June 2018 Vol. 73 No. 6
Features
NASSCO Convention Addresses Industry Needs, Concerns
A large number National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) members, spouses and guests converged at the La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, April 11-13, for the association’s 42nd annual convention.
As always, the attendees tackled many important issues and needs of the sewer and water rehabilitation infrastructure industry as part of an aggressive agenda and committee schedule. The traditional Technical Day was modified this year to include guest speakers and roundtable discussions.
Outgoing NASSCO President Pete Kurz, Virginia Public Works Equipment, welcomed attendees and set the goals and plans for the convention. “I want to thank everybody for their support in what has been an active year,” Kurz said. “We’ve made a lot of progress as an association.”
Kurz also thanked former Executive Director Ted DeBoda for his service to NASSCO. DeBoda resigned in January to pursue other opportunities. “He (DeBoda) did some very good things during his 7½ years as executive director and we wish him the very best.”
Kurz stressed the contributions of former NASSCO President Mark Metcalf who served as interim executive direction during the search and transition to new executive director Sheila Joy.
“With a new executive director in place, it gives you a chance to hit the reset button. Thank-you Sheila Joy for accepting the position. She is absolutely fantastic and will do a terrific job.”
Kurz said he was supported strongly during his term as president by NASSCO Vice President Tim Vivian. “Tim was the most active vice president in a long time. We couldn’t have had such a strong year without him.”
In 2017, there also were staff additions and changes. Staff Engineer Mayank Khurana joined NASSCO in July, Kathie Lloyd was promoted to administrator/program coordinator, Dawn Jaworski was promoted to communications and online training manager, and Lisa Avolos was hired as part-time administrative assistant. Heather Myers remains as operations manager.
Active meetings
On the first full day of the convention, NASSCO officers and staff led the general business session by covering the past year’s activities and introducing plans and activities of the association moving forward. In the afternoon, a full schedule of committees met to evaluate 2017 accomplishments and plan for the next year.
One of the major topics covered during the morning business session was in regards to the research NASSCO has commissioned about styrene emissions from cured-in-place pipe projects. The literature review has been completed and NASSCO has issued a request for proposals for Phase II of the research project.
The second business day of the convention was Technical Day. Among the speakers was Jeff Haby, P.E. and vice president of production and treatment for the San Antonio Water System (SAWS). He spoke on “SAWS SSO Reduction Program and Consent Decree: Lessons Learned at the Halfway Point.”
Julie Nahrgang, executive director of the Water Environment Association of Texas, provided a regulatory update. Blake Lukis, director of water and wastewater for Framingham, MA, talked about “NASSCO Inspection Standards Bring Framingham’s CCTV Work Into The 21st Century and Beyond.” The final presentation was by Kathy Buttars, asset program manager for the city of Meridian, ID, and Katey Jones, GIS analysts for the city of Meridian, ID, on “The city of Meridian – Journey Toward Sewer System Asset Management.”
At the event’s closing banquet, the new slate of officers and directors was formerly introduced to the membership. The 2018 officers are: President Tim Vivian, Green Mountain Pipeline; Vice President Jake Trapani, BLD Services; Secretary Joe Schotthoeffer, Doetsch Environmental; and Treasurer Max Gowdy, Liquiforce.
The 2018 Board of Directors includes: Past President Pete Kurz, Pipeline Renewal Technology; Dean Monk, Pro-Pipe; Andy Rothenberg, Primeline Products; Jeremy Wagner, PipeLogix; Jimmy Stewart, Pure Technologies; Will Markey, Michels Corporation; Laurie Perkins, Wright-Pierce; Frank Kendrix, Insituform Technologies; Randy Belanger, Visu-Sewer Inc.; and Michelle Beason, Carylon/National Plant Services.
Also, the 2018 NASSCO Pipeline Assessment & Certification Program Trainer of Year was awarded to Michael Kerr, Michael Kerr Consulting.
New president
Vivian told the audience that “I very much appreciate the trust everyone has put in me. I want to thank the staff as the work of NASSCO could not be done without their great effort.
“I’ve learned an awful lot during my eight years on the board. I want to thank Pete for the incredible leadership he has displayed though the transition period and the styrene issue – that’s big.
“I’m very excited about future of NASSCO. Sheila (Joy) plans to visit a lot of our members this year. That’s a great idea and I’m going to join her. It’s important for us to get out to see our members and industry people.
“We’re going to lead in a direction that’s a little different than in past but it’s the right time to do that,” Vivian added.
NASSCO’s 43rd Annual Conference will be held April 9 – 14, 2019 at the The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information, contact: NASSCO, (410) 442-7788, nassco.org.
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