Local safety officer retires after 30 years of service

Joe Joyner is retiring from the USGS Nevada Water Science Center after 30 years with the company.

Joyner retired March 30 from his position as collateral duty safety officer for NVWSC of Carson City.

“I have worked all over the state. I’ve worked in Vegas and up north, I’ve even traveled toward Utah. My field trip was in Ely, Nevada. I loved the work, but the timing was right now. I have four grandkids I want to spend more time with,” said Joyner.

He first began to work for the company in 1994, after graduating from the Star Technical Institute of New Jersey and serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a cartography technician. Joyner joined the Western Region of Technicians Advisory Committee in 1996 for the secretary position. He worked alongside committee members Al Caldwell, Chad Smith, and Annette Campbell. The committee’s accomplishments include helping to change the Hydro Tech series full performance level from GS-9 to GS-11, and pushing to involve senior technicians in surface and ground water reviews.

In 2001, Joyner accepted the position of collateral duty safety officer. He reinstituted and chaired the quarterly safety meetings up until his retirement. Joyner and his committee brought attention to safety issues that resulted in Bureau level action regarding coating columbus weights to minimize lead contamination and updating the heat stress index in the field safety manual. He went onto be awarded the Occupation Health and Safety Award of Excellence. Joyner’s dedication was recognized as one of the longest commitments to safety for the industry.

Joyner lives in Dayton with his wife. In his retirement, he says, “I plan on doing some missionary work, with my church Hilltop Community Church. It’s in Nairobi, Kenya, working with solar panels and groundwater wells. It’ll be in the same water resources field I did at USGS. Another thing I want to do is get my CDL drivers license so I can drive a seasonal water tender trucks for Pierce Fire. A lot of traveling too. I have five children in various states.”

The Nevada Water Science Center is committed to providing reliable, unbiased scientific information about Nevada’s water resources to the public, cooperators, and stakeholders. To provide this information, the organization operate widespread data collection networks as well as conduct water-science research covering a wide range of scientific issues throughout Nevada and adjacent states.