The Suffolk County Water Authority this week said goodbye to Herman Miller, who retired after an illustrious four-decade career at the company, and promoted Joseph Pokorny to replace him as Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Operations.
Like Miller before him, Pokorny will have full responsibility for the operation of the Production Control, Construction Maintenance and Engineering departments, directing the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the SCWA water supply. An SCWA employee since 1995, Pokorny served as Chief Engineer from 1997 until December 2012 and as Acting Director of Distribution since then. Pokorny began his career in Production Control working for two years overseeing maintenance operations on SCWA water production and storage facilities. Among other positions prior to working for SCWA, Pokorny spent eight years at the Long Island Lighting Company in its Electrical Engineering department.
“Though it’s tough to lose Herman Miller, who has as much to do with the success and growth of SCWA as any other employee in our long history, he’s leaving the position in the extremely capable hands of Joe Pokorny,” said SCWA Chairman James F. Gaughran.
“I’m delighted to have Joe fill a vital position within the administration,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “He is not only talented and experienced, but also fully embraces our vision of an efficient, lean, environmentally-conscious and transparent SCWA that is prepared to meet all future challenges.”
“Joe’s abilities, his varied experience at SCWA, and his work in private industry will serve him well in his new position,” said Miller. “As I am sure he already knows, he will be working with a group of dedicated and talented people. I hope he finds it as rewarding as I have. Congratulations and best wishes.”
Pokorny has served as the Chairman of the Long Island Water conference and currently serves as an Executive Board member for that same organization. He is also a member of the AWWA Water Utility Council. Pokorny has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College, a Masters in Business Administration from St. John’s University and is a licensed professional engineer in the State of New York.
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.