Nivala’s Act of SERVICE Helps Woman Find Medical Attention
Utility Operators from Edina’s Public Works Department are no strangers to spending most of their workday in the field. Whether they’re jetting sewers, maintaining lift stations or reading water meters, employees of the Utilities Division are adaptive problem solvers constantly working in the public eye.
Responding to unforeseen situations are also a fairly regular occurrence in Public Works, but for Utility Operator Curt Nivala, a particularly unique spring encounter made him an instant hero.
For his selfless act of helping a lost woman seek medical attention, Nivala received the Values VIP Award for the month of June.
In early May, Edina Public Works flushed hydrants around the city. Members from the Utilities Division are tasked with the seasonal mission of draining water from hydrants to identify maintenance needs after the lower water demands of winter.
For Nivala, the day he helped the woman started like any other: arrive at the Public Works & Park Maintenance Facility early in the morning, take assignments and head out to complete his daily responsibilities, which he knew would primarily be flushing hydrants.
After arriving at his designated job location, he flushed uninterrupted for about five hours. All signs were pointing to another routine day on the job, but then Nivala noticed an elderly woman wandering down the street toward his location – seemingly lost.
“She was driving slowly when I saw her out of my peripheral vision,” Nivala said. “After I approached her from the passenger side, it was apparent that she was struggling with directions and had no technology to help navigate.”
As it turned out, the woman wasn’t from Edina or even the Twin Cities metro area, and was visiting from the town of Granite Falls in western Minnesota. Noticing that the woman was clearly confused about the directions, Nivala insisted that the best course of action was to stop the project and led her to the medical office personally.
Understanding that the woman was still disoriented upon arrival, Nivala decided that he could do even more in his already exceptional effort to provide help, and walked the woman into the office building that housed the medical office she was searching for to ensure she made it there safely.
“She was ultimately going in for an imaging appointment at LifeScan Minnesota in the Southdale Medical Center for a future procedure,” said Nivala. “The setup of the Center added a layer of complexity that could’ve easily confused someone even more, which is why I came in with her.”
With the office finally located and the woman receiving assistance, Nivala’s spontaneous act of service was complete. However, the goal of “paying it forward” had just begun for the woman who called the Public Works Department the following day.
“Curt made a fan of me,” the woman said, gushing over her positive experience with the City, according to Public Works Director Brian Olson. The woman went on to say that Nivala’s instinct to provide service to someone he had never met was “truly inspiring” and that she would do all she could to help others with random acts of kindness in her own community going forward.
“Curt went beyond what was expected and demonstrated to us what kind of person he is by providing amazing service to a complete stranger,” Olson said. “To go through life and have encounters like this with good people can result in a chain reaction of positivity like we saw here.”
Utility Operators often go through their daily work without a notable interaction with the public, let alone a “thank you.” To be regarded as a hero is almost unheard of and a testament to the service that Public Works provides our community.
“I’m doing what I’m supposed to do,” said Nivala. “My parents raised me by the Golden Rule: treat others as you would want to be treated.”
Olson will present Nivala with the award at the Public Works Department’s monthly muster June 27.