We Are Herriman - Ed Blackett

August 2019 Ed Blackett has worked as the Streets Department Manager at Herriman City for over 15 years. He oversees maintenance and projects concerning asphalt, sidewalk, curb and gutter, storm drain systems, snow removal, street signs, and the creation of the new Storm Water Department. Ed has 10 employees in the Streets Department but when it comes time for snow removal, he is in charge of scheduling approximately 50 employees for rotation. Ed really enjoys the variety of his job. Very rarely is he doing the same thing from day to day. In his position, Ed has to prioritize the tasks for his crews to complete. He also ensures they are equipped properly with everything they need in order to complete the job in a clean, accurate, well managed, and professional manner. As the City has grown, Ed's availability to do the day-to-day tasks with his crew has decreased as his managerial duties have increased. Ed's crew have what they call a "WWED" way of looking at things — "What Would Ed Do?" Ed credits this to his Herriman passion that came from working with City Manager, Brett Wood, when he first started. Ed always took the approach to his work from the standpoint of "What would Brett do, or how would he see this?" Ed and his crew pay attention to the big and small details and take the time needed to complete the job correctly. Ed received the G. Mark Morrison Public Works Employee of the Year Award from the Utah Chapter of APWA in 2018. He fully believes in the Herriman culture and the culture statements: Ed is aligned. Ed is moving forward. Ed takes responsibility. Ed treats you right. He really cares about Herriman, he can point out multiple items he has been a part of as he drives down he roads. Two to threes times a year, Ed is able to help someone retrieve their phone, keys, and even a UPS driver's tablet from the storm drain system. Rescuing those items, as well as ducks, cats, or turtles out of the pipes, is just icing on the cake for Ed. Ed married his high school sweetheart, Donna. They have two grown sons, Eric and Kyle. Any spare moment Ed has is spent in the mountains. Ed is looking forward to his retirement days when he can fully enjoy hiking, mountain biking, dirt biking, and golfing.