President’s Forum

I would like to personally thank all of the members of the Illinois Water Environment Association (IWEA) for the opportunity to serve as President for the 2006-2007 term. I consider it an honor and a privilege to assume this position. IWEA is an outstanding organization comprised of many hard working members.

I know it was March but this year’s conference really blew in like a lion, having endured the tornado that swept through Springfield on March 12. Despite the weather, the joint conference with the Illinois Section of the American Water Works Association (ISAWWA) was a resounding success. Attendance reached 1,500 participants, which surpassed all expectations for both organizations. The conference was very informative and all the presentations were excellent. I would like to thank Amanda Withers, Program Chair and John Lamb, Annual Conference Chair and their committees for putting together an awesome conference. I would also like to thank Laurie Dougherty, Executive Director for ISAWWA, who showed us what being organized really is like. The rest of the committee from ISAWWA was also extremely cooperative and it resulted in one of the best conferences ever. We will be looking to partner with ISAWWA on a semi-regular basis in the future. Next year we will be in Bloomington on March 5–7, at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center. I am sure we will put together another great conference program.

There are several initiatives I would like to undertake as President. First and foremost is the rejuvenation of the Public Education Committee. I have decided to combine the Ten Day Water Environment Curriculum Committee back into the Public Education Committee where it started. The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is marketing the Ten Day Curriculum for us. Along with this action, I have assembled an advisory panel to assist the Public Education Committee in resuming the activities such as the DuPage Career Fair and participation in the Illinois State Fair. There will be two co-chairs for this combined committee. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that IWEA promote our public outreach activities.

Another initiative is to reach our members in central and southern Illinois. As a result, our Plant Operations Committee chaired by Greg Garbs has scheduled three plant operations seminars throughout the state this year. IWEA is partnering with IAWPCO on these seminars. The dates are July 18, 19, and 20, in Rochelle, Peoria, and DuQuoin. Please check our website for the exact locations and times.

The Executive Board will be having a long range planning meeting on May 5. At this meeting the Board will discuss long term goals for the organization and how to achieve them. One of the topics we will be discussing this year will be the IWEA/Central States issue. IWEA as a Member Association (MA) needs to address what the future will be for the existence of two organizations in Illinois. One of our first actions will be to meet with Central States on this issue. If any of you have thoughts on this, please feel free to contact me.

WEFMAX is coming to Chicago in April 2007. WEFMAX is an acronym for a MA exchange meeting where WEF and MA leaders discuss issues affecting WEF and its MAs. It also provides a forum for exchanging ideas and experiences with other MAs across the country. One of the discussions will be the establishment of a new member category. WEF would like to implement a "Utility Member" category to bring in new members.

For those of you who are not active on an IWEA Committee, please consider joining one this year. Pick one in your area of interest and contact the Committee Chair. I am a charter member of IWEA but I really didn’t become active until about ten years ago as a member of the Industrial Pretreatment Committee. All of the members of the Executive Board started out as committee members. Also, consider getting a friend or colleague to join IWEA. If not as a full member, an Affiliate Membership is now available so new members can see for themselves what IWEA is all about. It is a great organization with dedicated volunteers who care about the water environment in Illinois.

In closing, I am looking forward to guiding this organization for the coming year, and with your help we will be able to accomplish great things. Don’t forget the IWEA Golf Outing is at Cinder Ridge Golf Club on June 16, 2006.

Lou Kollias
IWEA President