Karl Dreher receives Excel award from Associated Electric Cooperative
Karl Dreher of Maryville, principal combustion turbine specialist at Nodaway Power Plant, received Associated Electric Cooperative’s 2021 Excel Award for Mentor of the Year at the cooperative’s recent 28th annual employee recognition award ceremony hosted at its Springfield headquarters.
The Excel awards are peer-nominated recognitions of employees who have excelled in their careers, leadership, mentoring, innovation, community services, teamwork or exceptional contributions.
Dreher’s nominator praised him for his detailed instructions and guidance in training new employees, saying, “He retains a plethora of information in his head that most people will overlook or never even consider. This is priceless when it comes to being an effective mentor.”
Dreher turns the maintenance tasks at Nodaway into teaching moments, striving, the nominator noted, “to do things the best way possible and will explain in detail why we are doing it this way instead of another and the associated benefits in safety, reliability, maintenance and ease.”
Dreher joined Associated in 2000, working at two of its other gas plants and at the cooperative’s headquarters before transferring in 2012 to its Nodaway plant near Maryville. He and staff operate and maintain the “peaker” plant, which typically operates in periods of high demand for electricity. Dreher also has 10.5 years of experience in the U.S Navy as a gas turbine mechanic and with Siemens Power Corp. and Siemens Westinghouse Operating Services. Co.
Reflecting on the prestigious award, Dreher said, “I do enjoy the teaching aspect of my work. It’s fun to see the ‘aha’ moment, the eyebrows raised, you see the look of understanding wash over them.”
Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to a system of six regional transmission cooperatives and their 51 local distribution cooperatives. This cooperative system delivers electricity to 2.1 million member-consumers behind the 935,000 meters served in Missouri, northeast Oklahoma and southeast Iowa. Associated’s mission is to deliver economical and reliable power and support services. Associated is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative.