UNIONDALE, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 11, 2025 / Marquis Who's Who honors Sharon A. Purnell for her dedication to maintaining her community. In her role as manager of the Hamilton Township Municipal Authority, Ms. Purnell contributes to the continued safety of its residents.

In this role, Ms. Purnell oversees the organization's management of a number of daily administrative and field operations, including safety and employment manual programs, human resource-related functions, rules and regulations, and policies and procedures. She has ensured the municipality functions properly and adheres to developing operational requirements, serving as manager for 14 of her 40 years with the Authority.

Education and an Early Spark of Success

Ms. Purnell's capacity for success was recognizable early in her career, starting with the completion of her coursework in a business secretarial curriculum at Chambersburg Area Senior High School. She learned secretarial and bookkeeping skills during this time, skills that would prove useful when she had the opportunity to participate in a co-op program, which allowed her to work for Letterkenny Army Depot every afternoon during her senior year. This role provided her with invaluable experience in business secretarial work, earning her a letter of commendation and a reference from her work leader. After a few weeks of employment, she was moved into a Management Assistant position.

In addition to her diploma, Ms. Purnell also holds a number of certifications enhancing her capabilities, including a wastewater operator certification from the Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania and a certification from the Emergency Management Institute of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that she obtained in 2010. Her education provided the groundwork for her 40-year-long career in wastewater management.

Accolades, Attributions and Civic Contributions

Given her ceaseless service, Ms. Purnell has earned many achievements and accolades over the course of her career. The most prominent is the Arrowhead Honor and District Award of Merit from the Keystone Area, now known as the New Birth of Freedom Council, in 2005. She was later recognized with the God and Service Award by the same organization in 2006.

Ms. Purnell attributes her success to her ability to adapt and learn, qualities that prove vital in managing systems facing regular changes to policies and requirements. Her strong network of capable professionals, including engineers, auditors and solicitors, has served as a bedrock grounding her belief in collaborative success. This network has been vital for Ms. Purnell, as maintaining the balance between assisting township residents and enforcing strict rules and regulations is both challenging and rewarding.

As a way of giving back to the community that supports her, Ms. Purnell contributed to civic organizations as a scout troop committee chair and Cubmaster for Scouting America from 1993 to 2008. She also lent her experience through co-written publications that recognized infiltration issues in township authorities for MASTT-Mid Atlantic Chapter and NASTT in 2015.

She was the recipient of the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association (PWEA) 2019 Utility Leadership Excellence Award. She also currently serves as the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association (PMAA) Region 4 director, serving and representing eight counties in southcentral Pennsylvania. In September 2025, she was presented with the PMAA Extended Service Award recognizing more than 40 years of service to Hamilton Township Municipal Authority.

A Life Dedicated to Sustainability

Continuing her dedication to her community, Ms. Purnell hopes to serve in her capacity as manager of the Hamilton Township Municipal Authority for another 10 years before preparing for a smooth transition into retirement.

Ms. Purnell's passions are hunting, cooking, playing the piano and spending time with her family. She aims to further pursue these activities once she leaves behind the organization she has helped build up for decades, establishing sustainable operations and strong leadership in the process.

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America^®, Marquis Who's Who^® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America^® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms worldwide. The suite of Marquis^® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who^® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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SOURCE: Marquis Who's Who