PLAIN CITY — After 44 years in the culinary water industry Paul Hodson has retired as general manager of Bona Vista Water District, but since he is extremely active in his community Hodson will still have plenty to do.
He is currently on the Cemetery Board, a member of the Ogden Kiwanis and the Plain City Lions, and serving on the board of the Weber/Box Elder conservation district as well as serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City with his wife, Pam.
A family man, Hodson has four children and six grandchildren. He’s a lifelong resident of Weber County having grown up in Warren, where he raised his children. He now lives in Plain City.
He started his water works career in 1966 as a general maintenance worker for Ogden City Water Utility earning $321 per month. Hodson worked his way up from the bottom to the top in 31 years ending his years in Ogden as the
water superintendent. He then worked for Bona Vista for the next 13 years.
Hodson says he has been very fortunate because the water industry has been very good to him as a career. He was recently honored with the Rural Water Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hodson also attained Class 4 treatment and Class 4 Distribution certificates which are still current. Hodson has been active in the Rural Water Association of Utah and the AWWA Intermountain Section for over 30 years.
Hodson believes change and keeping up with it is important, and said his philosophy is, “I have to be able to do everything that I ask my employees to do.”
Hodson has made many lasting friendships over his career and said he wants to thank all those he has worked with throughout his career.
During his career Hodson has worked as part of a leak crew, a maintenance worker, a meter shop worker and foremen as well as a filter plant operator. Hodson said in his early career he was out many times in the middle of a winter night repairing frozen water lines.
Hodson says in spite of continuing to be busy he plans to spend time with family and also says he will enjoy his hobby of restoring his 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint. He said it is in running condition and he enjoys driving it.
“When the sun shines, I get it out of the garage and take it for a spin,” said Hodson. He also will have more time to enjoy gardening and camping.
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