Ed Finley Celebrates 25 Years With PRI
Ed Finley, PRI software engineer.
West Babylon, NY – Power Resources International (PRI) would like to congratulate Software Engineer Ed Finley on completing his 25th year with the company.
“On behalf of the entire company, I’d like to wish Ed a happy 25th anniversary at PRI,” said Joe Diurno, president, PRI. “Ed has been a crucial component to PRI’s growth and has been with us since the early years. Thank you, Ed for all your hard work and dedication.”
Finley joined PRI in 1996 when the company was in a building no larger than 2,000 square feet and had only five employees. “I actually went to interview for a different company and the owners happened to be friends with Joe Diurno,” Finley explained. “They said to Joe, ‘we found someone for you’ and that’s how I came to PRI. Back then we were a tiny place, but we got a lot done. Needless to say, we have grown a lot since then.”
Finley’s interest in electronics and technology started at a young age. “I was the kind of kid who loved to take things apart and usually put them back together – although much to the chagrin of my parents, sometimes I didn’t,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated by technology and new things. I gravitated right towards computers and control systems.”
Finley went to Sewanhaka High School to study electrical engineering technology and then attended SUNY Farmingdale to earn his Associate of Arts and Science in Industrial Electronics Technology.
When asked to recount some of his most memorable projects at PRI, Finley had three come to mind. First, was the George Washington Bridge, which he described as “the most exciting” project. “You know the big flag that they fly at the top of the bridge every holiday? We did the controls for it,” he recalled. “I had to reprogram the design for the control on the fly, while I was in the field. Plus, I got to go on top of the towers which is 500 feet above the roadway.”
Finley snapped a photo of the American flag atop the George Washington Bridge.
The second, which was the company’s biggest project at the time in 1996, was work completed on 63rd Street in New York City. “It was about 100 stations for New York City Transit,” he said. “We got to know a lot of people from Transit during that job.”
The third, which went on for 18 years, was the Holland Tunnel. “During this project we were introduced to the Siemens line of automation and upgraded our systems.”
When Finley is not at PRI you can find him with his two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, riding his motorcycle, and giving back to veterans.
“The most rewarding thing I’ve done was raising my three daughters, and now spending time with my granddaughter Charlotte,” he explained. “Two years ago, at 61 years old, I decided to buy a motorcycle. Charlotte gets so excited every time she sees me riding it. The other day I went out and bought her first motorcycle – a little plastic thing with a motor on it so she can ride around.”
Finley on his motorcycle.
Finley’s new motorcycle also introduced him to multiple veterans’ groups on Long Island. Finley, who is a U.S. Air Force veteran, is currently a member of the Rolling Thunder Chapter 6 on Long Island, which is a charity that raises awareness for the Prisoners Of War-Missing In Action (POW/MIA) of all wars.
“We’re here to do whatever we can to help veterans and raise awareness,” Finley explained. “We’re helping build the VA facility here in Lindenhurst; and we did a motorcycle run recently for the VA hospital out in Northport. I’ve also worked with Wounded Warrior a lot.”
Whether he’s raising awareness and funds for veterans, riding motorcycles with his granddaughter, or helping to develop complex industrial electrical solutions at PRI, Finley brings skill and excitement to all that he does.
Congratulations, Ed Finley on 25 years!