Illinois Water Environment Association
NEWSLETTER
Volume 26, No. 3 - Fall 2005 page 2

The Zman Says...

Larry Ziemba
IWEA President

Have you hugged your chair lately?... No, I'm not referring to your comfy recliner from which you watch this fall's football games on your big screen TV as you swig on your cold, Old Style beer. I'm referring to any of the Association's 24 Committee Chairs who do the lion's share of work that fuels the engine for the continuing success of this Association. These individuals organize, coordinate and implement the many programs and activities that give all our members a "big bang" for their buck. So next time you greet your Committee Chair give her/him a big hug to show your appreciation for the job they're doing. And if you currently don't belong to a Committee, contact the Chair of any Committee you're interested in. If you're interested in knowing which Chairs sincerely appreciate a hug, contact me and I'll give you a few recommendations. ?

Speaking of Committee Chairs... Al Hollenbeck and his Collection Facilities Committee have organized a Collection Systems Seminar & Exhibition at an Upper and Lower Illinois location this November. Even though you will read this after these seminars are held, I mention this because Al Hollenbeck may be the only Committee Chair that used his comfy, reclining chair to concentrate on baseball this fall as he watched his beloved White Sox. This is the first year we have presented our Collection Systems Seminar in Downstate (Lower) Illinois and it will be a great success even though it may not draw the number of attendees it normally does in Upper Illinois. This is another training opportunity we are providing for operators, which will minimize travel requirements and encourage continuing education.

She Must Be Doing Something Right...For the second time in the past year the Water Environment Federation has selected our website http://www.iweasite.org/ as their Member Association WEB Site of the Month. Mary Johnson is our Webmaster and the quality and utility of the site should improve since she has just completed transfer of our site to a new web host. The new web designer will now be responsible for creating the web versions of our newsletter and ensuring that they get posted in a timely manner. We now have a tab on our Website that allows users to email "info@iweasite.org." The email will be directed to the Secretary (Mary) for necessary follow-up.

September 23 Executive Board and Committee Chairs Meeting... No resolutions passed which deserve mentioning here. Progress reports on our joint conference with ISAWWA next March and WEFMAX 2007 were presented and are detailed elsewhere in this forum. Our December Executive Board and Committee Chairs Meeting has been rescheduled to December 5, 2005 at the MWRDGC Egan WRP to precede the dinner honoring Herb Anderson, our past Secretary and Treasurer. The complete minutes of this meeting and all past meetings will be on our website at http://www.iweasite.org/?Governance/governance.html.

Moving Right Along... We are putting the final touches on our joint conference with the Illinois Section American Water Works Association at the Crowne Plaza, Springfield, March 13ñ15, 2006. This is a concerted effort by our Annual Conference, Program and Local Arrangements Committees. Check our website www.iweasite.org for more information. This is the first-ever joint conference of the IWEA and the ISAWWA, and by combining our annual conferences, it will be the largest single event for potable water and wastewater professionals in Illinois. One hundred sixty exhibitors will present equipment and services incorporating the latest developments in the water and wastewater industry. Doug Scott, Director, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, will be our keynote speaker at our March 13 luncheon meeting and an "Operators Pre-Conference" day will be March 14 with papers of interest to both wastewater and potable water operators. The conference program will have something of interest to every member of our Association. As an added attraction, we have arranged for a group outing to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum at the close of our (IWEA) technical sessions on the afternoon of March 15. Group transportation will be provided and the total cost will be an option on the registration form and family members are welcome! An important note for those planning on attending our Awards Banquet on the evening of March 13: to end the evening's festivities earlier, there will not be any paid professional entertainment following the dinner. However, amateur entertainment will be provided throughout the evening at no cost to the Association ?

WEFMAX 2007ÖWe will be a local host in the Spring 2007 session. Chuck Corley has volunteered to Chair our Local Arrangements Committee and will be assisted by Kathy Cooper, John Drake, and Lou Kollias. We have budgeted $6,000 for this event which will match the $6,000 WEF will contribute. WEFMAX provides an opportunity for Water Environment Federation and Member Association leaders to discuss issues affecting WEF and its MAs and exchange ideas and experiences. I had the opportunity to attend WEFMAX at Tucson Arizona this past spring with Toby Duckett, Director 2005, and I benefited from the exchange of ideas with other MA leaders, including the broadening of my knowledge of MA program activities throughout North America. Also, I brought back new and creative ideas, some of which may be embraced by our Executive Board.

Illinois Association of Water Pollution Control Operators... On September 27 Past President John Drake and I met with the IAWPCO officers: President Bruce Butler, Urbana Champaign Sanitary District; Executive Director Dave Miller, Rantoul; Secretary/Treasurer Scott Wallis, Princeton and others. I had requested this meeting to discuss the potential for our Associations partnering in operating training activities since both our Associations have common goals for the plant and collection system operator (and the facility decision maker); all of which are intended to promote wastewater operator professionalism. As a start, we agreed to form a joint committee to explore cosponsoring Plant Operations Seminars next summer and I anticipate that future meetings will develop additional cooperative efforts necessary to develop statewide wastewater operator training opportunities in light of imminent Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Continuing Education Requirements.

In Closing... To all of you that are actively supporting this Association, keep up the good work (and I apologize for not recognizing all of you in this column) and to those of you not actively supporting this Association: GET INVOLVED. The rewards are boundless! And to all of you, become a mentor to someone in your profession and help them advance their career in protecting and improving Illinois' water environment.