PITTSBURG PEOPLE – MEET THE PITTSBURG TANK & TOWER MAINTENANCE PROJECT MANAGERS

Hugh said this was the most memorable project in his long career with PTTG. A pair of his uncles talked Hugh into joining Pittsburg Tank in June 1997. He estimates that roughly 30 members of the extended Haire family have been employed by Pittsburg at one time or another. He worked in the shop for a few months before an office job became available. Hugh eventually rose to the position of vice president of operations for Pittsburg Tank & Tower Maintenance Company.

Hugh is responsible for the field operations at PTTM. “The duties remain the same every day,” said Hugh. “The challenges of performing those duties are different from day to day.”

Jobs can range from something as simplistic as cleaning out a tank and installing a vent to something more complicated like demolishing a water tower, replacing a container, or cutting down a tank, moving it a few miles down the road and then rebuilding it.

One of his main duties is overseeing the nine field crews, which have between two to four people on each crew. He also supervises and assists the employees that make up the production side of the PTTM Company. They are Mike Wethington (project coordinator), Clay Bolin (project manager), Paul Blanford (project manager), and James Haley (administrative assistant).

Mike Wethington has been within the Pittsburg family since July 2001. After graduating from Henderson County High in 2000, he was looking for a job. “I filled out applications at about everywhere in the Tri-State and Pittsburg Tank & Tower was the only one that ever called me back,” he joked.

Mike started out as a laborer at the old Fifth Street location. He admits he knew nothing about water tanks at the time but for a steady paycheck he was going to give it a try. He is currently the project coordinator. Mike’s responsibilities include drafting work, makes sure items are ordered and identified correctly in the shop, and schedules transportation deliveries.

After earning a degree in criminal justice from Murray State University in 1999, Clay Bolin became part owner and the head golf pro at the Player’s Club golf course in Henderson. Upon leaving the golf course, he began looking for a new opportunity that would keep him in Henderson where he’d already established roots. While coaching basketball at South Middle School, Clay learned about a job opening at Pittsburg Tank from a player’s parent.

“I knew absolutely nothing about water tanks and here I am 15 years later,” he said. As a project manager, he’s now very knowledgeable on water tanks and oversees projects from start to finish. One of the more enjoyable projects that Clay oversaw was for NASA. “Just being able to be down there on base and being able to interact with everything that is going on,” he said.

Paul Blanford graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2017. A few short months later, he landed a job at Pittsburg. Like Hugh, Paul has a few relatives at Pittsburg and was familiar with what they did. He said he also “knew it was a good place to work.” Paul started out as an administrative assistant but was bumped up to project manager after a little more than a year’s time.

Paul inherited a project in the Marshall Islands when he became a project manager. The project was truly a collaborative one – with the ground division

erecting the water tower and maintenance crews painting it.

James Haley has been with Pittsburg for a year. The 1997 Todd County Central High School graduate worked down the road at Sitex for 10-plus years and more

recently for Phoenix Fabricators for a year. Hugh knew James through Sitex and invited him to interview for a position at Pittsburg. As the administrative assistant, some of his duties include sending out introduction letters to customers, finding rental equipment, and research.

Time management, organization, and the ability to multi-task are all skill sets that the project managers hone. It’s all about the ability to “adapt and overcome,” said Mike, adding he likes the problem-solving aspects of their fast-paced jobs.“We get to play detective and try to figure out what is going on,” he said. “That’s kind of fun.”