John Perry and Ronald Suto Recognized for Four Tops Achievement
by Joseph duRocher
In 2008, the Four Tops Award was created to honor those individuals possessing the top four water supply and wastewater operator licenses. This award recognizes a very exclusive group of operators who possess the T-4, W-4, S-4, and C-4 licenses, and in 2008, included only 13 individuals out of more than 4,500 license holders in New Jersey. Since that time only one more individual had achieved this honor. So it was an exceptional occurrence this year, when two individuals achieved this distinction.
It is with great pleasure that we proudly welcome two new members into the elite Four Tops club: Ronald G. Suto and John C. Perry. Ronald, currently the superintendent of Aqua New Jersey’s Hamilton Square system, attained his C-4 license in 2014. John, currently the Director of Public Works for the Montville Township MUA, attained both his S-4 and C-4 licenses in 2014. Alan S. Dillon of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water presented the awards to Ronald and John in front of the Operators Bowl audience at the Annual Conference on March 18, 2015.
Ronald Suto’s career in water and wastewater operations spans nearly 30 years. For more than seven years, he has served as the superintendent and licensed operator of Aqua New Jersey’s Hamilton Square system, and previously, he has worked for CDM Consulting, the Township of Montgomery, and the Borough of Roosevelt. Ronald has been an instructor of the Introduction to Water and Wastewater course at Mercer County Vocational School for more than 15 years, and has served as a member of DEP’s Advisory Committee on Water Supply and Wastewater Licensed Operator Training for more than ten years. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Mercer County College. In addition to possessing the Four Tops licenses, he also holds the N-4 license. He has been a longtime member of the AWWA New Jersey Section and the NJWEA.
John Perry has more than 25 years of experience within the water and wastewater field, and he currently serves as the Director of Public Works and Water and Sewer Utilities for the Township of Montville. Previously, he served as Deputy Executive Director of the Hackettstown MUA, Manager of Plant Process and Projects Management for the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, and General Manager of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation. John holds a Master of Civil Engineering Degree from Norwich University and serves as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University. In addition to possessing the Four Tops licenses, he also holds the N-2 license. He has been a longtime active member of the AWWA New Jersey Section, having served on the Education and Professional Development Committee, Infrastructure Management Committee, and Licensed Operators Committee. John is also a member of the NJWEA and the North Jersey Water Conference.
The New Jersey AWWA congratulates Mr. Perry and Mr. Suto for their truly outstanding achievements. We recognize their accomplishments as models of excellence to which all present and future operators may aspire to reach the very top levels of professional licensure.
Joseph duRocher is an Environmental Specialist with the NJDEP’s Bureau of Safe Drinking Water and co-chair of the AWWA-NJ Licensed Operators Committee.