Water Supervisor Dave Martin

While he’s a welder by trade, Dave Martin has spent the past 28 years working on Fulton’s water system. Dave has served as supervisor of the water division for the past seven years.

Dave said he was looking for something close to home that didn’t involve a lot of late shift work or travel. “I don’t know that I know everything, but I know a good deal about this water system,” he said. “I left the welding trade because I got tired of passing my wife like two ships in the night. When you’re young, don’t have time on the job, and the place works around the clock, you aren’t working the day shift. I worked evenings … I decided I like my wife way more than the job.”

As water supervisor, Dave said he enjoys doing things face to face or over the phone. That means answering the phone in the evening or over the weekend and doing what he can to help citizens.

“You can’t please some people, and other people are tickled to death that you tried,” he said. “We are a public utility, and that means you work closely with the public. Everybody latches on to my phone number, so now I've become a consultant for a lot of people. They call me and say, ‘I’ve got this problem. Can you tell me how to fix it?’ They don't want to call a plumber because that costs them money, so they call the city. Sometimes, it is our problem. Sometimes, it's not. If it’s something I can help people with, I do.”

Outside of work, Dave is an avid bow hunter and raises livestock at home. He used to run the rodeo circuit and still enjoys riding horses. He and his wife have four grandkids in the area.

“We try to do things for them, take them places and go to their school deals,” he said. “Mostly, I spend time with my family.”