During his long tenure in the business, Kratz wore many hats and witnessed a lot of change. He started his career in 1966 as a meter reader for Southern California Edison (SCE), where he worked through his lineman apprenticeship. Since then, he has worked for Pacific Power in The Dalles, Libby Power & Water in Montana, Homer Electric in Alaska, and even had a stint as a cattle rancher in Canada before coming to Eugene to join the original team at EPUD in 1983. One of the most positive changes Coy has seen during his tenure in the industry is the improvement of line work equipment. When he worked for SCE, there were no bucket trucks and workers wore out their knees and hips by retirement age from the climbing.

Kratz has served EPUD as Line Crew Foreman, Serviceman, Operation Manger, and finally as Operations and Engineering Manager. “To tell you I'll miss EPUD is truly an understatement,” said Kratz at his recent retirement party. “The wonderful people of EPUD have taught me to be a better manager and a better person.”

Coy hopes to move gracefully into retirement, but plans to keep busy. He'll be working on various projects at his home in Junction City, and will spend some time in Southern California over the next year or so. Coy and his wife Kay are also planning to travel and visit family in Texas, South Dakota, and Idaho.

To say he will be missed, is an understatement.

 Did you know? 16 out of 75 current EPUD employees have been with the District more than 20 years.