Awards and Recognition 

 The Awards Committee shall have a Chair appointed by the Section Chair that will serve for two (2) years.  The Section Past Chair serves on this committee.  The Committee Chair will then appoint the other members.

 The Awards committee –

• The Chair will serve on the Richard F. Melick Committee
• Sponsor and arrange Section participation in the Science Fairs
• Help Section members receive recognition from the Section as well as the Association in the form of different awards

 Additional activities for 2001-02

• Assist the Small Systems Committee in developing a Small Systems Award and the associated selection criteria
• Assist the Membership Committee in developing and documenting the criteria for the Larry Valentine traveling trophy
• Write an article for the newsletter and website to attempt to generate greater interest and participation in Section award nominations
• Work with the districts to generate adequate nominations for various Section and Association awards and or scholarships
• Work with the Public Communications Committee to promote our awardees in the awardees’ local areas

 Other activities involving the Awards and Recognition Committee include -

• The M. W. Tatlock Award shall be presented to the District Chairs at the annual business meeting, whenever possible, for having served the district, the Section and the Association by fulfilling the obligations of a District Chair the previous year.  Preparations for these awards will be coordinated by the Awards and Recognition Committee.
• The Secretary Citation will be presented to Section and District Secretaries who have served either the District, or the Section by serving as Secretary for three (3) or more years at the annual conference.  Preparations for these awards will be coordinated by the Awards and Recognition Committee.
• The Gold Water Drop Award is presented to those individual members who have provided fifty (50) years valuable service and support for AWWA programs and goals through their long-standing Association membership.  This award will be presented at the annual conference.  Preparations for this award will be coordinated by the Awards and Recognition Committee.
• An individual who for thirty (30) years has been an active member or a designated representative of an organization member or a combination thereof shall be presented life membership at the annual conference of the Section following such eligibility.  A life member shall have all the rights and privileges of an active member and shall not be required to pay dues.  The granting of life membership to the designated representative of an organization member shall not relieve the organization member from payment of dues.  Preparations for this award will be coordinated by the Awards and Recognition Committee. 
• The members of the Section who for twenty (20) years have been active members or designated representatives of an organization member or a combination thereof and are now members of the Section shall be recognized at the annual business meeting, whenever possible, as recipients of the Wendell R. LaDue Citation for their service to the Association and Section.  Preparations for this award will be coordinated by the Awards and Recognition Committee. 
• The Operator Meritorious Service Award may be presented to an operator who has distinguished himself/herself by regular compliance with public health standards, exemplary plant maintenance, and development of new ideas, training, and outstanding achievement beyond normal operating responsibilities.  This will be done in accordance with Article XI Section 13 of the Section Bylaws.  While this award is primarily handled by the Operator Meritorious Service Award Committee, the Awards and Recognition Committee may be contacted for guidance in the general award process.
• The Richard F. Melick Award may be presented to a member of the Section who has distinguished himself/herself by giving unselfishly to the field of operator training and technical education through the Ohio EPA, Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc., and/or the American Water Works Association.  This will be done in accordance with Article XI Section 14 of the Section Bylaws.  While this award is primarily handled by the Richard F. Melick Award Committee, the Awards and Recognition Committee may be contacted for guidance in the general award process.

 Bylaws Review

 The Director is the Chair of the Bylaws Review Committee.  The remaining members are the Past Chair and the Third Year Trustee.  Responsibilities of this committee include:

 

• Reviewing the current Section Bylaws to identify and recommend changes or corrections that can be made solely by the Ohio Section within the limitations imposed by Article XV, Section 1.5.  These changes can be made with the unanimous vote of the Governing Board.
• Reviewing the current Section Bylaws to identify and recommend changes to be considered beyond the limitations of Article XV, Section 1.5.  Changes in this category require an affirmative vote of the Ohio Section members and the approval of the Association.

• Prior to the 2002 Association Annual Conference in New Orleans, it will be the goal of this committee to recommend changes and corrections that are considered “insubstantial” and can be changed or corrected by the Governing Board.

• It is also desired that this committee develop a timetable for a thorough review and rewrite of the Bylaws to better suite the needs of the Section in coming years.  A primary goal is the remove various “operational” areas of the Bylaws to allow more efficient changes to Section procedures, etc., when necessary.  While this timeline should be developed with consideration given to the timetable developed by the ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee, the target date for the Bylaws rewrite should allow a vote of the members no later than the Section Annual Conference in 2004.

 Computer Applications

 This committee has been responsible for a majority of the Section database and conference registration software in past years.  This coming year this committee is being asked to –

·         Look into the ability to develop “sub” lists to act as additional databases to the primary Section database.  These lists would include employees of utilities who are not “named” members under the utility membership but have shown interest in our activities.  A category should be developed for non-members who take advantage of Section training opportunities.  Another category would be for the use of the Small Systems Committee that is pared down from the OEPA Community Public Water System mailing list.  Planning must also take into consideration the upcoming Class A water systems.

·         This committee is also asked to develop a method to allow each District to directly request electronic files of mailing labels.   

 

Conference Management

The 2002 Conference Management Committee (aka Local Arrangements) is Co-Chaired by Dave Bornino, Sharon Metz, and Mike Spriggs.  The Third Year Trustee represents the Governing Board as the Conference Coordinator.

The purpose of having three Co-Chairs for this committee is to prepare for the impending retirement of most of the folks who have been involved in previous conferences in Columbus.  During this year, the Governing Board asks that Sharon focus on documenting conference planning activities in a manual to serve as a guide for future years.  With Sharon serving in this capacity, Mike and Dave will shoulder the majority of planning activities so they will be seasoned veterans for the next time the conference is held in the Columbus area.  It is the intent of the Governing Board to prepare for the post-Metz era by allowing Sharon to serve as an information resource for the other Co-Chairs of this year’s conference.

All committees are advised that the Conference Management Committee is responsible for all Section activities, revenues and expenses related to the Annual Conference.  Any Committee or District wishing to undertake any activity at the conference must receive the blessing of and coordinate with the Conference Management Committee.  The Co-Chairs have had planning meetings already and they will be providing additional information about the conference in the next few months.

If any committee desires to seek sponsorship of any conference activity, it must receive the prior approval of the Governing Board.

Continuing Education

The Continuing Education Committee assists those in need by completing and submitting the necessary paperwork for receiving contact hours for committee, district and section training events. 

It is recommended that all training be submitted for both water and wastewater contact hour consideration in order to help Section members who have both water and wastewater certificates.

 

Customer Service

The Section Chair will appoint a Committee Chair who will in turn appoint the balance of the committee.  The Committee Chair will serve a term of two (2) years.  This committee will focus on the relationship between a utility and its customers.   

Diversity 

The Section Chair will select a Committee Chair that best exemplifies and supports the goal of increasing participation in Section affairs for minorities, women and other under-represented groups.  This Chair will serve for two (2) years.  The committee should be composed of a cross-section of members that are selected by the Committee Chair. 

During the coming year, the Diversity Committee is asked to work with the Membership and Young Professionals Committees to develop and begin implementing a plan to encourage selected members to assist the Section by taking on roles with other committees, the districts and the Section.  

Education

The appointments to this committee shall be made by the Section Chair in accordance with the Bylaws of the Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc.; with the provision that all Districts must be represented and that no District may have more than two (2) committee members.  Our Trustees for OTCO consist of five members of AWWA, one from each District and one at-large.  The five members from AWWA are the Education Committee for the Ohio Section.  They serve for three-year terms and may not serve for more than two consecutive terms.  The Section Chair shall appoint the committee members when applicable, the replacement to be from the District represented, and shall appoint the Chair for the Education Committee each year.  The Chair of the Education Committee should develop and maintain liaison with their counterpart at the Association level.   

Executive

While this committee membership is spelled out in the Section Bylaws, it has been inactive for a number of years and is expected to remain so during this year.

Finance and Audit

The Finance and Audit Committee shall consist of the Third Year Trustee as Chair, the First Year Trustee, and a Past Chair, who is not currently serving on the Governing Board, and appointed by the Section Chair.

Activities for this committee during this year include-

• Development of procedures and a listing of records to be maintained by each District and the Conference Management checkbooks.  It is desired for the committee to design or oversee design of the necessary spreadsheets.  Each design should be coordinated with the Section financial records in order to allow seamless integration.

• Review current pricing methods and develop a pricing plan to be adopted by the Governing Board and to be used by various Section, district and committee event planners for training activities.  The goal is to determine a dollar amount per training hour provided to be returned to the Section as a way to offset administrative overhead and to develop additional training opportunities.  This activity should be undertaken with input from the Education Committee.   

Fuller Award

The Section may present the George Warren Fuller Award to a member of the Section for his/her distinguished service in the water supply field and in commemoration of the sound engineering skill, the brilliant diplomatic talent and the constructive leadership of men and women in the Association, which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller.  This will be done in accordance with Article XI Section 12 of the Bylaws.  The Fuller Award Committee shall consist of the last five available recipients of the Fuller Award, with the earliest year recipient acting as Chair.  Each year the committee may designate one of the Section members to receive the Fuller Award providing the candidate fulfills the qualifications.  The existence of this committee is not meant to imply that an award will be made.  The award will be presented at the annual conference if a recipient is selected.

Manufacturers Associates Council 

The Council shall be composed of a minimum of thirteen (13) members.  There shall be a Chair and three (3) representatives from each of the four (4) Districts of the Section.  All MAC members must be an active member in the AWWA from the consultant, manufacturer, contractor, or distributor of equipment and supplies including representative’s category.

The Council members shall elect the Chair for a term of two (2) years.  The Manufacturers/Associates Council shall have Bylaws approved by the Ohio Section Governing Board.

The MAC will provide general management of the exhibits at the annual conference, develop programs and activities affecting MAC members and be a liaison to the Governing Board for MAC policies.  

Membership

The Chair of the Membership Committee should develop and maintain liaison with his/her counterpart at the Association level.  Preference shall be given in the selection of the balance of the committee to the individual from each District who exhibits an interest in soliciting the most new members or other appropriate member as determined by the Chair.  The Membership Committee Chair shall serve for a period of two (2) years.

This committee should include the following activities in the coming year-

• Contact all new utility members to solidify our relationship by verifying the utility is taking full advantage of services and benefits available as a utility member.
• Consider a mailing drive (after the current Denver contract expires) to mayors and councils throughout Ohio in an effort to gain additional utility members.

• During the coming year, the Diversity Committee is asked to work with the Membership and Young Professionals Committees to develop and begin implementing a plan to encourage selected members to assist the Section by taking on roles with other committees, the districts and the Section.

Newsletter 

The Section Chair will appoint a Committee Chair to serve for a term of two (2) years.  It is the responsibility of this committee to publish a Section newsletter that informs the membership of Section and Association activities.  The Section Chair has final authority or editorial review as to the content of the newsletter.  Advertising Rates shall be approved by a majority vote of the Governing Board.

• In conjunction with the needs of the Section, set specific dates for mailing of the newsletter.  We are asking many committees to submit additional material to the newsletter this year and specific mailing dates would greatly enhance the timeliness of content.

• Develop guidelines for committees and districts submitting newsletter articles.  This should be done to reduce the amount of editing necessary to complete the newsletter.

• Work with the Webmaster to simultaneously publish some articles.  Publish a short version of some articles in the newsletter with a reference to a complete version on the Section website.

• Include web addresses and E-mailing addresses to the extent possible on newsletter content.

• Section volunteers who attend various AWWA events outside of Ohio are asked to write summaries of the national workshops and conferences they attend.  The Board would like to beef up our after-the-fact reporting of various activities both in Ohio and out of state.  Many worthwhile activities occur on at the national level and we need to do more to highlight this aspect of our organization.

• The Governing Board would like to see a published interview with an OEPA or USEPA notable at least once per year in the newsletter and on the website.

Nominating

The Nominating Committee shall consist of the Section Vice-Chair as presiding officer, Director and the First Year Trustee.  The committee will provide nominations for First Year Trustee, Director, and any other office requiring the approval of the membership.  

Operator Meritorious Service

The Operator Meritorious Service Award Committee shall consist of the last five available recipients of the award, with the earliest year recipient acting as Chair.  This committee may designate one of the Section members to receive the award providing the recipient has the necessary qualifications.  Each district may submit names to the Committee Chair for consideration.  This award will be presented at the annual conference if a recipient is selected.  The Operator Meritorious Service Award may be presented to an operator who is distinguished by regular compliance with public health standards, exemplary plant maintenance, development of new ideas, training and outstanding achievement beyond normal operating responsibilities.  This will be done in accordance with Article XI Section 13 of the Bylaws.  

Public Communication

 The Public Communication Committee is responsible for the proper communication of events and issues, not only to the public, but also to the general membership.  The committee should work closely with the section newsletter editor and Webmaster to encourage members to contribute articles, anecdotes, reports, and photographs.  The Chair of the Public Communication Committee will be appointed by the Section Chair for two (2) years.  The Committee Chair should develop and maintain liaison with their counterpart at the Association level.

• Publicity for AWWA's Annual National Drinking Water Week shall be the responsibility of this committee.
• This committee should work with the Awards and Recognition Committee to publicize individual and utility awards received by our members in each awardees local area.

• Work with the Conference Management Committee to consider a public component for the upcoming Section Conference.

Research

This committee’s responsibilities include –

• Keeping Ohio utilities informed about new and ongoing research
• Identify potential research needs of our members. 
• Submit research ideas to AWWARF. 
• Evaluate new analytical techniques and summarize the results in the Newsletter and on the Section website. 
• Communicate laboratory certification issues, such as new requirements and policy changes with OEPA certification officials.

Richard F. Melick Award

The Richard F. Melick Award Committee shall consist of the Past Chair, the Chair of the Awards Committee, and a member appointed at-large, usually a representative of the Section Education Committee.  The Section Chair shall appoint a Chair of the committee.  Each year the committee may designate one of the Section members to receive the award.  Each district may submit names to the Committee Chair for consideration.  The award will be presented at the annual conference if recipient is selected.  The Richard F. Melick Award may be presented to a member of the Section who has distinguished himself/herself by giving unselfishly to the field of operator training and technical education through the Ohio EPA, Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc., and/or the American Water Works Association.  This will be done in accordance with Article XI Section 14 of the Section Bylaws.  

Safety

 The Section Chair shall appoint the Committee Chair for two (2) years.  The Committee Chair shall appoint other members of the committee.  It is recommended that all districts be represented.  The Chair of the Safety Committee should develop and maintain liaison with his/her counterpart at the Association level.  It is this committee's responsibility to promote safe working practices in the water industry.

·         Develop thirty-minute safety training modules for the four most commonly used water treatment chemicals.  The training is to be water industry specific and is to focus on issues with potential consequences for our members.

·         Develop a training module about chemical truck unloading issues.  This would include discussion of who is responsible for various activities in the unloading process.  A sample unloading policy would be helpful.

·         Work with the districts to include a safety training topic in at least one meeting of each district this year.

·         Develop two articles to submit to the newsletter editor and the Webmaster for possible inclusion on the newsletter and/or on the Section website.

Section History

This committee holds the responsibility to maintain pertinent records and artifacts from the earlier days of the water treatment industry, the Ohio Section, and its members. 

Serve as the holding place for training records of the Section.  As a training provider the Section is required to maintain a copy of all Form B’s for contact hour coursework we provide.  While it is understandable each district and committee would desire to hold these records, it is also logical that the Section should maintain a record of training provided under the Ohio Section AWWA banner.  For this reason any committee, district or Section activity that results in the completion of an OEPA Form B must ensure that a copy of the Form B is forwarded to the Section History Committee at the same time as the Form B is sent to OEPA.

Small Systems

The Section Chair shall appoint the Committee Chair for two (2) years.  The Committee Chair shall appoint other members of the committee.  It is recommended that all districts be represented.  The Chair of the Small Systems Committee should develop and maintain liaison with his/her counterpart at the Association level and advance the work of the Ohio Section with small systems.

• This committee is to provide reasonably priced training opportunities to small system operators who are members of our Section.
• Work with the Awards and Recognition and Public Communications Committees to develop the Small System Award and to prepare follow-up publicity for use in the recipient’s community.

Tapping

This committee organizes activities related to the tapping competition at the Section Annual Conference and coordinates with the Association on matters related to the Ohio Section tapping team’s participation in the Association Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Technical

This committee works as a liaison with Ohio EPA to formulate policies related to the adoption and use of new technologies in our field.

• During this year the committee is asked to provide electronic versions of all policies developed to date for posting on the Section website.  Submission guidelines for the website are to be followed.

• The committee should write a minimum of one article pertaining to an ongoing activity for possible use on the Section website and in the newsletter.

Technical Program

The Technical Program Committee shall consist of the Section Vice-Chair as Chair, the Third Year Trustee as Vice-Chair and such other members as may be chosen by the Committee Chair. The committee shall be responsible for the preparation and supervision of the technical program for the annual conference.

This committee is currently working to clarify roles and responsibilities regarding Section activities.  More information will be provided once this work is complete.  In the meantime, the Section Vice Chair should serve as the contact point for this committee.

Top Ops

This committee, in conjunction with each district, plans and holds the Top Ops competition at the summer meeting of each district.  The winning team at each district is invited to participate in the Section Top Ops competition at the Section Annual Conference.  The winner of the Section competition then has the opportunity to represent Ohio Section in the Association’s competition at the annual conference.

Water for People

The Section Chair will appoint a Committee Chair for two (2) years who will in turn appoint the committee members.  Funds specifically raised for this committee shall not be used for other purposes.  It is the purpose of this committee to encourage and financially support water related projects around the world in needy areas.  

Water Utility Council

The council shall be composed of seventeen (17) voting members:  a Chair and four (4) representatives from each of the four (4) Ohio Section Districts.  All members must be active members or a designated representative of an organization member, and employed by a water utility of the Section.  The sixteen (16) representatives are appointed by their respective District Chair.  The members elect the Chair to a two (2) year term.  The Chair of the Ohio Water Utility Council should develop and maintain liaison with his/her counterpart at the Association level.  The Ohio Water Utility Council shall have Bylaws approved by the Ohio Section Governing Board.  

Young Professionals

Young professionals are generally considered to be members or prospective members under 35, including those working for utilities, regulatory agencies, consulting firms, or academic institutions.  The charge of this committee is to recruit, develop programs and encourage participation in Section activities of young professionals.

During the coming year, the Diversity Committee is asked to work with the Membership and Young Professionals Committees to develop and begin implementing a plan to encourage selected members to assist the Section by taking on roles with other committees, the districts and the Section.

Youth Education

The role of the Youth Education Committee is to develop avenues to teach young Ohioans about the importance of drinking water in our lives.

With the many changes occurring in school systems, this committee is currently attempting to develop an alternate method of reaching its target audience.