Beaming utility boss bids farewell

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

More than 300 Nevada Power employees gathered Thursday along a modified parade route behind its headquarters on Sahara Avenue to bid farewell to their hero.

Steve Rigazio resigns today as the utility's president to focus on his fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The tribute was a surprise to Rigazio, 46, who said today he had asked his staff to skip a going-away party because he feared it would become too emotional.

Instead, the parade hit exactly the right note, Rigazio said. It let him say goodbye and leave with some genuine smiles mixed with the tears.

Riding in the passenger seat of a black sedan, Rigazio used his right hand to support his left as he offered brief waves and called out his thanks to the well-wishers. A loud cheer rolled through the crowd when his wife, Annette, stepped into the street and leaned in the window of the sedan to kiss her husband.

"I'm just overwhelmed," Annette Rigazio said as she greeted the parade spectators, who braved a 105-degree temperature Thursday. "The outpouring of concern and love from Nevada Power has been completely amazing."

ALS is a degenerative disorder that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Although people with the disease are often left paralyzed, their brains are essentially unaffected. There is no known cause or cure. Recent research has yielded promising results, and numerous medical trials are under way around the world, according to the American ALS Association.

The disease is believed to always be fatal and in most cases patients deteriorate rapidly over a period of several years. Hall of Fame New York Yankees first baseman Gehrig was the first celebrity linked to the disease.

"This disease is so hard because you don't know if you have another two months to live or another two years," Rigazio said. "The most important thing to hold onto is hope."

Rigazio was one of two patients chosen to address a U.S. Senate committee last year about the need for additional ALS research funding. Since then the National Institute of Health's funding for the disease was increased from $9 million to $20 million.

He also launched a foundation two years ago to raise money for ALS research and help patients in Nevada. None of the foundation's money goes to Rigazio's care. More than 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease every year, and there are about 200 people with ALS in Clark County alone.

Over the past year Rigazio's symptoms have grown more severe, including twitching and the loss of function in his arms. But his colleagues point out that they have never heard him complain and that his genial personality remains unchanged.

Rigazio's good humor was evident at the start of Thursday's parade, when the 1961 taupe-colored Cadillac convertible he was riding in stalled. Rigazio laughed while two workers tried pushing the car several feet before a black Lexus sedan was brought in.

Rigazio's employees lined the sidewalks and parking garage roof armed with banners and signs, including one shaped in the form of a lightbulb that read, "Farewell Steve, we'll miss you."

"That's the most important person you're ever going to escort," Nevada Power employee Ann Utter called out as the two Metro Police motorcycle officers slowly wheeled ahead of Rigazio's car.

Described in turn as courageous, generous and kind, Rigazio has always been a "hands-on" boss, according to his employees. Several lineworkers described Rigazio's visits to the field where he would ask knowledgable questions and bring news from the central office.

Nevada Power engineer Vernon Taylor, who was on his first day at work 10 years ago when he met Rigazio, said he has never forgotten how the man stopped by his desk to welcome him and immediately began greeting him by his first name whenever they passed.

"It doesn't make any difference to me if someone's entry level or an executive," Rigazio said. "I have a great deal of respect for everyone."

Rigazio started his utilities career as an iron worker after graduating college, and he has earned the respect of his peers while climbing the ranks. He moved rapidly up the executive ladder and was named senior vice president of energy delivery at Nevada Power in 1999 -- the same year he was hit with the diagnosis of ALS.

Kathy Schweers, a 20-year Nevada Power employee, said she knew she wanted to work for the dedicated and affable Rigazio when he joined the company in 1984. He was claims administrator when he visited her in the secretarial pool to ask for help with a project.

"Steve has always treated people with dignity and respect," said Schweers, Rigazio's personal assistant since 1993. "His lessons to me have always been to work hard but have fun and enjoy life."

Schweers remembers in December 1998 when Rigazio came to work with a badly bruised shoulder. He told her had fallen while putting up holiday lights. When the shoulder didn't heal Schweers said she directed Rigazio to her own doctor. After months of specialized tests the diagnosis of AML was reached.

"I think I was in denial for a long time," Schweers said. "Steve spent as much time trying to encourage us as we did encouraging him."

There may be brief visits to the Nevada Power offices over the next few months as Rigazio has promised to serve as a consultant, health permitting. But for the most part Rigazio said he plans to spend time enjoying the company of his family and friends, especially daughter Bethanie, 17, and son David, 14. He and his wife had planned a cruise to Alaska for their 25th wedding anniversary but decided to take the trip last summer -- about two years ahead of schedule.

"I don't plan to sit around predicting the day this could end," Rigazio said. "That kind of fatalistic attitude doesn't help anyone."