HU Gas System Operator Tony Vest will retire July 1. Vest started with HU as an installer in the water department in 1987, and later became a gas installer and a crew foreman before taking over the gas department.
HU’s Gas System has grown tremendously during Vest’s 17 years as Gas System Operator. In the 1980s, he reports, the system consisted of 45 miles of pipe and 443 customers. Today, there are 210 miles of pipeline and 4,200 customers. “We typically add 40-45 customers a year,” he explains.
One of the biggest changes to the gas system under Vest has been the cast iron pipe replacement program. “We had about 40 miles of cast iron pipe, which is vulnerable to cold weather and ground changes, which is why the DOT mandated that systems get rid of it,” Vest explains. “We bit off a section each year, and are now down to less than four miles of cast iron.”
Vest retired from the National Guard in 1997, and other than his time in the military has lived in Hartselle his entire life. He and his wife, Donna, have two children and one granddaughter.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here,” Vest says. “What will I miss the most? Working with the guys in the field.”