Name
Kyle Tryan
Company/Organization
Benton Charter Township
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
Government entity. I work at the water treatment plant for the community’s drinking water.
Age
34
Accomplishments
Chairing the Young Professionals Committee for the Michigan Section AWWA. Presenting at the annual Michigan water conference in 2018. Presenting at the Spring Regional meeting for EGLE in 2022. Becoming one of the youngest superintendents of an F2 or higher rated water treatment plant. Passing my F1 water treatment license. Graduating near the top of my class from the Bay College water treatment program. Keeping Benton Township’s drinking water safe and in compliance.
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
To inspire others to work in and help out the water industry and to pay off our mortgage if my wife and I are still living in the same home.
Education
Diploma from Escanaba Area High School. Associates in Water Resource Management from Bay de Noc Community College. Continuing education in the water industry.
What Town Do You Reside In?
Coloma
Where were you born?
Escanaba, MI
What was your first job?
Picking asparagus on a farm.
Best advice you ever got?
Money isn’t everything. You have to find balance. I do like having nice toys though, lol.
Who inspires you most?
Anyone who is amazing at their craft or who goes above and beyond without being asked.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
I hated pizza when I was a little kid. Thank god I grew out of that!
What do you love to do in your downtime?
Boating, motorcycles, snowboarding, golf, and hanging with good friends.
What book are you reading now?
One of the Jack Reacher series books.
Volunteer activity you love the most.
Working at water conferences helping with things like registration desk, floor guide, member sign up booth, and greeter. I get to interact with so many awesome people!
What motivates you to give back to your community?
I try to picture what I would expect if I were a customer of my water system and then I try to deliver that. There’s a lot of technical jargon in water treatment and test results and I always try to break it down into terms people can digest.
What Superpower would you most love to have? (for example, the ability to fly or to be invisible, or incredible strength, etc)
Teleport.
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
I would like my legacy to inspire others to pour their heart and soul into the water industry and hopefully those individuals continue sharing that inspiration.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
It means a lot to me! Sometimes I struggle with imposter syndrome, so this is confirmation that yes I am in fact pretty awesome and awesome at my craft!
