David McAlpin is proof that the adage “Listen to your elders” pays off. As general manager of the Blountsville (Alabama) Utility Board, McAlpin has found a niche that has served everyone well — himself, his wife and three children, and this quiet community of 1,700 in northwest Alabama.

So well that in March 2015, McAlpin was named Wastewater Operator of the Year by the Alabama Rural Water Association. “I sure was surprised when I won the award,” says McAlpin, 40, a...