Conway Corp Lab Supervisor Kenny Beaty is retiring this week after 33 years of service to Conway Corp and the Conway community.
Kenny began his Conway Corp career as a utility worker apprentice in April 1993, working on water mains, service lines and other aspects of the city’s water system. After more than two years in the field, he was promoted to lab technician in October 1995 and began working at Conway Corp’s Stone Dam wastewater treatment facility.
During his years at Stone Dam, he was responsible for laboratory testing that provided critical information used to monitor and adjust the wastewater treatment process. He was promoted to lab supervisor in March 2005, taking on additional responsibilities including maintaining the laboratory’s quality control program and standard operating procedures, managing equipment and supplies, training employees and ensuring testing was performed accurately and according to required standard methods.
For Kenny, that attention to accuracy has always been at the heart of the job.
“We’re committed to doing things right,” he said. “We’ve got quality control and standard operating procedures, and that way you can be assured that we’ve got the right number and we’re doing it right.”
One of the accomplishments Kenny is most proud of came during his years at Stone Dam, when the wastewater treatment plant faced particularly strict ammonia limits because its treated effluent discharged into the Lake Conway watershed. Meeting those limits required the team to operate the plant differently than it was originally designed, conduct additional testing and use laboratory data to continually adjust treatment processes.
He said finding a solution required extensive research, additional testing and a willingness to learn as the team worked through the challenge.
In September 2014, Kenny transitioned with the laboratory to Conway Corp’s Tupelo Bayou Wastewater Treatment Plant, where he continued serving as lab supervisor. Throughout his career, his commitment to accurate testing and quality control has supported the safe, effective and reliable operation of Conway’s wastewater system.
After more than three decades at Conway Corp, Kenny said what he will miss most are the friendships he has made along the way. In retirement, he is looking forward to traveling, spending more time with his wife, Deena. They have been married since September 1993, just a few months after he began his Conway Corp career. He will also enjoy more free time and having a little less stress and structure in his daily schedule.
His advice to employees who are just beginning their careers is simple.
“Have fun, and don’t take your job home with you,” Beaty said. “Do your job by trying to be as stress-free as you can and have fun.”
Congratulations, Kenny!
