COLUMBUS, OH: Harold Pudliner is the 2023 recipient of the AMP Seven Hats Award.

The award presentation was announced during the 2023 AMP Annual Conference, which took place Sept. 25-27 in Columbus.

Pudliner serves as borough manager for the Borough of Weatherly, a small community of 1,187 electric meters located in Carbon County, in eastern Pennsylvania. He has served with the Borough of Weatherly for 26 years.

“Harold Pudliner is an extremely hard-working and well-deserving recipient of this award,” said Jeff Brediger, director of utilities for the City of Orrville and chair of the AMP Board of Trustees. “In the process of selecting Harold for this award, it became very apparent that he is well liked and respected by his staff and colleagues, and that he always puts the best interests of the borough first. Harold is yet another reminder of why public power is so special.”

In his role as borough manager, Pudliner is responsible for the oversight of many borough departments, including water and sewer, electric and more. At his direction, the Weatherly Electric Department recently completed an upgrade to the Weatherly Substation, replacing the station’s switch gear, wiring and insulators. These upgrades have helped to greatly improve Weatherly’s electric system reliability. The utility also recently installed generators at each of the borough’s three well systems and sewage treatment plant, helping to ensure that water and water treatment operations are continuous, even in the event of an extended electric outage.

“I just want to express my appreciation to my colleagues for nominating me and to the Board for selecting me for this honor,” said Pudliner. “It has been my pleasure for the past 26 years to serve this community and to try to make everyone’s life here better. Usually, during your life, you don’t expect to win awards, and we go through our daily routines, doing our jobs. An experience like this is really appreciated, and it is an honor to have received this award.”

In addition to his oversight of personnel, Harold is responsible for the accounts and finances of each borough department, managing a $6 million annual budget. He is also credited with having secured over $8 million in grant funding for the borough, and that money has been used to cover the costs of numerous major projects, including the new Borough of Weatherly Municipal Building.

In his nomination of Pudliner for the AMP Seven Hats Award, Weatherly Mayor and Council President Paul John Hadzick noted that, Pudliner’s expertise has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues. In addition, Borough employees noted that his steady leadership, wide breadth of knowledge and willingness to do hands-on work make Pudliner an outstanding asset in their day-to-day operations. They also noted that his financial expertise ensures that they always have the necessary equipment and training to allow them to perform their jobs safely and effectively.

The AMP Seven Hats Award — modeled after the American Public Power Association’s national Seven Hats Award — was initiated in 1984 to recognize utility managers who serve smaller communities of less than 2,500 meters, and whose management duties extend well beyond the scope of a manager in a larger system. Award winners show skill in seven areas: planning and design, administration, public relations, field supervision, accounting, personnel or employee direction, and community leadership.