News & Events

Long-time WEF Staff Member Nannette Tucker Retires

Nannette Tucker, who joined the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) staff on June 14, 1990, recently announced her retirement effective April 25. A familiar face to WEF members and conference attendees, Tucker has spent much of her career at WEF with the Conferences and Exhibitions Team, helping exhibitors through the exhibit application process, assigning spaces, working with contractors, and much more. In recent years, she has devoted her skills and time exclusively to the sale of exhibition space at the Federation’s annual conference, WEFTEC®. Tucker was recently honored by the Manufacturers and Representatives Committee for her “outstanding dedication and service above and beyond the call of duty.”

Following is a Q & A by WEF Highlights with Tucker regarding her career at WEF.

WEF Highlights (WH): What was your starting position, and how did it progress over the years?
Nan Tucker (NT): I started as the assistant director in Expositions in 1990, and when WEF reorganized the Conferences and Expositions group at the end of 1995, I became the director of exhibitions. In that group, I oversaw the WEFTEC exhibition sales and operations, specialty conference exhibitions, sponsorships, and the trade delegate program. In the spring of 2004, Tim Ricker and I redesigned my job, and I took on the new position of director of WEFTEC sales, concentrating solely on exhibit sales for WEFTEC. Since that time, we’ve seen monumental growth in the exhibition. In 2004, we had 833 companies in 201,665 ft² [18,735 m²] of space. Last year, we had 1017 companies in 268,405 ft² [24,935 m²] of space.

WH: What were some of the challenges you faced working on WEF’s conferences? 
NT: The challenge that faced me when I first came to WEF was that no one had been communicating with the exhibitors on a regular basis prior to my arrival. They didn’t really have anyone to talk to. So I began sending exhibitors monthly updates on what was happening with WEFTEC and what deadlines were approaching. As a tradeshow organizer, our deadlines are important to us but they really aren’t important to the exhibitors. They have many other things that they are working with; if we expect them to follow our planning schedule, then we need to remind them of what’s coming up. This is a continuing challenge to everyone who works with WEFTEC — to provide the same level of service even though the show has doubled in size. 

WH: How has the industry, or your work, changed with the times?
NT: The trade show industry has changed immensely since I began in 1974. Back then, the large shows had about 400 booths; last fall WEFTEC had the equivalent of 2684 booths. I remember the first time I saw a show with aisle carpeting in 1976 — WEFTEC now uses about 6 mi [9.7 km] of aisle carpet.
 
Floor plans used to be huge 3-ft [0.9 m] by 6-ft [1.8 m] pieces of paper with names written into the spaces. We used to use Wite-Out® when booths had to be changed! Now it’s all electronic and updated daily online.
 
Also, we used to mail out thousands of copies of the exhibitor prospectus, collect reservations, and then spend countless hours in the office assigning space to everyone.  Now we have the onsite sales office, and approximately 80% of the exhibitors book their space for next year before they leave the current year’s show. This allows us to spend time recruiting new companies into the show rather than spending time following up with current exhibitors.

WH: What are some of your proudest achievements? 
NT: The WEFTEC exhibition has now doubled in size from when I began. WEFTEC is now the largest annual water and wastewater exhibition in the world. That happened with WEFTEC.06.

But I’m proudest of the relationships I’ve established between WEF and the WEFTEC exhibitors. In 1997, I received WEF’s Excellence in Service Award.  That was meaningful, as I was nominated by someone I supervised.

WH: Do you have any reflections on staff or members who have made a difference in your work here? 
NT: The list of exhibitors who have made me successful (and many became friends) is far too lengthy to include, as are all of the officers and MARC [Manufacturers and Representatives Committee] chairs and committee members who supported my activities at WEF and became friends in the process. 

WH: Share your plans for retirement.
NT: I will volunteer with a pet therapy program, bringing pets to visit residents of retirement or nursing facilities. I’ve got a wonderful little cat who is quite social; she’ll likely be licking people’s noses and washing their hands. My dog is a big, furry, sweet mixed-breed; she loves people so will let them pet her and hug her until they tire of it. It’s been shown that just being around pets for a visit can improve the outlook and health of those being visited. (So, yes, I’m retiring and going to work with the old folks! I remember my grandmother telling me that many, many years ago.)

My nephew’s family moved to the area about a year ago. He has two young boys, Spencer, age 5, and Joe, age 4. They’ve become a joyful part of my life; retirement will allow me to participate more in their development and see them become outstanding young men, following in their father’s footsteps. 

I will be swimming the 0.5-mi [0.3 km] freestyle in the 61 to 65 age group at the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics in September and also rowing in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Rowing Sprints in February 2009. I’ve got a lot of work to do to train for those two events, but it will be so rewarding just to finish.

Joshua Boltz was recently named a Mentor of the Year by CH2M Hill (Englewood, Colo.).  Boltz is a member of the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) Students and Young Professionals Committee and an engineer at the Tampla, Fla., office of manufacturing and engineering firm CH2M Hill.

In 2007, CH2M Hill asked its employees worldwide to nominate someone whose mentoring had helped them develop professionally. From 111 nominations, five winners were chosen. Each of the winners, according to a CH2M Hill press release, embodies the spirit of true mentorship by leading by example, remaining humble, sharing expertise, offering opportunities for professional growth, and fostering a spirit of collaboration.

“Josh is a young professional who has been with the firm for only a few years, but he has demonstrated several qualities that typically take many more years to acquire,” one nomination reads. In his short career with CH2M Hill, Boltz has created a network for young professionals and mentored several entry-level engineers to help them identify projects from which they can learn new skills, according to the company.

As a Mentor of the Year, Boltz received a plaque and congratulatory letter. In addition, the CH2M Hill Foundation made a $1000 contribution to the educational nonprofit organization of the employees’ choice.

Richard Lanyon Named New NBP Chair

Richard Lanyon has been named as the new chair of the National Biosolids Partnership (Alexandria, Va.). Lanyon succeeds Robert Hite, who died Dec. 4.

As chair of the NBP’s Steering Committee, Lanyon will help guide and coordinate the governance of its partnering organizations, including the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In this capacity, he will help shape policy decisions to support NBP’s mission to advance biosolids environmental management systems in local communities.
 
Lanyon is general superintendent of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDC). MWRDC collects and treats wastewater from more than 5 million people in Cook County, Ill., and the industrial equivalent of another 4 million people. It also provides stormwater management and other related services to protect the water environment. Chicago is one of 100 wastewater organizations participating in the NBP EMS program.

Since 2006, Lanyon has managed the day-to-day operations, 2100 employees, and an annual budget of approximately $1 billion. He is a 44-year career employee of MWRDC, and prior to his appointment to general superintendent, he was director of research and development for 7 years.

Lanyon received the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE; Reston, Va.) National Government Civil Engineer of the Year Award in 1999 and Distinguished Alumnus of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 2003.  

He is a past president of the Illinois Section of ASCE and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from UIUC. He also has been active in the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.). 

On Nov. 5, the Central Davis Sewer District (Kaysville, Utah) became the 18th wastewater agency in the United States to have its biosolids environmental management system (EMS) certified by the National Biosolids Partnership (NBP; Alexandria, Va.).

Members of the Central Davis Sewer District. Click image for larger view.

The most significant benefits of the NBP EMS program for the district’s development and implementation process include the EMS manual and associated written standard operating procedures (SOPs) — a significant contribution to the district’s operating documents. With retirement of key staff in the near future, the SOPs aid in the continuation of institutional knowledge.

For more information on the Central Davis Sewer District biosolids program, visit www.cdsewer.org/BiosolidsEMS/biosolidsems.html.

Anastasia Roda, the 2006–2007 Pennsylvania state winner of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) competition, is seeking to make a difference by improving the world's water problems. Her hard work earned her another award, which in turn is helping Water for People (Washington, D.C.), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and health and hygiene education programs in developing countries.

Roda made an impressive showing at the 2007 SJWP competition with her research on the organisms living in the water near a local nuclear reactor. She went on to win several other competitions and awards including the Nestle Very Best in Youth award, which spotlights young leaders who are making a difference in their community. As part of this award, Roda was given the opportunity to donate $1000 to the charity of her choice. After hearing about Water for People at the last year’s SJWP competition, she decided this would be her charity.

“Because of concern for the environment and what I have learned about the world’s problems with water at SJWP, I selected Water for People as the recipient of my award,” Roda explained. “I wanted to do something to help people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources and sanitation facilities.” 

To learn more about the SJWP program and to find out what other past participants are doing, see www.sjwp.org.

More than 46,000 people paid a visit to their local streams, rivers, lakes, and other waterbodies in celebration of World Water Monitoring Day™ (WWMD™) in 2007, according to the program’s Year in Review report, available online March 1. WWMD is officially observed each year on Sept. 18, which marks the beginning of a month-long period of water quality monitoring.

Because of the high volume of participants in 2007, the monitoring period was extended until Dec. 18. This date also served as the deadline for reporting data to the WWMD database for inclusion in the year’s final report.

WWMD participants tested their local lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, and estuaries for four key water quality indicators: dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and turbidity. Some groups also monitored for the presence of certain macroinvertebrates, such as dragonflies, mayflies, and scuds. Samples were taken in a range of settings — agricultural, commercial, residential, and industrial — on six continents.

In 2007, 10,636 WWMD test kits were distributed — 2500 more than were distributed in 2006. A total of 46,117 participants monitored sites worldwide, which represents a 61% increase over 2006.

Countries where registered participation occurred in 2007 include: Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, and Zimbabwe.

The coordinators of World Water Monitoring Day, the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) and the International Water Association (London), would like to acknowledge the generous financial and in-kind support in 2007 from primary sponsors the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PerkinElmer (Waltham, Mass.), ITT Corp. (White Plains, N.Y.), CH2M Hill (Englewood, Colo.), and Smithfield Foods (Smithfield, Va.).

For a complete list of program sponsors and partners, as well as more detailed statistics, see the World Water Monitoring Day 2007 Year in Review, available at www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.

The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF; Alexandria, Va.) is offering $100,000 to support innovative water quality research that will lead to solutions for communities and the organizations that serve them.

The annual Paul L. Busch award is one of the largest in the water quality industry. Now in its eighth year, the award has provided nearly $750,000 to support researchers imbued with the visionary spirit of its namesake — researchers who look to the future and tackle today’s challenges.

Recent recipients are breaking new ground — exploring issues such as the fate of commercial nanomaterials in our receiving waters, self-sustaining treatment facilities through the use of microbial fuel cells, and the effective removal of endocrine disrupting compounds in the wastestreams of biofuel producers.

Cutting-edge research is often just far enough ahead of the curve to be overlooked by more traditional funding sources, said 2004 award recipient and Pennsylvania State University (University Park) professor Bruce Logan.

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities for people with truly groundbreaking ideas to get funding,” Logan explained. “This award is wonderful because it rewards innovation, gives researchers pursuing new, creative solutions an outlet for their work, and provides some much appreciated visibility.” 

The WERF endowment was created to honor Paul L. Busch, a leader in the water quality community who challenged engineers and scientists to devise new technologies and solutions for addressing ongoing water quality issues.

The award is granted to an individual or team. Utilities, universities, environmental firms, and others conducting water quality research or engineering work are encouraged to apply. Applicants may self-nominate or be nominated by a third party.

Interested individuals or teams must submit their application to WERF by June 1, 2008. All submissions should be sent to the Water Environment Research Foundation, Paul L. Busch Award, 635 Slaters Lane, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314.

More information on the Paul L. Busch Award, as well as the application process, can be found online at www.werf.org/PaulLBusch.

A free workshop introducing an environmental management system (EMS) for biosolids will be offered to Pennsylvania and regional wastewater treatment agencies as well as biosolids preparers on March 29. 

The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP; Alexandria, Va.) event will be held at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown. The Saturday workshop helps to kick off the 22nd Residuals and Biosolids Conference & Exhibit on March 30. The Middle Atlantic Biosolids Association, the Pennsylvania Water Environment Association, and NBP are co-sponsors of the event.

The objective of the program is to expand the national EMS program, which currently has 101 participating organizations, by providing sufficient start-up information to assist regional agencies in establishing environmental management systems based on the “blueprint documents” developed by NBP. The introductory workshop will identify the components of the blueprint documents, with guidance on how to get started.  

“The NBP is anxious to work with regional organizations to bring the benefits of the EMS to municipal solids management,” said Peter Machno, manager of the NBP EMS program. “The workshop will provide an opportunity for agency consultants and staff to understand the breadth of the program and what it has meant to the 101 agencies currently part of the NBP.” 

The Introductory Workshop will be followed by a three-workshop series through the balance of 2008 for those organizations serious about creating and demonstrating their own environmental management system.

For more information about the workshop or the planned workshop series, contact Gene De Michele at edemichele@wef.org. 

Attendee online housing and registration will be available on Monday, April 7. Don't miss your opportunity to register early to receive the discounted rates.

Click here for conference and registration information.

WEF Pavilion at WSDWTF: Exhibit space still available.
The 9th China International Water Supply & Drainage and Water Treatment Exhibition will take place April, 27–29, 2008, at the Intex-Shanghai and Shanghai Mart in Shanghai. This annual event will help your company access Chinese and other growing Asian markets in need of your products and services. The 2007 WSDWTF show attracted 20,000-plus trade visitors from 30 countries and more than 700 exhibiting companies from 23 countries.

Companies currently exhibiting at the WEF Pavilion at WSDWTF as of Feb. 4, 2008, include

• ADS LLC
• Aries Industries/Vac-Con
• Groth Corp.
• Selwood Pumps
• Sprayroq Inc.

WEF Pavilion at IFAT in Munich:  Exhibit space is sold out. Brochure-only option still available.
The 15th International Trade Fair for Environmental Protection Water, Sewage, Refuse, and Recycling will take place May 5–9, 2008, at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Munich, Germany. This show is hosted every 3 years and is a must-attend event for access to European markets. The 2005 IFAT show attracted more than 109,000 trade visitors from 166 countries and 2222 exhibiting companies from 36 countries.

Companies currently exhibiting at the WEF Pavilion at IFAT as of Feb. 4, 2008, include

• ADS LLC
• Aqua-Aerobics Systems Inc.
• Aries Industries/Vac-Con
• Hayward Flow Control Systems
• Hydro Instruments
• LobeStar Pump
• Mody Pumps Inc.
• NEFCO Inc.
• Neuros Co. Ltd.
• Penn Valley Pump Co. Inc.
• Pulsafeeder Inc.
• Robbins & Myers Fluid Management Group
• Ross Valve Mfg Co. Inc.
• World Water Works Inc.

To be added to an exhibit space waiting list or to inquire about the brochure-only option, please contact Laila Sukkariyyah at lsukkariyyah@wef.org.

Features and benefits of exhibiting with WEF International Pavilions include

• prime booth locations
• various booth size options lower than the minimum required by the show organizer
• all exhibits arranged by WEF
• translators (as appropriate)
• lounge and meeting areas with food and beverage provided by WEF
• WEF onsite reception
• WEF staffed pavilions
• full on-the-ground support
• promotions of pavilions through WEF publications
• assistance with housing arrangements, and much more.

For more information, contact Laila Sukkariyyah at lsukkariyyah@wef.org, (703) 684-2458, or (703) 650-8516.

A joint workgroup of Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) and National Association of Clean Water Agencies (Washington, D.C.) communications professionals will present a series of free webcasts to help members make the most of Water Is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen™ education methods and tools. 

The first webcast is “Engineering an Infrastructure Education Program:  Messages, Media, & Marketing” on March 19. Charlie Stevens, utilities director for Rifle, Colo., will present a utility case study of a small community with an urgent need. Steve Frank, public information officer for the Denver Metro Reclamation Wastewater District, and Bob Zirlin, marketing director for Insituform Technologies Inc. (Chesterfield, Mo.), will present their thoughts and advice on messaging and marketing. 

Space is limited. Click here to reserve your space. For more information on Water Is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen, see www.WaterIsLife.net.  

Elmer Elwood Ross
Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) member Elmer Elwood Ross died Nov. 29, 2007, at age 88. Ross graduated from the University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering in 1941, and began his engineering career at the San Francisco Water Department. He worked more than 35 years with the East Bay Municipal Utility District (Oakland, Calif.), becoming the manager of its wastewater division and assistant general manager. A memorial service for Ross was held in December.

Dan Okun
Dan Okun, Kenan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina (UNC; Chapel Hill), died Dec. 10, 2007, at the age of 90. Okun began his career at UNC in 1952 and served as chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering from 1955 to 1973. Although Okun retired from teaching in 1982, he remained actively involved in the profession through writing, lecturing, and consulting until his death.

Okun was a member of both the National Academy of Engineering (Washington, D.C.) and the Institute of Medicine (Washington, D.C.). In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (Reston, Va.) and the International Water Association’s (London) Grand Award.

A memorial service for Okun was held in December. Donations to honor Okun’s memory may be made to the Dan Okun Scholarship Fund at UNC. Checks should be made to the Public Health Foundation (Washington, D.C.) and should indicate the name of the scholarship. The address is UNC, School of Public Health, Campus Box 7407, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27599-7407.

Frank Eck
Frank Eck, chairman of the board for Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS; Hilliard, Ohio) died Dec. 13, 2007, from complications following open heart surgery. He was 84. Eck earned a bachelor’s of science degree in chemical engineering at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) in 1944. Upon graduation, Frank enlisted in the U.S. Navy serving as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, aboard a landing ship tank in the Amphibious Forces. Following the war, Frank was accepted and graduated from the Harvard School of Business (Cambridge, Mass.) in 1949. He began his business career in the petrochemical industry in the 1950s. In 1973, Eck joined ADS as vice president of sales and marketing.

A memorial service was held in December. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Bryce Eck Center, c/o St. Andrews Parish, 1899 McCoy Rd., Columbus, Ohio, 43220 or to The Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital at the Ohio State University, 452 West 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio, 43210.