Gordon White Honored by Payson City

Mayor Rick Moore presents a plaque to retiring longtime employee Gordon White, on behalf of Payson City.

Gordon White, longtime resident and employee of Payson City, is celebrating his 34 years of dedicated service in the public works departments.  His retirement will vacate the Parks/Cemetery/Water Superintendent position.  He and his family were honored at a retirement luncheon on Thursday, December 13, at which his co-workers and Mayor and Council members expressed their thanks and the thanks of Payson residents for his long career.

Gordon began his career with Payson City March 8, 1979 as a water/sewer maintenance operator under the direction of Water/Sewer Department Superintendent, Don Muhlstein.  He quickly became an important part of the public works departments because of his willingness to work hard at whatever task was before him, and to willingly accept new responsibilities.  In August 1993, Gordon assumed the duties of Water Superintendent.  At that time, the culinary department and the sewer department were separated and the new Pressurized Irrigation Department was created.  Gordon also assumed the duties of the Superintendent of the PI.   In September 2001, the Parks and Cemetery Department was re-organized and Gordon was asked to accept the new responsibility of Parks and Cemetery Superintendent in addition to his duties of heading up the Water and PI Departments.  During that reorganization, the Administration complimented Gordon on his acceptance of these additional responsibilities and the stress which attended learning procedures and operations completely new to him.  Since 2001, Gordon has successfully developed the water, parks and cemetery departments into well-organized units which accomplish a great deal in the area of parks, cemetery, and water maintenance.

In his work as Water Superintendent, Gordon and his crew have been instrumental in accomplishing the following in Payson City:

Construction of five new water tanks.
Construction of the Pressurized Irrigation System.
Installation of the filters for the P. I System.
Bringing the canyon reservoirs up to the safety standards defined by the State of Utah.
Installation of the Springlake Pumps.
Installation and repair of many of the water mains throughout the city.

As Superintendent of the Parks Department he and his crews have successfully:

Contributed numberless hours to the success of various city celebrations.
Design and construction of the vast trail system and new parks in Payson City.
Maintenance of those trails and parks both for beauty and for use of the PI system.

In addition, Gordon personally created the design for the Veterans Memorial at the Payson City Cemetery and guided the construction to a successful conclusion.  

In 2009 Gordon was recognized as the Ted Bates Employee of the Year.

Payson City Administration, Mayor and Council and co-workers want to thank Gordon and his family for all his years of dedication and wish him the best in his new retirement adventure.