Director's Report
It is an honor to be selected by the Nebraska Section to serve as your Director for the next three years. I started my term at the end of the Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) in Chicago in June. I want to thank the outgoing Director, John Olsson, for his advice and guidance as I have transitioned into this position. John has provided strong leadership during the past three years. I am especially impressed by his efforts to engage the Nebraska drinking water industry in being a proactive leader in the state to find Total Water Solutions, through the ad hoc committee by that name. I know that John will continue to provide leadership for the section into the future.
The Nebraska Section served as the host to an AWWA Regional Section Officers Meeting (RMSO) on May 13 and 14 in Omaha. We had twenty-five participants, with six of the nine sections in our region represented. I want to recognize Ben Day, Mary Poe, Jim Shields, and Tony Bilek for their hard work in finalizing the preparations to host the RMSO. Our colleagues from Wyoming commented upon the warm Omaha weather, while those from Texas bemoaned the cold. We had highs in the 70s and a low of 38°F. At the RMSO, a range of topics were discussed including topics such as Membership Model Changes, AWWA's Philanthropic Initiative (more on this below), and Community Engineering Corps. The most valuable aspect of the meeting was the conversations and sharing of ideas between sections.
The Nebraska Section AWWA has long been aware of the tremendous importance of operators to the success of the water industry, and the need to continue to recruit and train operational staff. In 2009, Mike Wentink provided leadership for a joint Nebraska Section AWWA and Nebraska Water Environment Association survey which found that the median age of operators in Nebraska was over 51 years old, and 45% planned to retire within 10 years.
AWWA has started a new philanthropic initiative called the Water Equation to address the critical shortage of skilled water professionals. Plants need skilled workers to operate increasingly complex controls of water and wastewater systems. Nationally, the water industry faces a critical shortage of operators, and the need is expected to increase by 6% in the next decade. Thus, to help attract talented new people and to retain and enhance the skills of our current membership, AWWA wants to double the number of scholarships awarded annually. These scholarships will be for all levels, bachelors and graduate degrees and continuing education for operators. AWWA national is providing matching funds to Sections that create new scholarships, like the Nebraska Section has recently done. Scholarships for degree-students normally can only be spent on an accredited degree program. With the One AWWA Operator Scholarship, there is more flexibility as to how it is used. These funds could be used for certification/licensure, two-year community college water programs, professional training programs, books and manuals, and even to send a Section's meritorious service award winner to ACE. Please watch for more announcements related to the Water Equation and the associated scholarships.
In closing, I am looking forward to representing the Nebraska Section as your Director for the next three years. As always, I encourage you to get involved with the Association in some manner. Your feedback and involvement are critical to the success of our Association. This is an exciting time to become involved in AWWA and the organization has with abundant resources available to help you with your job.
