Robby Dick is a Florida native who loves small towns. He grew up in Lecanto, an unincorporated town in Citrus County, and now lives in Old Town, another unincorporated town in Citrus.
Another small town, Friendship, New York, population 2,000, was the site of one of Dick’s first jobs as a Haskell Project Superintendent. He and his crew were expanding a wastewater pretreatment facility at the Friendship Dairies.
“Friendship couldn’t have a better name,” Dick said. “Within two hours, everyone knew who I was. There are a lot of nice folks. About 40% of the town is employed at the dairy. Even though I was new to town, they seemed like lifelong friends. I went back a few months ago to say hello.”
Dick has spent his entire career working on water and wastewater projects. He got his first job at the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant in maintenance and various trades.
He learned plumbing as a trade and had his own business for a decade but sold the company for a profit when he realized he didn’t want to stay in plumbing. He had worked in construction for nearly a decade when he followed a former Project Manager to Haskell in 2007.
Dick loves the challenges water projects present.
“Each one is unique. Nothing about it is repetitious,” he said. “You never see two plants that are the same.”
Another of his early projects with Haskell was at a wastewater treatment facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The project involved building a new building in the middle of a parking lot.
“That was an interesting job with unique equipment,” he said. “And it was in the middle of a parking lot, so we had to deal with 400 or 500 cars and pedestrians.”
Dick was Superintendent on Mike Hoisington’s first job as a Project Manager with Haskell, upgrading a reverse osmosis system at a water treatment plant in Venice, Florida.
“Wastewater is a specialty. Not everyone can do it. It’s a different skill set,” said Hoisington, now a Director of Project Development. “Robby excels at dealing with complex situations that arise in water and wastewater projects. There’s always a hard challenge on a project. He embraces those. He comes up with a different way of dealing with it.”
Project Manager Tanner Stone said he has worked with Dick on every project since he joined Haskell six years ago.
“Robby is a problem-solver. I rely on him heavily,” Stone said. “I’m relatively new to the industry, but he’s been doing this for a long time. I’m always asking him, ‘How would you do it?’ I haven’t had a problem he hasn’t been able to come up with ideas or a solution.”
Stone said Dick is known as a patient teacher who helps people develop their skills and move up the ladder. And Dick says that’s one of his favorite things about working at Haskell.
“I really like having the opportunity to teach younger people a trade and watch them grow,” Dick said. “I’ve watched several people who have worked for me move up the ladder.”
When he isn’t working, Dick’s busy with what he calls his other full-time job – his grandkids. He has seven, with another on the way. He has three children. The youngest is an engineer.
The property he owns in Citrus County also keeps him busy. He loves to hunt (mostly deer) and fish (redfish, freshwater bass, bluegill). “I either want to mount it or eat it,” he said.
Hoisington said Dick frequently invites people to his property to enjoy the woods.
“Robby likes to surround himself with good people and friends, Hoisington said. “He’s a people person. He opens the door for everyone.”
