Kathy McBride Retires After 141/2 Years at Northern Wasco County PUD
By Karen Heim
When Kathy McBride welcomed a new employee to Northern Wasco County PUD, she liked to make a prediction. She would tell them this was her dream job, and that in a few years, it would be theirs, too. More often than not, she was right.
Kathy could make that prediction with some authority. She had given Wasco County Court 30 years and 9 months, and she loved public service long before she arrived at the PUD. When she left the county in 2012, she wasn’t looking to stop working. Rather, she wanted to try something new.
“I wanted to expand my professional skills, experience something different, and challenge myself in a new environment,” Kathy says.
She almost didn’t apply for the position at the PUD. It called for a communications background, and Kathy didn’t have the degree. Her twin sister, Kim Snyder, talked her into it, reminding her she had spent her career as an executive assistant and had worked with the news media for years.
“She helped me recognize that my experience and skills were a strong fit for what the district was looking for,” Kathy says.
She remembers feeling a little overwhelmed at first. She was in charge of human resources and wellness, areas she had never worked in before. “There was a lot to learn, but the kindness and support of the people around me made those first days much easier.”
In the beginning, Kathy wore nearly every hat the district had to offer: executive assistant to the general manager and board, human resources, communications, and wellness. A typical day meant deciding what mattered most.
“I often had little control over when deadlines would arise, so I had to be flexible and ready to shift gears at a moment’s notice,” she says. When Kathy started, there were about 42 PUD employees. As she prepares to leave, that number is in the 90s. Along the way, she watched the operation grow in nearly every direction—in staff, technology, and the scale of the work itself.
Of all her early roles, wellness was the one Kathy loved most. She brought in occupational health providers for flu shot clinics, arranged for doctors to talk with staff members about their health, and organized Fitbit and walking challenges.
“I truly enjoyed being in a position where I could help people and make a positive difference in their lives,” she says. As the district grew, those early duties found dedicated staff of their own— communications, HR, and wellness among them—a measure of just how far the place had come since her early juggling act. Kathy never stopped checking in. “Even though I don’t have those duties, I still linger and visit,” she says. If there is a thread running through all of it, it is that Kathy wanted the people around her to feel appreciated.
“I’ve always been a caring and empathetic person,” she says. “I’ve found that sometimes a simple compliment or a few kind words can make a world of difference when someone is having a bad day.” Nowhere was that effort clearer than during staff appreciation week. Kathy built each yearly celebration around a theme and chose the gifts, spending hours of her own time putting them together. She and her husband, Dave, would slip into the office after hours to set out everything so staff would find their surprises in the morning.
The gifts were fun to assemble, but the payoff came the next morning. “Even more rewarding was knowing that they made someone feel appreciated and valued,” Kathy says.
Those appreciation weeks had a competitive streak, too. Kathy still laughs about watching staff swing at a piñata with a foam pool noodle, keep an inflatable ball off the floor, and bend their way under a limbo bar set improbably low.
“Everyone was all in,” she says. “What a fun and memorable time.” Appreciation weeks showed Kathy’s visible efforts. The rest happened where no one could see it. Kathy remembers an employee in the midst of a family medical emergency who, understandably, let a deadline slip. A new family member needed to be added to their insurance, and the window had closed. Kathy called the carrier and asked them to make an exception. They agreed, and the family was covered.
“Knowing I was able to help relieve one worry for that family during a difficult time is something I will always be proud of,” she says.
For Kathy, this was never just kindness for its own sake. Over her 141/2 years, she watched the district grow into what she calls a “24/7 employer,” a phrase that has nothing to do with office hours and everything to do with looking after people as whole people, with lives and families beyond the job.
“Our co-workers become like a second family,” Kathy says. “When people feel cared for, supported and appreciated, they are more likely to care about one another and about the work they do.” She got to appreciate one co-worker as a colleague and a mother. Her son Todd, an apprentice lineworker, has worked alongside her the past few years.
“Being able to call my son my co-worker has been a true joy,” Kathy says. “Hearing the positive comments from his co-workers about Todd and the work he does on behalf of the district is music to my ears. Most people never get the opportunity to work with their child, and I feel incredibly lucky that I have.”
Kathy is quick to note what makes the district special. “By far, it’s the people,” she says. Kathy cried when she submitted her resignation to General Manager Roger Kline.
“It’s really the people that make me the saddest,” she says. “Not being able to see them every day.”
Kathy’s last day is October 1, and retirement comes with mixed feelings, though Dave is ready for her to come home. She has a long list of things to get back to, including traveling and spending time with family— especially her grandchildren, all of them local. She plans to pick her golf game back up, volunteer in her grandchildren’s classrooms, and make it to their sporting events and plays. Sewing, crafting, and photography are waiting for her, and there is a string of trips to the beach through the fall.
After all her time with NWCPUD, Kathy hopes the district remembers how she truly cared about this organization and its people. “I can’t imagine having worked anywhere else,” she says. For years, Kathy told new hires they were embarking on their dream jobs. Now she is the one walking out the door, and it will be someone else’s turn to make predictions.
To co-workers and customers who read her story, she has 1 more thing to say. “
You are all amazing,” she says. “I will miss you more than you know.”