MWEA Program Committee
MWEA Program Committee Meeting Notes
July 18, 2007
MWEA Program Committee
Meeting Notes
July 18, 2007
The MWEA Program Committee met on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at 9:00 AM at the MWEA offices in Bath, Michigan. The following people were in attendance:
Keith McCormack, Chair
Larry Woodard
Christine Kosmowski
Grant Gartrell
Ish Naik
John Parmentier
Jerry Harte
Karlyn Wickham
Responsibilities of the Program Committee Members
Keith McCormack welcomed the committee members and reviewed the expectations. All committee members are expected to help promote the MWEA Annual Conference and encourage people to submit abstracts for the technical program. There will be one more meeting besides the current one to review the abstract submittals and develop the final program. Moderators, Assistant Moderators and Room Monitors will be selected first from the committee.
Keith presented a draft of an “operations manual” or technical program guidelines. He would like to develop this to document the responsibilities of the committee. He asked the attendees to review the document and provide comments.
Review of 2007 AC Program Format & 2008 Options
The half-hour format for presentations was well received and should be continued for next year.
CEC—Suggested that Room Monitors hand out slips at the beginning and another one at the end in order to receive a CEC for that session.
Jerry Harte wants to make sure we have a big promotion at Joint Expo. Develop a four-panel handout. Need to promote the Vendor night more.
The Exhibitors were bothered by the kids who attended the Vendor night.
Conference Theme
There was much discussion about the theme. Want to include a broader range of topics looking at the bigger picture of environmental protection, watershed management and sustainable development which is very appealing to young professionals today. The committee landed on a theme of “Practical Sustainability” with a tag line of “Fresh eyes, Fresh ideas, Fresh water.”
Sessions
Tim Sullivan and Chuck Kronk reported that the Maintenance Committee would like to do an entire session. Other committees were targeted as possibly organizing an entire session:
Maintenance: Ish N. to follow up
Watershed: Chris K.
Lab: John P.
Collections systems: Keith Mc.
Biosolids: Grant Gartrell & Todd Wibright
IPP
Energy reduction: Ish N.
Health & Safety: Larry W.
Operations Challenge: Larry W. & Ed Klopf (This could be a quiz, demo or some other type of promotional event)
If a committee wants to do something, it should submit a 1-3 paragraph description of the type of program it is proposing with as much detail on topic and speakers as possible.
Call for Abstracts
Based on the conference theme, the committee decided on the following list of topics to include in the CFA:
Storm Water Management
Sustainable Development
Environmental Management Systems
Watershed Management
Asset Management
Groundwater Protection
Financing & Impact of State Budget
Biosolids
Land Use Planning Impacts
Onsite Treatment Systems
Wastewater Treatment
Collection Systems Issues
Re-development of Existing Facilities
Call for Abstracts (cont)
Regulatory Issues
Public Education & Outreach
Laboratory Issues
Regionalization/Satellite Systems
Safety & Security
Energy Conservation
Equipment/Facility Maintenance
Industrial Waste & Pretreatment
Committee members are urged to promote the CFA.
Keynote Speakers
Gary DeKock from Grand Rapids was suggested as a resource for speakers. Other suggestions include Vernon Ehler, and the US Green Building Council. Keith will follow up on these and others.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Program Committee is scheduled for Friday, November 9, at 9:00 AM at the offices of MWEA in Bath. The purpose of the meeting it to review the abstract submittals and develop the technical program.
T:\ASSOCTNS\MWEA\MWEA2008\2008_Program_Committee\2007_07_18_Meeting Notes.doc