Recipient of the 2008 EASA Award

Roy Patterson (left) accepts the Exceptional Achievement Service Award from Art Anderson.
 

Mr. Patterson has spent his entire career in the electrical apparatus industry. Starting at an early age, he worked at a local motor service center in his hometown through a co-op program at his high school. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy where he was enrolled in an electrical apparatus repair training program at Purdue University.

Upon completion of the training, he served in the South Pacific during World War II on a repair ship. Following his tour of duty, he returned home and to the repair center where he had worked in high school. In the late 1940s, he joined another small service center in the area.

Then, in the late 1950s, he and another investor purchased the firm. Over the years, the company grew from a small three-employee business to 14 locations that include service centers, manufacturing plants and engineering offices, with more than 530 employees.

He also has been a committed volunteer to EASA and willing to help his fellow member. He held several offices and served on committees in the King Coal Chapter. He served 12 years on the EASA Technical Services Committee, which was called the Engineering Committee in those days. His commitment is evident in the nominating letters EASA received. For instance, one read:

His broad range of skills and experience, coupled with a comprehensive evaluation of new tooling and materials, are major factors in his success as an accomplished problem solver. His belief in ‘attention to detail’ and ‘doing it right the first time’ is paramount.

Another wrote:

He’s the most knowledgeable and respected person I know in the electric motor repair business. Throughout the years he’s grown the business to where it is today. His work ethic is unquestionably the best, right down to the last detail.