News Release Archive

Blaise Prebo named Reclamation Project Manager of the Year

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@usbr.gov

For Release: November 05, 2020

Blaise PreboWASHINGTON – Today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that Blaise Prebo is Reclamation’s Project Manager of the Year. Prebo is a project manager working in Reclamation’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region in Grand Coulee, Washington. He was recognized during a Reclamation-wide virtual award ceremony.

The award, new this year, reinforces the importance of project management for Reclamation's mission of delivering water and electricity to the Western United States.

“We congratulate Blaise Prebo on this significant recognition of his professional excellence,” said Deputy Commissioner for Operations David Palumbo. “Blaise’s work provides critical data that enhances the effectiveness of Reclamation’s operations and represents the sound project management approach that Reclamation is committed to providing our customers in the Pacific Northwest.”

Prebo is being honored for his management of hydropower projects at the Grand Coulee Powerplant in Washington and Hungry Horse Powerplant in Montana. He manages the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition projects for the dams, which provide supervisory control and monitoring of power generation and irrigation water delivery to more than 670,000 acres in the Columbia Basin Project.

Prebo began his career with Reclamation at the Grand Coulee Power Office Construction Office in 2017 and is duty stationed in Grand Coulee, Washington. He is currently assigned highly complex projects supporting the largest powerplant in the United States. He is known by colleagues as a strong leader and shares time-proven project management skills with his team.

The Reclamation award coincides with International Project Management Day on November 5, a designated occasion to encourage project-based organizations like Reclamation to demonstrate appreciation for the achievements of project managers and their teams.

Reclamation also recognized five other nominees for the PM of the Year Award. They are:

• California-Great Basin: Casandra Arthur
• Lower Colorado Basin: Carrie Scott
• Missouri Basin/Arkansas, Rio Grande and Texas Gulf: Brandon Hilliard
• Technical Service Center: Adam Toothman
• Upper Colorado Basin: Rick Baxter

Reclamation promotes project management, which can significantly improve performance by applying project management knowledge, processes, skills, tools and techniques. This is increasingly accepted across all industries. Reclamation has a project management framework that integrates existing government-wide and U.S. Department of the Interior project management requirements and clarifies project management practices for those projects for which no specific mandates apply.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.