Howard Kirby of Anderson Pump House now has two Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology diplomas - the one he earned as a student back in 1973 and one he earned through his contributions to the water industry over the past 41 years.
SIAST named Kirby the recipient of the 2014 SIAST Honorary Diploma. He received the honour at the graduation ceremonies for SIAST's Woodland Campus in Prince Albert June 13.
The honour is "in appreciation and recognition of his vast contributions to central and northern Saskatchewan throughout the past 30 years," according to a statement from Anderson Pump House.
It was "a big surprise, it was very humbling and I felt very honoured once I learned about what these honorary diplomas are all about," said Kirby, who serves as president and CEO of Anderson Pump House. "I'm just very proud to receive the award."
He was contacted by SIAST about the honour only a few weeks before. Howard himself is a SIAST graduate, earning a diploma in Water Sciences Technology in 1973 from the Saskatoon campus, and had been in the water industry the past 41 years.
The honour brought back memories for Kirby of his SIAST experience.
"When I look back at my education with SIAST in water sciences back 40 years ago, that probably gave me an excellent foundation to kind of start the business in water systems, in pumping equipment and water treatment and so on."
Kirby was presented with his honorary diploma by SIAST president Dr. Larry Rosia. It was also a big day for the over 200 graduates on hand to receive their diplomas in person at the ceremonies at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre.
"One of the neat things to see was all the smiling young faces of all the people graduating", Kirby said. "That in itself was certainly a thrilling experience."
Kirby gave a brief address to those graduates during which he spoke of the importance of students developing people skills to go along with their technical skills.
The honour from SIAST follows on the heels of other recognition for Kirby and for Anderson Pump House. Last fall, Anderson Pump House received province-wide recognition as it was inducted into the Achievements in Business Excellence (ABEX) Hall of Fame.
Also last fall, Anderson Pump House received the Battlefords Business Excellence Heritage Award recognizing its years of business excellence in the Battlefords and area.
Anderson Pump House has had locations in both North Battleford and Prince Albert since 1983.
Kirby says he believes the recognition can be attributed to "customer service. I guess we've always had a business plan where we try and provide sound technical information and help customers with advice as far as different types of water systems, water treatment systems and so on."
Kirby says Anderson Pump House has built up a reputation for "quality materials and just quality service and trying to give customers the right product for their needs."
