District Digest News Stories

Nashville District retirees share pride in service to region, Corps, nation

Nashville District Public Affairs
Published Sept. 23, 2013
Carl Scott, left, lock & dam equipment supervisor at Tennessee River Operations Center, Florence, Ala., presents retiree Rick Fisher replacement  Certificates of Retirement and Appreciation June 18, 2013 in Chattanooga. Fisher, a 30-year retiree from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, lost everything in a 2010 house fire. “Getting the replacement certificates was a real shot-in-the-arm to me and I am extremely grateful to Carl and everyone who made it possible.  After losing my home and all its contents, I learned that money is not everything. Having this Retirement Certificate helps validate 30 years of my life,” Fisher added.

Carl Scott, left, lock & dam equipment supervisor at Tennessee River Operations Center, Florence, Ala., presents retiree Rick Fisher replacement Certificates of Retirement and Appreciation June 18, 2013 in Chattanooga. Fisher, a 30-year retiree from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, lost everything in a 2010 house fire. “Getting the replacement certificates was a real shot-in-the-arm to me and I am extremely grateful to Carl and everyone who made it possible. After losing my home and all its contents, I learned that money is not everything. Having this Retirement Certificate helps validate 30 years of my life,” Fisher added.

Smoke rises from a hotspot in all that remains after a Jan. 9, 2010 fire that completely destroyed the Chattanooga home of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District retiree Rick Fisher.

Smoke rises from a hotspot in all that remains after a Jan. 9, 2010 fire that completely destroyed the Chattanooga home of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District retiree Rick Fisher.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2013) -- As the Oct. 16 date for the Nashville District Fall Retiree Luncheon approaches, a recent effort to assist a former employee serves as a reminder of the pride in service shared among U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retirees.

Most devoted decades of their lives serving the region, Corps and the Nation providing collaborative water resource engineering solutions, world class public infrastructure management, and environmental stewardship for the Cumberland-Tennessee River Systems, according to Oscar Krosnes who serves as POC for the group.

“We get together twice each year to fellowship, reminisce and get updates on current Nashville District projects,” Krosnes said.

“Having shared the challenges of providing the best possible services to stakeholders with conflicting interests during floods, droughts, insufficient funding, deployments to natural disasters and to war zones builds a bond and sense of pride among us,” Krosnes added.

Corps divers who perform their duties in frequently murky waters where visibility is sometimes less than an arm’s length, and their survival is dependent on teamwork, share a special camaraderie.

Retiree Rick Fisher, who retired March 31, 2003, after working 30 years in Nashville District, recently reminded us that a Certificate of Retirement from Nashville District is much more than just a piece of paper.

“I worked as a summer hire while in high school prior to hiring on as a full time employee,” Fisher said.

“I spent the majority of my career as a lock & dam equipment mechanic/diver at the Nashville Repair Station, Cumberland River Operations Center, Old Hickory, Tenn., and held that position at Chickamauga Lock when I retired,” Fisher added.

Fisher lost nearly everything he owned in a Chattanooga house fire in January of 2010, and hopes to move into the new home he is building by Christmas. Many personal items cannot be replaced, but he remembered a fellow Corps L&D equipment mechanic/diver with whom he had worked and asked for his help in replacing one item.

“Rick found me on Facebook back in May. I got his phone number, called him and he told me about losing everything in a house fire,” said Carl Scott, now lock & dam equipment supervisor/diver at Tennessee River Operations Center, Florence, Ala.

“He said of the many personal items he lost, he had been really proud of his retirement certificate and wished he could get it back,” Scott added.

Scott contacted Lynn Bradley, Nashville District Civilian Personnel Advisory Center supervisor, to ask if a replacement Certificate of Retirement was possible. Bradley and Jennifer Gillespie, human resources assistant, made it happen. They also replaced a Certificate of Appreciation that Fisher had received 10 years ago, indicative of the professionalism and pride in service of current Nashville District employees.

Scott presented the replacement certificates to Fisher at his Chattanooga home site July 18, 2013 on behalf of then district commander, Lt. Col. James A. DeLapp.

Fisher was highly complimentary of Scott during a telephone interview, describing him as the kind of person who would go out of his way to help anyone and that he could not say enough good things about him.

Getting the replacement certificates was a real shot-in-the-arm to me, and I am extremely grateful to Carl and everyone who made it possible,” Fisher said. “After losing my home and all its contents, I learned that money is not everything. Having this Retirement Certificate helps validate 30 years of my life,” he added.

Fisher plans to reunite with old friends at the Oct. 16, 2013 Pig Roast and says he can attest to Curtis Malone’s culinary abilities in preparing barbecue.