Congratulations to Chief Utility Locator Will Prescott on his recognition as the North Carolina 811 Most Valuable Professional. NC 811 Education Liaison Howard Corey presented the award during a Gas Department meeting on March 23rd. Will was recognized for his ongoing commitment to the locate industry.

Will has 26 years of locating experience, with 22 of those years at GUC. He joined GUC as a Locator and was promoted to his current role in 2015. He supervises a staff of 10 in the Underground Locating Service (ULS) Section of the Gas Department. Although ULS is housed in Gas, this section provides an essential service to all four of our operating departments. 

Our Damage Prevention Specialists (formerly called Locators) respond to an average of 19,000 locate requests per year.  As a supervisor, Will is also responsible for overseeing investigations he and his team conduct when a GUC underground facility is damaged. 

Will is actively involved in the Pitt County Utility Coordinating Committee (UCC) and currently serves as its Chair. He has served as an instructor at several Annual North Carolina/South Carolina Joint UCC Conferences and was the lead instruction for a locating class offered at a Mock Gas Line Strike Demonstration sponsored by NC 811.  

Will holds locator certifications from Staking University, an internationally recognized locate training organization, and is also certified as a Train the Trainer. In the award press release, NC 811 recognized Will for “his passion for helping those involved in locating utilities to be the best they can.” He is currently working towards having a state certification program for all locators in the utility industry. He also works proactively with excavators in our area to coordinate the locate request with the work being done. This helps avoid unnecessary locate tickets and allows his team to work more efficiently. 

“Thank you to NC 811,” said Will. “I'm grateful for the recognition but it's owed to so many others who have helped me over the years, including our Locating team and all my coworkers at GUC.”

Congratulations, Will!