Hartley, Peoples Gas receive recognition from Department of Defense

When the Department of Defense came to honor TECO’s Justin Hartley for service to his country, fellow team member Chris Durost knew exactly what he could do for his company.

Durost, Daytona Division supervisor with Peoples Gas, accepted the Patriot Award in recognition of both Hartley’s deployment overseas with the National Guard and the flexibility of Peoples Gas to enable the utility technician to fulfill his military commitment.

Hartley, specialist E-4 in the Florida Army National Guard, is serving with the F Company 53^rd Infantry Brigade. As a utility technician, Hartley repairs gas leaks, installs new service, responds to customers inquires, replaces meters and performs locates to protect our pipeline infrastructure. Currently on duty in Africa, he wasn’t available to comment for this story, but others were – and they had nothing but praise for him and Peoples Gas alike.

“Justin is very honorable, dedicated and patriotic, and there’s definitely a hole around here with him away,” Durost said. “Not only is he a great guy, but one thing that’s become obvious over time is that the safety training techniques he’s learned in the military have had a definite, positive impact on our commitment to Safety First here at home.”

Durost added, “People here are concerned about his well-being, but we’re proud of him. I was honored to be able to accept the recognition for him and Peoples Gas in his absence.”

Doug Corbett, employment support specialist and liaison for the Florida National Guard and Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Florida Committee, had similar praise for Hartley and his company.

“Today we have an all-volunteer service, so it’s wonderful that young men like Justin are making sacrifices to defend our freedom,” Corbett said. “It is extremely important that companies like TECO understand what Justin is doing for his country and don’t hassle him about being gone to duty.” 

Durost shared special thanks to Human Resources at TECO for facilitating Hartley’s smooth transition out of his duties at Peoples Gas until he returns from his three-year commitment to the National Guard.

“[HR Generalist] Denise Benegar and her team were instrumental in working to make sure Justin could fulfill his commitment,” Durost said. “It’s another reminder of the fact that it takes a team to get the job done. It will be great to have the team whole again when he’s back.”