Water Systems Manager David Bradley was working with a construction crew framing a house on Hutto Street in Creekwood Subdivision in 1978, when former neighbor Dale Norman stopped to say hello. “Dale was water department superintendent at Conway Corp and I asked him if they were hiring. He came back a few days later and told me to come see him.”
Thirty-nine years later, Bradley is set to retire from Conway Corp today, March 31.
Bradley spent his first four years with the company working in water distribution and collection.
“I operated a backhoe, was on a construction crew, ran smoke testing crew, changed meters – a little bit of everything,” Bradley said.
In 1982, he was promoted to the Plant Superintendent for the Stone Dam Wastewater Treatment Plant. He would spend the next 14 years in that position.
“When I started at Stone Dam it was our only wastewater plant,” he said. “While I was there, we built Tucker Creek and I got to help with that project and to help with a new lab expansion at Stone Dam.”
In 1996, Norman announced his retirement and Bradley was named to replace him as Manager, Water Systems.
In his role as water systems manager, Bradley has spent 21 years overseeing the operations of water and wastewater systems including the water and wastewater plants and Conway’s water source Brewer Lake.
The city of Conway has experienced a lot of growth during that time which led to projects to keep pace with that growth including increasing capacity at the Roger Q Mills water treatment plant, modifying intake at Brewer Lake to raise the lake levels and the construction of the Tupelo Bayou wastewater treatment plant.
As Bradley looks to retirement he has plans for more time at the lake and exploring new ATV trails. He also notes that his wife and daughters have some projects they’d like to see him get to work on.
“I’m a real good piddler,” Bradley said. “I’m good at killing time, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Bradley is looking forward to the down time that will come with retirement but said he will also miss his Conway Corp family.
“I’m glad that someone else will be taking after hour calls,” Bradley said. “But I will miss the people and the challenges. I like figuring things out – I’m sure I’ll still be figuring things out, but there were challenges with day-to-day water operations and I have enjoyed that.”
“There are good people in water systems. They know what needs to be done and they always do it. I will miss being with them.”
