bottled vs.tap: - Virginia Water Environment Association

President’s CornerClarke WallcraftSafeguarding the Environmentreetings from the southwestcorner of Virginia! As I look outmy office window, through thesoftly falling rain, towards thegently rolling hills not far off in the distance,and then beyond that to the New Riverdisappearing around a bend, I am remindedof our awesome responsibility to protect andconserve the environment in which we live.To this end, we as water professionals playa pivotal role. Whether our specific careersare that of a design consultant, a utilitymanager, a facility operator or an equipmentvendor, we all share a common goal tosafeguard the environment.Over the past 65 years, the VWEA membershiphas built a firm foundation that continuesto support the goals of our association.Without the tireless efforts of those individualswho have gone before us, as well as thecontinued efforts of the present membership,we would not be where we are today. Lookingto the future, we need to continue to build onthat firm foundation to ensure the continuedviability of the association.A quick look at the membership breakdownindicates that the student and youngprofessional population (age 35 and under)in VWEA only comprises eight percent of thetotal VWEA membership. These individualsOver the past 65 years, the VWEAmembership has built a firm foundationthat continues to support the goals ofour association.represent the future of our association, andit behooves VWEA to put forth a concertedeffort to grow and nurture the student andyoung professional population. There are anumber of new volunteers desiring to serveon the VWEA Membership Committee, and Ilook forward to their recommendation as tohow we can focus on increasing our numbersin the student and young professionalpopulation; however, each of us can be apart of this effort. If you are in a positionto encourage your younger employees tobecome active members in VWEA, or if yourtravels bring you in contact with individualswho could be potential members, encouragethem to do so. That’s how I became anactive member. One individual encouragedme to serve on the Education Committee.Think what the impact could be for theassociation if each of the 1,300+ VWEAmembers was successful in bringing in onenew member this year!It’s been an exciting year for theassociation. WaterJAM 2012 was a hugesuccess, with 1,344 registrants, 152exhibitors, and a record number of abstractsubmissions. I am continually amazed at howwell WaterJAM comes together each year.Many thanks to the JAM Committee for all ofyour hard work to make WaterJAM 2012 sucha fantastic event! I’m already looking forwardto WaterJAM 2013 in Richmond.Although WaterJAM represents the climaxof our activities for the year, there were a multitudeof other immensely successful eventsin 2012 that offered tremendous educationalopportunities to the membership. To all ofour committees, I offer my heartfelt thanks inappreciation for all you do to make VWEA anoutstanding association. Without your volunteerefforts, we could not be the value-addedorganization we have become.I look forward to serving as yourpresident in the coming year, and to workingwith the membership on all of the variousinitiatives that serve our organization so well.Together, we can make 2013 another banneryear for VWEA!6 The Conduit – Fall 2012