July’s Employee of the Month is someone who likes a challenge. Alvin Perez started his career planning to be a carpenter and has spent time as a truck driver, heavy equipment operator, road supervisor, highway administrator, project manager, street superintendent, and bridge builder. He’s had a 35-year tenure working for county governments, because he liked the stability it afforded his family. Alvin has three grown children and shows obvious pride in their accomplishments: one is a Police Detective in Olathe, another is the Western Farm Show coordinator, and the third is the Principal of the middle school in Russell, Kansas.
Alvin is currently the Operations Manager for Riley County Public Works. He oversees five crews, and his duties include planning and scheduling Public Works project activities, purchasing materials, securing bids, and overall management and oversight for the department.
Alvin is also responsible for managing 110 miles of gravel roads and 120 miles of paved (asphalt) roads in the county. During his tenure, Alvin has built a total of 38 bridges in Kansas. This year, Alvin and the Riley County Bridge Crew constructed a new bridge over Wildcat Creek. In 2020 they built the new Construction Lab building for Public Works and have constructed two pole buildings for storage of equipment in county yards.
Alvin’s favorite part of the job is “knowing that you are accomplishing something and have made things better than they were before.”
Perez was nominated as July’s employee of the month by Parks Manager David Willis.
“Over the course of my 30-year career, I have seldomly run into a manager who works as hard or displays as much dedication to a company as Alvin Perez. Not only is he a great leader, but Alvin also takes the time to mentor and empower his staff by carefully guiding them to be the best versions of themselves,” said Willis.
Alvin would like potential employees to know that every day is different, and he’s looking for hard workers who like variety.
“The duties change vastly from day to day. One day you might be chip sealing asphalt, the next you might be clearing storm debris, so it’s important to be flexible. This year, we’ve been focusing on cleaning ditches to improve drainage and constructed a new low water crossing. We are always trying to serve the public and keep things in the best shape that we can,” said Perez.
Coworkers describe Alvin as a good guy who helps make the workplace fun.
We are happy he chose to work at Riley County and we’re proud to honor him as Employee of the Month. Enjoy that parking space, Alvin!
