NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 13, 2025) – Employees that supported back-to-back critical repair actions this past year at Wilson and Pickwick Locks received the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Hedgehog Award yesterday in recognition of their efforts to keep navigation moving on the Tennessee River.
Nearly 50 employees throughout the Middle-Tennessee River Area and Nashville District played a part in Wilson Lock’s gate repairs and Pickwick Lock’s gate fenders replacement.
“The outage at Wilson Lock was completely unexpected and unscheduled… and almost shut navigation on the river down,” said Tim Fudge, Nashville District Operations Division chief. “But then our team jumped into action.”
Fudge explained that the recipients of this recognition really came together to identify the issues and initiate a repair plan. In doing so, they worked extremely long hours and coordinated with other districts and organizations to line up required resources and make the necessary emergency repairs.
At Wilson Lock at Tennessee River mile 259.4 in Florence, Alabama, Nashville District employees partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to fabricate new pintle assembly components (the hinge for each 650-ton miter gate leaf) and provide technical assistance, and Huntington District’s Regional Rivers Repair Fleet’s heavy Capacity Fleet, which provided the heavy-lift resources for this major repair.
Meanwhile, lock operators, maintenance personnel, and administrative support elements with the Nashville District kept the auxiliary lock operating throughout the repair to the main lock. The auxiliary lock consists of two 60-by-300-foot chambers operating in tandem, which increases lockage times, especially for larger tows.
“During the outage of the main navigation lock, our lock operators stepped up to the challenge and worked around the clock to move barges one at a time through the auxiliary lock,” said Lock Master Brian Brewer.
Brewer also credited the ceaseless efforts of the office staff, which tracked shift schedules, assisted with time entry changes, and supported increased demand for purchasing. They helped with navigating budget restrictions, processing travel documents, helping with job maintenance tracking and helping with numerous other tasks as required.
The repair team kept vessels moving with delays but worked hard to communicate with the navigation industry. They stayed mission-focused and delivered the repair safely.
At Pickwick Lock at Tennessee River mile 206.7 in Counce, Tennessee, team members had to replace the gate fenders, which required planning and acquisition of materials, not to mention lots of coordination with the heavy capacity fleet.
The work at Wilson Lock and Pickwick Lock required personnel to support repairs and operations while on temporary duty, which reduced employees at other projects for nearly a year. Leadership noticed the workload and praised the total team effort by employees across the Nashville District.
“Every single employee that was a part of the Wilson Lock repair and Pickwick fenders replacement displayed excellence throughout the job no matter what change or disruption that arose,” Brewer stressed. “Each employee was committed to ensuring this was a successful job. They all adjusted quickly when needed so that the mission to keep river traffic moving was not interrupted.”
The Hedgehog Award is given quarterly by the Nashville District to individuals or team of employees to recognize excellence.
“The Hedgehog Award is a big deal. This represents what we do best, what we focus on, what we dial in on when we have a real problem,” Fudge added. “This team pulled off a $20 million project, again unplanned, in just a few months and restored navigation and reliability.”
Employees that are recognized by this award are Ryan Johnson, Justin Gray, Josh Garcia, Mike Murphy, Justin Reed, Robert Henry, Joe Adawag, Donna Roberson, Virginia Bevis, Shelby McNutt, Daniel Keenum, Chase Garrett, Jason Bradley, Brandon Hamilton, Travis Smith, James Byrd, Dino Wiley, David Cherry, Joshua (Dustin) Kelley, Charlie King, Matthew Williamson, Shaun Apger, Gabriel Woods, Brian Pierce, Steven Woodard, Phil Bahr, Cody Braly, Lamika Bailey, Ty Melton, Joshua Miles, Matthew Chambers, Drew Brown, Stan Emmons, Joseph Storms, Brandon Smith, Randy Boyd, Jake Crab, Micah Hurt, Matthew (Craig) Smith, Christopher Taylor, Hector Soto, Matthew Thurmond, Bradley Wilson, Chase Green, Wyatt Mosure, Julie Howell, Zack Sanfrantel, Peter McDonald, Brian Brewer, and Scott Padgett.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/About/Districts/Nashville-District/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at www.x.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.