This past weekend, we celebrated Natural Gas Utility Worker’s Day, recognizing the dedicated men and women who enable the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to residents and businesses across the country.
At SDG&E, we are grateful to have a dozen Gas Operations employees who have been with our company for more than 40 years! This week, we honor and celebrate these long-tenured colleagues who have shown a commitment to safety and service throughout their careers. As you can see from their statements below, they’ve had a chance to see the company evolve significantly over the years, and as many of them note, the relationships they’ve built and their teams’ commitment to safety stand out to them the most.
“My journey with SDG&E began 44 years ago and throughout those 44 years I have remained incident free and made amazing friendships that I now call family. As a Patroller, I maintain pipeline integrity throughout the county and it is personally reassuring when I walk away from an elementary school or home knowing it is leak free.” – Jesus “Jessie” Correa, Patroller, 45 Years of Service
“I enjoy going to work every day, the camaraderie of the crews and the daily challenges that we face together make SDG&E more of a brotherhood instead of a job. I utilize all the skills that I have been taught by past and present mentors and try to disperse this knowledge to new employees and peers. The most important thing for me is to send everyone home safely at the end of the day.” – Bill Dimmock, Senior Field Construction Advisor, 40 Years of Service
“The biggest thing that stands out to me through my journey with SDG&E is the friendships that I have developed with my colleagues. I am truly blessed to have had such a long journey with SDG&E. We provide a proactive approach to keeping San Diego safe, the ability to identify a leak early is vital for the rapid deployment of corrective actions.” – Robert “Bobby” Gonzalez, Patroller, 43 Years of Service
“Since starting my career with SDG&E, I’ve had the great opportunity to move throughout the company and experience different facets of our business. We work for a fantastic company, with great people who are committed to supporting the community where we live and serve.” – Pat Kinsella, Director of Gas Operations, 41 Years of Service
“Over the years I developed many relationships and I cherish every single one. I am thankful for all my mentors that helped me in my career. I am forever grateful to be working for SDG&E. This company has provided job stability and security to me and my family. Thank you, SDG&E.” – German Lopez, Gas Control Technician, 43 Years of Service
“The most rewarding part of my job is being able to coach and share my knowledge of the specialty job we do with our new generation. I am proud to work for a company that has provided a career that has allowed me to live a great life where I met many special people.” – Herman “Tony” Lopez, Shop Services Supervisor, 47 Years of Service
“My 40-year journey with SDG&E started with humble beginnings as a laborer and throughout the years I have been fortunate to acquire the knowledge passed down from other employees. I’m so thankful that SDG&E has provided for my family all these years and now so proud my son is a member of the team and will have the same opportunity to start his own journey.” – Victor Lopez, Traffic Control Specialist, 40 Years of Service
“I started my career as a laborer in 1972 and have been here ever since. I like the freedom I have to problem solve and work with the public. My goal was to get all my kids through college and set them up with successful career and I’ve done just that. I like what I do and don’t have plans to retire anytime soon!” – Alpha Montgomery, Locator, 50 Years of Service
“The work we do is critical to the safe delivery of natural gas to our customers. In my career, I have seen how our company’s focus on safety has evolved. Our management team has done an excellent job of creating a safety culture where we’re all encouraged to work together to solve problems and support each other.” – Dave Reistetter, Principal Engineer, 43 Years of Service
“I’ve had multiple jobs over the years and have enjoyed them all for this one simple reason: the people I’ve worked with, some of which have become like family to me. The work is important for the safety of the communities we serve and I appreciate that.” – Sonja Waller, Program Advisor, 42 Years of Service
“I particularly enjoy sharing my experience with others to help them meet their goals and seeing new young colleagues advance in their careers over time. Since the 70s’, our company has grown – our corporate cultures in safety, ethics, diversity, and technology are real, strong and people centric.” – Bill Wilson, Project Manager, 48 Years of Service
We would also like to recognize Jon Christensen, PSEP Construction Team Lead, who has been with SDG&E for 45 years.
Thank you to our entire Gas Operations team, and to the many other natural gas employees within our company, for your commitment to safely and reliably serving our customers!