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Howard Goebel ’85 oversees water management for the New York State canal system

Whether in the classroom, the band room or on the basketball court, 1985 alumnus Howard Goebel says it was at the former Broadalbin Central School District where he learned that hard work was necessary in order to be successful, both as an individual and as a team.

Howard with his wife, Ellen, and their twin sons, Jack and Jesse.

Today, Howard uses that lesson in his job as the canal hydrologist for the New York State Canal Corporation, the entity responsible for the operation, maintenance and promotion of four historic canals that span 524 miles across New York State. As canal hydrologist, Howard oversees all facets of the water management program of the canal system, including water level management, dam safety, hydropower generation, emergency management, and invasive species management.

After earning an associate’s degree in engineering science from Fulton-Montgomery Community College and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), Howard started his own engineering consulting firm. Four years later, he returned to Syracuse and SUNY ESF to study for his master’s degree in environmental engineering.

“I was very fortunate to have both outstanding collegiate professors and classmates in the water resources engineering field. This is where my desire for a career in watershed management and engineering developed,” Howard says.

After graduate school, Howard joined the Syracuse-based company Moffa & Associates as an engineering manager specializing in storm-water management. He obtained a professional engineering license and joined the New York State Canal Corporation in 2001.

So, what does Howard say is the key to his success?

“My key to success is planning and perseverance. You have to dig your well before you are thirsty, do your homework, and prepare to win. ‘Perfect practice makes perfect,’” he says. “If you are not trained properly, you don’t have a chance. You need to make a long-term investment in yourself to ensure that your individual talents and potential are fully developed.”

And Howard says the practice and hard work that went into being a member of the Broadalbin Marching Kens earned the band the motto “The Best.”

“All of the band members, including the musicians and color guard, worked very hard to combine the best music with the best marching presentation,” Howard says. “It was an extreme rarity when we didn’t place first in a competition. This cultivated an expectation to be the best, and as band members graduated, the next class had to fill the leadership role year after year.”

Howard, with the French horn, stands between his brothers Richard (holding the trombone) and Frank (holding the clarinet).

Howard says many B-P teachers were influential, including Miss Philbrook (math), Mr. Finkle (English), Mr. Milunski (science) and Mr. Cotungo (physical education). But for him, it was Mr. Dougherty, who was the band director for 32 years until his retirement in 2007, who was the most influential.

“Mr. Dougherty cultivated a can-do attitude in the entire band—whether you played the flute, French horn or the drums, you were an integral part of the band,” Howard says. “He fostered a teamwork approach that required individual excellence to ensure that the team was the best.”

And while Howard believes teamwork is paramount to success, he also stresses that a person’s speaking vocabulary is key to being successful: “You need to have good reading and writing skills, but your speaking vocabulary is paramount to your success in a service-oriented marketplace.”

Howard and his wife, Ellen, have chosen B-P schools to educate their twin boys, Jesse and Jack. They attend second grade at The Learning Community. Ellen serves as a volunteer in The Learning Community, on the Shared Decision-Making task force, and as an Odyssey of the Mind coach.

Howard still looks back on his alma mater with a mixture of fondness and pride. “Broadalbin was a small school with a big heart,” he says. “What we lacked in numbers we made up for with determination.”