Fall 2005 - Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association

From Lloyd Ferguson’s
bulldog approach to
Mike Turek’s desire to
have local meetings
to Doug Woods’
safety-first culture to
Rene Doornekamp’s
“friendly giant”
demeanour to
Chris McNally’s
pragmaticality to
Tony DiPede’s practicality
to Ted Cooper’s vision to
Dave Pagnan’s deceiving
intelligence to
Ron Robinson’s quiet
shrewdness to
John Weber’s seeming
crustiness to
Kathleen Grimes’
toughness, I have
learned from them all.
Message from Sam Morra, Executive Director OSWCA
What a great 14-plus years it has
been at the OSWCA
By now you no doubt
have heard that I am
moving on. What a
great 14-plus years it
has been at the
OSWCA. I really do feel privileged
to have worked with such a great
group of people in the sewer and
watermain construction industry.
In particular, each of the Presidents
I have served with has made a
positive and lasting impression on
me. From Lloyd Ferguson’s bulldog
approach to Mike Turek’s desire to
have local meetings to Doug Woods’
safety-first culture to Rene
Doornekamp’s “friendly giant”
demeanour to Chris McNally’s pragmaticality
to Tony DiPede’s practicality
to Ted Cooper’s vision to Dave
Pagnan’s deceiving intelligence to
Ron Robinson’s quiet shrewdness to
John Weber’s seeming crustiness to
Kathleen Grimes’ toughness, I have
learned from them all. I most
enjoyed the times of strategic thinking
and positioning on the multitude
of issues facing the industry on
a daily basis.
I feel it is necessary to clarify that
it is only a mere coincidence that I
am resigning within six months of
the OSWCA appointing its first
female president! I am not leaving
due to Kathleen Grimes! In fact, I’ve
had a lot of fun these past few
months discussing the issues with
our newest leader.
The saddest part of my departure
will be saying goodbye to my staff.
Gus Morelli has been a rock for me.
Mr. Dependable who came from the
field like me. Few know that Gus
was an injured pipe layer that went
to college in his thirties to get
retrained as a Certified Engineering
Technologist. Not an easy thing to
do. Meredith Karosas has kept me
on the straight and narrow for the
last seven years. She’s balanced my
schedule when it seemed like it
couldn’t be done. So many of you
have come to know her pleasing
demeanor. Margaret Malagowski is
another seven-year employee who
has done double duty on a couple of
occasions as Meredith created her
family. Margaret is special because
she came straight out of college to
work with me and hasn’t left since.
The person I will miss most of all
will be Mary Reuse. Mary and I started
together at the Association mere
weeks apart in 1991. Through thick
and thin she has supported my
progress through the Association’s
The Undergrounder / Fall 2005 • 9