ACE16 From our Executive Director

ACE16

By Alane Boyd, Section Executive Director

I had a very busy, but also enjoyable time at ACE16 in Chicago.  Nicole Baser also accompanied me.  

On Sunday morning Nicole and I met some other Section Staff for breakfast and picked up our registration.  Sunday afternoon there was a meeting for Section Staff.  I presented on the status of AWWA2020 Branding Program for the Section Staff. 41 out of 43 Sections adopted one of three AWWA Section brands. This outcome was accomplished more quickly and smoother than expected. Nicole and I learned about other new and ongoing programs for Sections.

We attended the Opening General Session (OGS) on Monday morning.  And, boy was there a big crowd.  Nicole and I had to get there bright and early so that we could hold the Intermountain Section sign for our members to sit with us.  The Section had about 75 members attend ACE.  This is a fantastic turnout.  I would suggest that any of you who have not gone to ACE, find a time in the coming years to attend.  Next year it is in Philadelphia, PA on June 11-14, 2017.

After the OGS I attended a Women’s Networking Event with Pam Gill, our Section Chair.  We got to meet some other wonderful women from around the world.  Then, I attended an awards ceremony where Central Water Conservancy District received the 2016 AWWA Exemplary Source Water Protection Award for a large source water system.

On Monday afternoon I attended my last Member Engagement Committee (MEDC) meeting.  I have served two terms on this committee.  The MEDC is trying to figure out ways to measure engagement.  I volunteered for the Section to use our database to look at member engagement.  I will be going off of the MEDC, but Lisa Anderson was voted to be a member of the MEDC.  This is a great opportunity for Lisa and for the Section.  Much information on membership is planned and implemented through the MEDC.  Also, a great perk for the Section is that, she will get her travel reimbursed to attend the Membership Summit each year that she is on the Committee.

On Tuesday morning I attended the Water Loss Committee meeting.  This committee developed the Water Audit Software.  Will Jernigan with Cavanaugh Solutions is the chair of the committee.  I was able to meet Jeff Oxenfort with RCAP in Golden, CO.  He would like to see how we can partner on training for water loss in the future.  

Nicole had volunteered to help with the Water Taste Test at ACE.  As it turned out she ended up running the event.  The AWWA staff person who was to run the event had a family emergency and was unable to attend ACE.  She called Nicole a couple of days prior and asked her to fill in for her.  This was a great opportunity for Nicole and one she enjoyed.

The Section purchased a table at the Water Industry Luncheon.  A group of members were able to attend along with Steve Cavanaugh.  Two students from the Section, Kade Beck and Stetson Bassett, received scholarships that were awarded at the luncheon.

Tuesday afternoon Nicole, Pam and I attended the Section Awards Ceremony.  Pam accepted the Club 7 Award for the Section.  This is the second year in a row that the Section has won this membership award.

On Tuesday evening there was a Section Staff dinner that was hosted by AWWA.  Nicole and I enjoyed the company with other Section and AWWA staff.

Nicole and I met with Alan Domonoske on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the plan for the Section’s Taste Test at the Annual Conference.  ACE is a great venue to catch up with friends and meet on important topics.

On Wednesday morning we attended the Fuller Breakfast where Mark Stanley was awarded the Fuller Award.  Mark was unable to make the conference, but we sent him a nice video with David LaFrance, AWWA CEO, and Gene Koontz, AWWA President congratulating him.  Carollo Engineers is gracious enough to purchase a table for the Section at the Fuller Breakfast so that we can cheer on our awardee.

Nicole and I flew home on Wednesday afternoon just prior to the tornado warnings going into effect.  It was great to see all of my friends from the Intermountain Section in Chicago!