more than 150 years of service to the utility. Donald Stroud (second from right) retired in 2021 after a 39-year career, while his nephews (left to right) Wayne Blanton, Chris Walker, and Nick Clark continue to work in HCWA Operations today.
Donald Stroud (second from left) retired in 2021 after a 39-year career, while his nephews (left to right) Wayne Blanton, Chris Walker, and Nick Clark continue to work in HCWA Operations today.
HCWA General Manager Tony Carnell (left) honors Donald Stroud upon his retirement after 39 years of dedicated service to the Authority and its customers. Two generations of Stroud family members have contributed to HCWA Operations during the 63-year history of the Authority.
Prior to his retirement after working nearly 40 years for the HCWA, Donald Stroud (pictured) was responsible for laying many miles of water lines in Henry County, Georgia.
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Media Contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681
E: chris@jwapr.com or john.wood@gcsu.edu