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We were devastated to learn that on Monday, July 18, Dan Webster passed away.

Danny was a huge part of our Casella Construction family, and it is hard to process this loss. His work ethic was greatly admired, his frequent words of encouragement were appreciated, and his kind smile will always be remembered.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, August 7, 2022 from 1-4 pm at the American Legion in Rutland.

Danny had a tragic snowmobile accident, and his doctors told him he would never be able to work again. He stayed home and raised his daughter, Nicole. He was disabled for many years, but he never accepted his prognosis, working hard to overcome his injuries which included a major brain injury and loss of use of one arm. Although his doctors told him he couldn't and wouldn't ever be able to run equipment again, he was committed to getting back to work. After Nicole graduated, Danny joined our Transportation Division on July 11, 2014.

In the Transportation Department, Danny quickly became known as our "go-to guy." He would help transport drivers, pick up parts, and run to Montpelier to get trucks registered and permitted. He was so happy to be back at work, and made himself available for anything anyone needed. It didn't matter if it was a last minute, evening or weekend request, Dan was always a phone call away, and happy to help.

The first time Danny ran equipment was in 2015 at the Bristol Landfill closure job. We were using OMYA tailings to cap the landfill and back hauling with our LNG trucks. We hauled in about 30,000 tons of tailings and needed someone to spot the frameless trailers to make sure they dumped safely, and were efficient and coordinated getting in and out. Danny was the right man for the job. There was enough room to dump for a day and then the loads needed to be pushed up. One day we couldn't get an operator there in time to keep the trucks moving, so Danny said "I can do it, give me a chance to show you." With one arm, he did it like he had been running a bull dozer all along. He finished the job pushing off all the loads that were delivered.

After a year or so, Danny saw that we were struggling to fill loader shifts at the OMYA plant. The plant runs 24/7, and in the early days, we didn't have the capacity to handle demand shifts at the plant, vacations, or when someone was out with an illness. Danny raised his hand and said "I can do that." With only one arm and joystick controls, we didn't know if Danny could do it. But he was so committed and determined, that we had no choice but to give him the opportunity to try. He, of course, figured it out quickly, and was able to run the loader with one arm as good as anyone.

He started his loader shifts at night and on the weekends, and kept the incredibly ambitious schedule of working a weekend night shift in the loader, and working days during the week running and supporting operations.

Slowly, Danny started filling loader shifts during the day, feeding the plant and taking care of the 3,000+ tons of ore delivered each day. Before long, he was running loader more than anything, and was one of the most efficient and safe operators in the company.

He also saw the need to support loading the 100+ trucks a day at the Middlebury Quarry, and said "I can do that." We sent Danny up, and he didn't miss a beat. When we needed help managing the tailings landfill at OMYA, which consisted of pushing and grading the byproduct from the OMYA plant with a dozer and shaping final grade with a manual GPS dozer, Danny became our go-to guy for that as well.

Danny was a perfectionist; he wanted everything just right, and would do whatever it took to make it that way. The only time Danny was mad was if something wasn't right. We all knew when something was wrong, because Danny wasn't bashful when he saw something that wasn't right. Everything he pointed out was something to make us better: to be more efficient, to be better schedulers, to perform more effective maintenance, or to just take better care of our team. He overcame so much and was so determined that nothing would get in his way. He worked hard and never said it couldn't be done. He was an inspiration to us all.

Danny, along with Nicole and Kim, were always the first to volunteer to help this company, and its employees, with anything and everything. They never missed an opportunity to offer support. He was an integral part of our Wheels for Warmth event every single year - no one over the years has moved more tires at the event than Danny Webster! He also played a big part in helping Nicole build every one of our award-winning floats for the Halloween Parade.

On July 24, 2021 (just shy of exactly one year ago) Danny was the much-deserved recipient of our 2021 Safety Award, and his multiple nominations for that award illustrated how much his co-workers thought of him, and how big of an impact he had here at Casella Construction.

You can watch the video of Dan receiving his Safety Award last year and see some photos of the day below:

We are putting together a video tribute, and we need your help. Please share with us your memories of Danny, photos/videos, any funny stories you have with him, or just your general well wishes for his beloved family. You can simply record your thoughts/memories with your phone, and upload your video (and any photos you'd like to share as well) here (enter the address [email protected]). We will incorporate everything into a video honoring Danny to share with you, his family and friends.

If you aren't able to record a video, please still send us your thoughts and memories in written form here.

Thank you for your help. This is a tough time for us all. Please try to be there for Danny's family in any way you can, and please be there for each other during this painful time. Thank you.

Congrats, Frank & June Contest Winner!

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