John Lamb
IWEA President

As this is my first President Forum column, and I am just going to keep that title, as I am not witty or creative enough to come up with something catchy, I would like to mention that I am pleased and honored to be the President of IWEA. I am more honored though to be serving with an Executive Board that is, and has been, such a dedicated group of individuals. The board members definitely have the best interest of the Association in mind and are always looking for ways to improve the Association whether it is an administrative issue or benefits to the membership.

The first topic I want to comment on was our very successful 28th Annual Conference in Bloomington. The conference had attendance of just over 300 attendees and sixty-one vendors, which is an excellent turnout. I want to thank Kathy Cooper, Amanda Withers, Toby Duckett, Mary Johnson and Linda Smith-Vargo for all their time and efforts that contributed to the success of the conference. I also want to thank all the members who volunteered for other duties during the conference: session moderators, committee members that contribute to the technical program and last but not least those on the front lines, the registration table. There are a lot of behind the scenes activities that contribute to the overall success of the conference that attendees may not be aware of.

Those of you who attended the banquet noticed our theme for the banquet and the awards presentations. This was the effort of Linda Smith-Vargo, Chair of the Marketing Committee. It added a very nice touch to the evening by providing a backdrop and accompaniment to the program and she deserves to be complimented for a job well done. Then of course there was exiting President Lou Kollias’, or should I say Frank’s, performance that also added to the festivities and entertainment factor. We may book him for next year as well. There was also a successful Young Professionals (YP) Reception with almost thirty YPs in attendance along with board members. I believe we can continue to build on this year’s success for next year’s conference in Peoria.

During the banquet I did not really go into what I envision or want to accomplish in my term as President, I guess I would not make a good politician. As I did mention, there is always the challenge of membership. However, membership may be on the upswing; there were thirty new members the last two quarters of 2006 and thirty-five new members signed up at the Conference. Overall membership is 731. I would like to see membership up around 800 this time next year. Those of you who are members, consider sponsoring a new member in the coming months. I also encourage those of you reading this who are not members to consider joining.

Another issue or challenge is volunteers. It seems as if the same members are doing a lot of the volunteering, participating on multiple committees and such. I realize there are members who may not be able to volunteer for valid reasons. However, consider joining a committee or volunteer with one of the seminars or conferences. Volunteering and being on committees is a way to be active, meet other members and have a good time doing so.

One opportunity for volunteers is the Illinois State Fair in August. The Public Education Committee will have an IWEA booth there. I have already heard from a number of members who want to volunteer and help in this activity.

An additional topic I want to mention is a survey of the membership. I would like to survey you, the members, and give you a chance to voice your opinion, good or bad. How do you really feel about your Association? What are events you would like to see? Why do you or don’t you attend events? What would you like to see at the Conference? In the coming year this survey will be compiled and sent out to the members.

A subject somewhat related to this is what I call visibility. IWEA needs to be out there in front of the members bringing attention to Association events. In the future you may receive a listing of coming events on a quarterly basis. In the upcoming year there will be the Annual Golf Outing, a fun event, Operations Seminars, Government Affairs Seminar, Collections Seminar, perhaps a couple young professional tours and of course our Annual Conference. At some point there may be more one-day events and perhaps two committees combining for a seminar. Speaking of young professionals, we have a very energetic and enthusiastic committee who put together a spring tour at the MWRDGC Stickney Plant and a promise to have more.

What has your IWEA Executive Board done for you lately? Or will be doing in the future? By the time this issue comes out, the Board will have had its annual long range
planning session in May. Every year the Board meets to set goals for the Association,
set administrative policies, and in general discuss ways to improve the Association and benefits to the membership. An example of this is IWEA has been asked to have a representative on the WEFTEC Advisory Committee. The reason for this is that starting in five years WEFTEC will be rotated between Chicago and New Orleans, and IWEA will be involved on a regular basis.

Another example of the Board activities is the recent WEFMAX in Chicago, which stands for WEF Member Association Exchange. IWEA hosted this WEF event for the first time and held it in Chicago. It was a huge success breaking all WEFMAX attendance records with over eighty attendees from around the country. I want to thank our Board members for hosting and assisting with this event. I especially want to thank IWEA WEF Delegate Chuck Corley for all his efforts and time in organizing the event and coordinating with WEF staff. I encourage you to read the Director’s Column for more information on this event.

I want to conclude with saying I am looking forward to serving as IWEA President the coming year. It has already been a busy and rewarding couple of months and I believe the rest of the year will have more of the same, not just for me but for you, the members, as well. If you have any questions or comments about IWEA please feel free to contact me, my email is always on.