The Missouri Department of Natural Resources employee chosen as the State Employee of the Month for July knows how to improvise and adapt when the need arises.
In pre-pandemic times, Loyd Rawlings could be found conducting multiple in-person training classes for drinking water operators needing certification from the department. Rawlings, of Ozark, has been employed for almost three and a half years in DNR's Southwest Regional Office at Springfield. However, when COVID-19 shut down in-person classes and prompted quarantine restrictions throughout the state, Rawlings' primary job duties were severely curtailed - but not for long.
"Instead of spending his time worrying about what he could not do, Loyd immediately began to research options for what he could do to still provide training to operators in need of certification hours," Mark Rader, department environmental manager, wrote on Rawlings' nomination form. "Loyd quickly developed several short, three-hour training classes on specialized topics which would be of interest to drinking water operators and which would be easily transferable to a virtual setting."
Rawlings practiced first before offering the classes online. He recruited staff members to help him test the interaction between the teacher and students in the virtual environment. Once that was deemed successful, he worked with Darlene Helmig in the Water Protection Program's operator certification section to gain approval to list the classes for public access.
Not only did water operators jump at the chance to obtain training hours remotely, but after they took the online training, they also sang its praises on the department's survey site. Comments from the trainees included:
- "Loyd Rawlings is an asset to the department. He's been very helpful and informative about helping me meet my requirements for my water license. I would love to see more classes going like this in the future. It saves a lot of time for operators and companies to be able to do this from their hometowns without having to drive hours to get their coursework completed."
- "Loyd Rawlings gave a very informative class that was very understanding and answered all our questions in language that we understood."
- "Loyd Rawlings gave a WebEx class. I found it helpful and convenient. Especially in these trying times. I hope there are more in the future. A+"
Since the state implemented its coronavirus restrictions, Rawlings has offered 10 individual classes on topics that include operator safety, water main repair, flushing, sampling, pump repair and math basics.
Rader credited Rawlings with researching web platforms to determine the best one for virtual training, contacting vendors to determine how to use the department's training software most effectively, and working with water specialists in other regions to help them also offer virtual classes.
"His forward thinking and creativity has quickly filled a need within this community and has been greatly appreciated," Rader concluded.