PUD spokeswoman dedicates 36 years to work

MOSES LAKE - Grant County PUD public affairs officer Rita Bjork is retiring from the agency after 36 years of service.

Her retirement is effective at the end of this month, however Bjork's last official day is set for Oct. 12.

Bjork grew up in Ephrata and got the chance to work for the utility district during high school. She was enrolled in a class during her senior year that had her spending a few hours a week at the PUD's Ephrata office.

After high school, Bjork went on to college to prepare for her dream career in finance. However, she returned home to take some time off school and landed an official job with the PUD in 1976.

Bjork worked as a clerk in PUD's treasury operations department, and was responsible for handling customer payments.

Bjork said that at the time, she would never have guessed that she would go on to dedicate her entire career to the agency.

"It was only supposed to be for a couple of years," she said. "But it turned into my career."

Bjork said she liked the fact that although the PUD was only one agency, it had different departments within it. Moving around the different divisions allowed her to expand her career, while staying with the same company.

After her clerk position, Bjork moved to the agency's customer engineering department where she was responsible for helping customers with electricity needs for new homes and businesses.

Bjork had been based in Ephrata, but in 1979 PUD moved her department to the newly expanded Moses Lake office.

Bjork was glad to be based in Moses Lake since her and husband Dale had recently married and set up house in the town.

An opportunity later opened up in the right of way department and Rita Bjork worked for a couple more years helping customers who needed new electrical services. She said she enjoyed working in that department, since it allowed her to get to know the area's roads and land developments better.

Rita Bjork was then transferred back to Ephrata in the mid-1980s when PUD officials decided to house all the engineering departments in a leased school.

But at the time, she had three young kids to look after, twin boys Brad and Bryan, and daughter Kristin. She said it was tough to commute to Ephrata and still have time to coordinate daycare and other family duties.

So when a position opened up back in Moses Lake, Rita Bjork said she jumped at the opportunity.

She was successful and began working in the agency's conservation department. She worked on programs that helped customers find ways to be energy efficient in their homes.

After a couple of years in that role, Rita Bjork moved on to work as an administrative assistant for the director of a division that included the customer service and public affairs departments. It was during this time that she first got a taste for public affairs.

One of the PUD's employees, who was responsible for photography, graphics and videography, was also in the army reserves. Rita Bjork's supervisor suggested she train for that position, in the event her co-worker was deployed.

She got to work on the PUD's quarterly video production, called PUD Live, which consisted of employees discussing their jobs on camera.

"He was a great teacher and had me do a lot of hands on learning," said Rita Bjork of her mentor. "We were setting up for an interview one time and at the last minute he handed me the mic and told me I was doing the interview."

She also helped develop the monthly newsletter that goes out to PUD customers with their bills.

Rita Bjork landed her current position in public affairs in the late 1990s, and works on news releases for PUD, among other projects.

She said the best part of her job is relaying information to customers, and sharing the work PUD employees do to ensure that power is always available.

Rita Bjork said she will be spending her remaining days at the PUD finishing up a few projects and saying her good-byes. She will miss building relationships with the people she worked with the most.

"I have been very fortunate in my career to work with many high-caliber individuals who mentored and believed in my abilities," she said.

Rita Bjork plans to spend more time with her children and grandchildren during her retirement.