Buffalo Trace Area Development District
Mar 20, 2026
TENCO’s Putting Young Kentuckians to Work connects a former Little League player to a career in water utility operations
A northeastern Kentucky water utility manager is singing the praises of a regional workforce development program after it helped solve a staffing problem and gave a promising young man a foothold in a skilled trade.
Trent Underwood, manager of the Garrison Water District, reached out to the TENCO Workforce Development Board this year to publicly endorse the Putting Young Kentuckians to Work (PYKW) program, saying the experience has been a "win-win" for his district and for the young worker it helped place.
"I find it hard to condense into a short letter the appreciation and respect that I have for this program," Underwood wrote. "It has been a help to us, but I also love seeing how Braxton has been empowered with knowledge of things that I myself have taken for granted."
Braxton Detillion, a local student, was placed with the district through the PYKW program, which is administered through the local school district and funded through TENCO. Underwood first learned of the program after meeting Youth Career Coach Katheryn French at an area development district water council meeting, where she outlined opportunities for utility companies facing staffing shortages — a challenge Underwood knew well.
Like many industries, the water and wastewater sector has struggled in recent years as experienced operators retire and positions go unfilled.
The connection between Underwood and Detillion turned out to be more than professional — Underwood had coached him in Little League years earlier. When Detillion learned he would work with the district through the program, the enthusiasm was mutual.
Detillion has since proven himself across a broad range of duties, participating in both general labor and more technical aspects of operations, arriving on time with a positive attitude and checking on ongoing projects even during partial school days.
"He is very self-motivated," Underwood wrote, "taking it upon himself to check on ongoing projects that he might miss out on while he is in school."
French worked with Underwood to complete the program's requirements and formalize Detillion's hire. Underwood credited both the program's funding and French's dedication for making the placement possible.
"This was all made possible by the funding of the PYKW program and the hard work and dedication that Katheryn French has put into it," he wrote.
The TENCO Workforce Development Board serves a multi-county region in northeastern Kentucky, connecting young Kentuckians with employment opportunities while helping local employers address workforce gaps.