Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) welcomes Hayneville resident Emily Thomas to its team this week. On Tuesday, July 1, she began duties as the organization’s office manager, a role that entails keeping operations running smoothly to provide area residents with properly working septic systems.

“I am honored to be part of the BBUWP team and the important work that Ms. Sherry Bradley and Ms. Perman Hardy have set out to accomplish in our community,” Thomas said. “The meaningful impact the program is bringing to the residents of our county is a blessing, and I am inspired to provide support.”

Thomas works directly with BBUWP President Perman Hardy and Executive Director Sherry Bradley to ensure proper workflow in the organization’s Hayneville base of operations. Her duties include accepting applications, writing new policies and working through the different needs of each resident applying for service.

“All her background experience matched what we were looking for, which is problem solving,” Bradley said. “She has a variety of experience, so I feel like she can interact with the public to meet the varying needs of our applicants.”

The BBUWP works to solve the decades-old wastewater disposal problem of Black Belt homeowners, installing onsite sewage disposal treatment systems uniquely engineered for each home.

“Here at the office, we take applications and make sure those applications have all the documentation that’s required,” Bradley said. “Once that’s done, the application is scanned to our soil scientists. After the soil testing is complete, it goes to the engineer for design.”

The application process is vital to getting residents properly working septic systems, Bradley explains. Thomas is now responsible for overseeing the process, from beginning to testing and on to the engineer.

After applications are completed, the BBUWP audit team visits each home, ensuring workers can complete the installation. Sometimes, debris removal or other challenges delay the process, but Thomas is in place to work through removing every obstacle.

“Emily and I have been talking,” Hardy said. “The best way to handle a challenging situation is to listen to people about why they came into the office. And, if a situation arises when she does not have the answer, Sherry and I are just a phone call away.”

Thomas hails from Buffalo, New York and moved to Lowndes County in 2012, relocating for her work with restaurant chain Zoe’s Kitchen. She is a member of Hayneville Baptist Church and worked with the Alabama Licensing Board for General Contractors before coming to BBUWP.

“I worked with the licensing board, processing applications and working directly with applicants, helping them get ready for board review,” Thomas said. 

She also comes to the role of office manager with experience in accounts receivable. Thomas works in the Hayneville office alongside Administrative Assistant Sandra Renee Smith. 

“I’m really excited to serve my community in this way,” Thomas said. “I’m really eager to put policies in place to keep things flowing smoothly so that we can provide the services that are so needed in our community.”