CWEA’s Board of Directors met June 25-26, 2010 and approved CWEA’s FY 10-11 program of work and budget, which adds member value while keeping dues at the FY 08-09 level.  No mean feat especially in this economy.  A recap of the program of work and budget follows below for you.

In other news…The Board identified several regulatory issues on the horizon to keep on members’ radar, including possible Operator Certification Regulation changes and the EPA’s interest in SSO rulemaking, including the possibility of including SSOs in NPDES permits.

Board approves 10-11 program of work and balanced budget that adds member value and keeps dues at 08-09 level…On June 26^th, the Board approved CWEA’s FY 10-11 budget to continue to fulfill CWEA’s core mission to train and certify water environment professionals.  Our 10-11 program of work adds member value without a dues increase and keeps other fees affordable.  The Board approved a vibrant yet focused program of work for next fiscal year that includes low-cost webinars, newly updated Collection System Maintenance certification tests, updated Collection System Maintenance study guides and materials for study session moderators, a redesigned and updated web site, and improved content in our Wastewater Professional. Read more

Here is a quick run-down of CWEA Board and annual business meeting actions from our April 2010 meetings…

2010-2011 Board Elected…
Members attending CWEA’s April 21^st Annual Business Meeting unanimously approved the slate of candidates for the 2010-11 Board of Directors as recommended by the Board:

• Carrie Mattingly, Utility Services Director, City of San Luis Obispo, for Vice President (becoming President in 2012-13);
• Connie Leonard, Project Manager, CDM, for WEF Delegate Director from the South;
• Paul Schmidtbauer, Industrial Waste Administrator, SOCWA, for Director-at-large from the South (becoming Treasurer in 2012-13);
• Mike Fisher, Project Manager, Water Works Engineers, for Director-at-large from the North.

Two new directors joined the Board who are not elected by the general membership, but come to the Board through their respective committees:

• Rick Staggs, Chief of Wastewater Operations, City of Fresno, joined the Board as Northern Regional Committee Chair
• Mike Neri, Wastewater Lead Worker, City of Folsom, joined the Board as Technical Certification Program Chair.

Pei-Chin Low, Supervising Engineer with MWH Americas, Inc., took office as CWEA’s President on April 23^rd.  Matt Bond, WEF’s VP, installed the entire 2010-11 Board at the Annual Conference banquet.  You can find the CWEA Board contact list at: http://www.cwea.org/cwq_cweaglance_board.shtml. Read more

February, 2010
Strategic planning sharpens focus for CWEA…

CWEA’s Board of Directors met at the end of January to continue their good work on your behalf in fulfilling CWEA’s mission.  A good chunk of the Board meeting (a day and a half, to be exact) was devoted to strategic planning for CWEA.  The Board examined external threats and opportunities, internal strengths, and weaknesses, and assumptions about our future…considered input from our member survey (completed by 825 members for a 14% response rate)…discussed progress made on our current strategic plan (adopted in 2004)…reviewed and revised that plan’s big audacious goal and CWEA’s strategic goals…brainstormed metrics for measuring our progress….and picked one key objective to focus on for FY 10-11.  All is still in draft form but we’ll be sharing the strategic plan with CWEA volunteers and members over the next few months.  Meanwhile…check out the member survey summary. Here’s a sneak preview…

Top 3 benefits of CWEA:

1. “Helps me continue my professional development / maintain my licenses / certificates by attending conferences, seminars, workshops, training events” (57%)
2. “Gives me a network of fellow professionals to share technical information, solve problems, etc.” (45%)
3. “Allows me to demonstrate my competency by being certified” (39%)

90% of the respondents said they would recommend membership in CWEA to someone who is not a member. Many thanks to the 825 CWEA members who took time to complete the survey and provide the board with your feedback.

Here are other highlights from the Board’s January meeting: Read more

CWEA’s Board of Directors—all volunteer leaders in the organization–met on your behalf in September. Here are the highlights from that Board meeting. 

NRTC 2010 set for Modesto…The Board approved holding our Northern Regional Training Conference 2010 in Modesto.  Dates to be determined during the contracting phase expected this fall.  

AC 2013 slated for Palm Springs, April 16-20…The Board approved holding our Annual Conference in 2013 in Palm Springs, April 16-20.  Plan ahead and put upcoming AC dates in your calendar now!  AC 2010 is in Sacramento, April 20-24.  AC 2011 is in Ontario, April 12-15. AC 2012 is in Sacramento, April 17-20.  

Conference revenue goals for next cycle are set…Based on actual results for the past five years and anticipated expense increases, the Board set the net revenue committee goals for AC 2011 (in Ontario), Northern Regional Training Conference 2010 (in Modesto), the Northern Safety Conference 2010 , and P3S 2011 (in Northern CA). 

Reserves and investment policies amended… The Board approved changes proposed by the Board’s Operations Committee to Financial Policy 113 Emergency Reserve Fund & Project Fund and Financial Policy 111 Investments to clarify intent and to allow the Board the option of contributing a portion of any net income over expenses at year-end to the Scholarship Fund as well as back to reserves.  You can view CWEA policies at:  http://www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_board_gd_policies.shtml.  

Local Section Policy approved… The Board approved a Local Section Policy that replaces our Local Section Affiliation Agreement.  It syncs up with CWEA’s constitution and our updated model Local Section constitution and bylaws.  It clarifies the relationship of CWEA and its Local Sections and does not change Local Section operations. The final approved Policy included revisions made to address feedback from Local Section leaders.  Board liaisons will be distributing the Policy to Local Section leaders.  You can view CWEA policies at:  http://www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_board_gd_policies.shtml.  

Scholarship grant appropriation policy approved… The Board approved a new policy (Financial Policy 116 Scholarship Fund Annual Grant Appropriation Policy) to define the approach to determining annual grant amounts from the Scholarship Fund.  The policy is based on a widely used model developed by college and university endowment funds.  It provides a consistent approach, based on granting 5 percent of net asset value of the Scholarship Fund annually calculated in quarterly increments on a 36-month trailing basis.  You can view CWEA policies at:  http://www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_board_gd_policies.shtml.  

Committee standing rules amended…The Board approved standing rules amendments proposed by the Public Education and Safety Committees to bring their standing rules up to date.  You can view CWEA Committee standing rules at:  http://www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_board_gd_csr.shtml.   

WEF MA outreach agreement…The Board approved a list of Member Association (MA) and WEF services, responsibilities, and future support that will be part of a WEF MA Outreach Agreement.  The list includes CWEA’s expectations of its relationship WEF, how CWEA supports or should support WEF, how WEF supports or should support CWEA, existing WEF services for MAs, and a “wish list” of future services. 

Next Board meeting… CWEA’s next Board meeting will be held January 29-30, 2010 in San Diego. Committee quarterly reports, informational items, and requests for action are due January 6, 2010.  As always, local section and committee leaders, as well as any of our members, are welcome to attend board workshops and meetings.  Make plans now to join us in San Diego to see first-hand how the board conducts business.

Your CWEA Board of Directors met on your behalf in June to review and approve CWEA’s program of work and budget for FY 09-10, which began July 1. Here are the highlights from that Board meeting. Read more

By Elizabeth Allan, CAE*, ABC**,
CWEA’s Executive Director
eallan@cwea.org

In this tough economy your CWEA Board remains focused on fulfilling CWEA’s core mission of educating and certifying wastewater professionals while keeping CWEA resilient and relevant for you. CWEA’s financial health is strong…and we’re managing our money carefully. In order to prepare for what might be an uncertain future, the Board did some scenario-thinking at its February meeting…to consider how CWEA would be best positioned over the next 3 years to protect our ability to train and certify if the economy is weak or strong and volunteer resources are scarce or abundant. The Board found there were common implications in the four scenarios explored as well as common strategies that would help CWEA prepare for or adapt to each scenario. This work will be used to help prepare the upcoming fiscal year program of work and budget.

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