Grays Harbor PUD General Manager Dave Ward has announced he will retire from the utility in the spring of 2021. To ensure a smooth transition, in the coming months, the PUD will begin the process of hiring a new general manager who will assume managerial duties when Ward departs.

“This job has been a chance for me to come home and work in the community where I grew up and that I deeply care for,” said Ward, a 1979 graduate of Aberdeen’s J.M. Weatherwax High School. “As I look back on the last seven years and all the PUD has accomplished, I am filled with a deep sense of pride and appreciation for the dedicated staff that has allowed the utility to move forward and fulfill our mission to our customers.”

Ward came to the PUD as general manager in June of 2013. Prior to accepting the post, he had worked at Tacoma Public Power since 1997, first as the assistant transmission and distribution manager and then (in 2007) the transmission and distribution manager. Before that, he had worked at California’s Pacific Gas & Electric and the Grays Harbor PUD, following his graduation from Washington State University. Through all those positions, he always kept an eye on his hometown and dreamt of the chance to come back.

“You talk about the right person coming along at the right time,” said PUD Commission President Russ Skolrood. “When Dave arrived at the PUD, you could feel his energy and his passion take hold and begin to spread. He has been a leader, a mentor and a friend to our staff and our community and I am so grateful for all he has helped us to accomplish.”

In the coming months, the utility will begin the process of replacing Ward by bringing on the new general manager to work with Ward and the board in the months leading up to his departure.

“Our job now is to ensure a smooth transition,” said Skolrood. “We got the right fit for the job when we hired Dave. We need to do that again for our customers and our staff.”