By Paul E. Kandarian
PBN Staff Writer

At the Narragansett Bay Commission in Providence, it’s all about the bay – and the workers striving to keep it clean.

“Just by the nature of what we do, everyone takes the responsibility to the environment very seriously,” said Jamie Samons, public affairs manager. “Everyone feels like a part of the positive things that have happened to Narragansett Bay.”

The commission has an impressive range of programs to make employees’ lives easier, including flexible schedules, strong health and retirement benefits and wellness programs.

The commission also establishes Equal Employment Opportunity goals each year for improving minority/female representation, and distributes job-vacancy postings to more than 20 minority agencies statewide.

As part of the chairman’s river-restoration initiative, commission employees host Earth Day cleanups along the Woonasquatucket River, an American Heritage River, from Waterplace Park to Olneyville Square in Providence.

Worker health is important, Samons said, and the commission has mapped out walking trails at three of its facilities, and the corporate board room is used during lunch for pilates, tai chi and yoga classes. Annual employee-appreciation events are held, coordinated for all shifts as a way of thanking workers for their efforts throughout the year.

The commission is a nonprofit public corporation. Its 250 employees are responsible for providing wastewater collection and treatment services to more than 360,000 residents and 8,000 businesses in 10 Rhode Island communities, the metropolitan Providence area and Blackstone Valley. •