Brady named Nashville District Employee of the Month for May 2020

Nashville District Public Affairs
Published June 26, 2020
Shane Brady uses a Trimble Geographic Information System (GIS) 150 device to collect spatial and geographic data on public trails for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District.

LAKE BARKLEY, KY. (Feb 2019) Shane Brady uses a Trimble Geographic Information System (GIS) 150 device to collect spatial and geographic data on public trails for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District.

Park Ranger Shane Brady at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District assigned to Safety Office is the Employee of the Month for May 2020.

LAKE BARKLEY, Ky. Park Ranger Shane Brady at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District assigned to the Lake Barkley Resrouce Office is the Employee of the Month for May 2020.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., (June 26, 2020)  Shane Brady, a natural resource specialist and Park Ranger at the Lake Barkley Resource Manager's Office is the Nashville District Employee of the Month for May 2020.  

Brady exemplified himself when he temporarily took over campground management at Lake Barkley when a teammate was deployed to assist with COVID-19 emergency operations in Nashville Tenn.  The responsibilities associated with this new role included acting as a liaison with park attendants, management of campground reservations and cancellations, and making sure that the campgrounds opened in a smooth and organized manner. 

These new duties have been greatly complicated by challenges and changes in schedules and opening dates due to USACE's response to the pandemic.  Robert Buck, a co-worker said, “During the pandemic, Brady has been a true stalwart against negativity and has helped keep the morale of his co-workers steadfast in these uncertain times.”

Kayl Kite, the natural resource manager for Lake Barkley, endorsed the nomination of Brady for the award and recognized Brady’s leadership abilities.

"Shane is natural leader and one of those rare employees that has the ideal blend of self-confidence and humility.  He has a positive attitude and is willing assist with any task to accomplish the overall mission,” said Kite.  "Shane's work ethic and professionalism set a great example for the team, and this is evident in the fact that his peers nominated him for this recognition.  He is just one those people you want on your team!" 

Brady is a Natural Resource Specialist/Park Ranger at the Lake Barkley Project in Western Kentucky. His job duties include: stewardship of land and water assets at the project through management of shoreline permits, inspection and remarking of the government boundary line, and protection of historic or cultural resources.  

Brady is also tasked with performing duties aligned with success of the recreation mission such as: visitor assistance, water safety instruction, and enforcement of Title 36.    Brady sees his role as being responsible for conserving natural resources for future generations and to provide recreation opportunities to visitors. 

Brady said the most challenging part of his work is: “The sheer amount of requests by land owners for private docks, water lines, easements, etc. around the waterline of the lake. There are something like 400 land owners. The amount and time to coordinate those requests is huge.” He praised his co-workers when asked about the favorite part of his job and was humble about receiving the Employee of the Month Award.

“The people I work with are great," said Brady.  "We have a phenomenal staff at Barkley, the work we do and how diverse it is, and the flexibility we have to do that work.  It varies so much, you never get bored and there is always something different." 

When asked how he felt about winning the award Brady said: “I was really surprised.  We have a phenomenal crew here at Barkley and the Nashville District as a whole is a phenomenal organization.  I’m pretty humble, so getting something like that was very unexpected.”

His co-workers are enthusiastic about Brady’s attitude and abilities to work with many different people.

“His positive attitude and outlook have been tremendously helpful in maintaining the morale of his teammates through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jeffrey Lasley, contract inspector at Lake Barkley. “I have personally witnessed Mr. Brady's ability to deal with frustrated and unhappy customers in a calm and respectful manner.  This quality performance often leaves customers with a much better outlook and attitude about this great organization than originally expressed.”

Brady hails from beautiful cornfield country in Amboy, Ill.  After high school, he worked in construction and later joined the army at the age of 23.  He served in the Infantry at Fort Campbell Ky. and served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  In 2011, he left the Army to attend the University of Southern Illinois and earned a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation and Leadership.

The Brady family lives in the border area of Paducah Ky.  Shane’s wife, Breanne, teaches physical education for K-8th grade students at Vienna Grade School in Vienna Illinois.  They have two sons; Chance who is 6 and Kip who is 4.  They love karate and T-ball and the family spends every night during the week except Sundays at games and practices.   

Lt. Col Sonny Avichal, Nashville District Commander, said: “Shane exemplifies professionalism and his positive attitude and outlook have been steadfast and beyond helpful in maintaining the morale of his teammates through these uncertain times.”