To say that Allen Hammer has retired is misleading-he now holds three part-time jobs in service to the Commonwealth. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Allen graduated from high school in Roanoke, Virginia. His career in water supply engineering began in 1969 after he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and joined the Virginia Department of Health's (VDH) Bureau of Sanitary Engineering in Abingdon. While working for the Bureau, he began graduate studies in Sanitary Engineering and completed his M.S. at Virginia Tech in 1973.



Three years later, Mr. Hammer moved to VDH headquarters in Richmond. By the end of the decade he was promoted to Director of the Bureau, which later became the Division of Water Supply Engineering. During his tenure as Director, the Division dealt effectively with a number of federal and state water supply and treatment issues.



Under Allen's leadership, the Commonwealth maintained primary enforcement responsibility for drinking water regulation-the Division consistently proved to the U.S. EPA that regulatory issues could be safely and efficiently managed at the state level. The Division also successfully handled the dramatic increase in federal regulations that were issued for drinking water treatment and supply during the 1980s and 1990s. Another highlight is that, during the 20 years of his administration, Virginia never suffered a water-borne disease outbreak from a public water supply.



In 1991, the Virginia Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) selected Allen as the recipient of the Fuller Award, the most prestigious honor presented by an AWWA section. The award was made in recognition of his contributions to the Virginia Section and to the water works industry.



Active throughout his career in professional organizations, Mr. Hammer is a past President of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, a life member of the AWWA, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc., an organization that helps rural areas improve water and sewage facilities. He is a past member of the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. While he was Director of the Division of Water Supply Engineering, he served concurrently as Director of the Virginia Advanced Operator's Short School, a training program for waterworks operators. He also is a past member of the Via Department's Advisory Board.



Since retiring as Division Director in 1999, Mr. Hammer continues to spend time at the VDH as a part-time employee assisting the division. He works with the Virginia Department of Emergency Services as a reservist, which means that he is among the first called out during a natural disaster or other emergency in the state. In addition, he holds the recently created part-time position of Training Coordinator with the Virginia Section of AWWA; his job is to find ways to improve the waterworks training offered in Virginia.



Also quite active with the Salem Baptist Church in Richmond, Allen has served as Deacon, Sunday School teacher, assistant softball coach, choir member, children's and youth teams member, and Chair of the Building Committee.



Allen and his wife, Linda, who recently retired as a teacher's aide, have three children. Greg, the oldest, is a meteorologist; Christy is a speech pathologist as well as a wife and mother; and Jessica is a rising sophomore at Virginia Tech, majoring in Biology.