Look How Far We've Come in 2016
I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their attendance at the 2016 Fall Conference. It was a great turnout and we had a record number of vendors and many first-time attendees. I hope you all enjoyed the conference; there were many great opportunities for learning, operator training and continuing education, networking, and insights into the latest technologies with our exhibitors. I want to recognize and thank all the exhibitors who showcased their products and services -- without exhibitor support, we simply could not put on this conference.
Let me point out a few highlights from 2016:
This year, we were honored to host the AWWA Region IV RMSO (Regional Meeting of Section Officers) in Omaha and we feel it was very successful. It was a great way to meet leaders from other sections, share ideas, and showcase our state and our Section. I truly enjoyed it.
We have started strategizing about how our Section can become involved in the Community Engineering Corps. More to come in 2017 as we form a committee to move this forward.
We have an active ad-hoc committee called Total Water Solutions (TWS), which is working with other organizations including the Nebraska Water Balance Alliance. In particular, the Water Balance Alliance launched a project that is targeted at effective water conservation and management in agriculture across Nebraska. To carry their vision forward, NWBA has a program designed to link targeted on-farm water management practices to the larger framework of water use, conservation, and management across the state. Part of this effort allowed the board of the Nebraska Section AWWA to offer a letter of support to the Water Balance Alliance towards a Water Sustainability Fund grant application that they submitted the State of Nebraska.
We have held multiple successful Water For People fundraising activities including a wine tasting, golf outing, and shotgun shoot.
Our Education Committee has taken full advantage of the EPA small systems grants for training, hosting multiple workshops throughout the year and we've been able to offer many opportunities to our constituents. These workshops will continue in 2017 through the guidance of our Education Committee, thanks especially to the work of John Keith and Mike Wentink.
A special thanks to our dignitary, AWWA Vice President Kevin Bergschneider. We appreciated his insight into the Association and his sharing of his experiences and knowledge.
I have served the section for many years through chairing committees and holding various positions on the Board. It has been a great experience that has allowed me to participate in the effort of protecting and conserving our most valuable resource, water. Through the years, the Section has helped me to learn and develop in my skills and career, to network, and to make many great friends along the way. My year of service as Chair of the Nebraska Section AWWA is now over and I appreciate all the support of the other board members, committee members, and the Nebraska Section membership as a whole. Chad Roberts is our new Chair, and I know that Chad will do an excellent job moving the Section forward into 2017.
