Hello all,
The Group had a virtual meeting last Wednesday, July 21st. Introductions were given: Those in attendance were Carrie Caffrey, Kathy Caldwell, Debbie Crooks, Jeff Davis, Fred Foreman, Bryan Gumke, Scott Hemingway, Mick Holte, Dallas Lawrence, Court Little, Paul Molusani, Chic Nessly, Rachel Neville, Gabriel Olivas, Kevin Patching, Carla Snyder, Courtney Shilling, Megan Brech, Dennis McLaughlin, Bob Eastwood, Bob Hubbert, Jeff Kobylk, Bill Kuhlman, Mike Nelson, Tim Cantwell, Keegan Carrivean, John Anderson, Bill Bernier, Katie Sherman, Katarina Hirai, Mike lee, Wednesday Smith.
It was a very good turnout and nice to speak with some old friends.
Scott Hemingway, the director of WETRC kicked off the meeting speaking of all the different options offered by WETRC for training. They are offering in person or online training for CEU collection and even testing online. Self-paced training options, and virtual conferences are still an option. Go to https://www.wetrc.org to view upcoming training classes and events.
If you are unsure whether or not you need CEUs you can go to Online Professional Growth Report – Washington Certification Services (greenriver.edu) to view you own personal status.
Next, there was a lengthy discussion regarding our annual October conference. We discussed the pros and cons of going virtual this year. With the uncertainty of the COVID direction, and the convenience of not having to travel were the top points made for a virtual meeting. The downside of going virtual, was that folks still would like to see each other and enjoy visiting. The other issue is that going virtual would compromise the vendor displays. Bob Eastwood suggested we offer the vendors a chance to do a presentation just to give them a chance to show the wares.
Scott Hemingway made the motion that the 2021 Group conference should go virtual. Wednesday Smith seconded the motion. The vote was nearly unanimous.
Presently Bob Eastwood, Mick Holte and Scott are working on building the agenda by contacting various guest speakers and vendors. More to come.
The next meeting, August 18th will be the traditional annual picnic. We will be discussing the hydrant use programs and backflow protection used by water suppliers. What works and what doesn’t.
The Group will supply chicken, hotdogs and maybe burgers. Some folks have offered to bring other sides. BBQ beans and potato salad so far. You are welcomed to bring anything you like, or nothing at all. There is always plenty of food.
So please join us at Perrigo Park in Redmond at 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. The address is 9011 196th Ave NE, Redmond 98053
