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LANCASTER – A lot of people may not know Fairfield County Utilities Manager Tony Vogel. But about 7,500 clients see his work every day when they shower, brush their teeth, wash the dishes or do anything else related to water, be it residential or commercial.
It is Vogel’s responsibility to ensure that the water system is functioning properly.
“We have five wastewater facilities to treat the waste that comes back to us,†he said. “And we have three water treatment plants. On a day-to-day basis, I have people working for me who take care of these facilities so that people have clean drinking water and that the waste is treated before it is dumped.
His department is responsible for everywhere outside the county municipalities.
Its largest customer base is in the Pickerington area, with many 256 Ohio businesses being county water customers. Vogel’s duties also include reviewing construction plans for various county subdivisions and monitoring the maintenance of buildings and equipment in his department.
He has 23 people working for him.
Vogel, originally from Northwestern Ohio, has been in his role since 2007. He is a civil engineer by training and worked for the Ohio Department of Transportation from 1993 to 2007.
He said he liked math and science in high school, and one of his teachers said he would make a good engineer.
Vogel graduated from Ohio Northern University at Ada.
“I entered their civil engineering program,†he said. “Of course I played basketball there too. That’s probably why I went to Northern Ohio and not to a bigger school because I played basketball and did engineering.”
Vogel was a member of the 1993 NCAA Division III National Championship from Ohio Northern. The team was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Vogel said he was happy to have become a civil engineer.
“I really enjoyed it,†he said. “It took me in many different directions, from transportation engineering to water and wastewater. There are a lot of different areas in civil engineering that you get involved in.”
Away from work, Vogel is a father of three and married to his wife, Kellie. He still thinks highly of basketball.
“Basketball has really helped me in my life and my career,†he said. “If I can give back, that’s what I try to do. Help the children and hopefully they will have the same experiences as me.”
Vogel has not played basketball since the COVID-19 pandemic closed a league he was playing in. He started coaching basketball at Fisher Catholic High School in 1994 and worked with the school until 2018.
740-304-9296
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
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