Message from the 2022 Conference Chairs

spokane

A Message from Vicky Hollingsworth, PNCWA 2022 Conference Chair

Dear PNCWA colleagues, friends, and soon-to-be-friends —

However difficult these past two years have been on us individually and as a community, this time has taught us that we can find our path through uncertainty and emerge on the other side, stronger. With this in mind, our theme this year is “Be Like Water: Adapting with Purpose.” For those of you not familiar with Bruce Lee’s philosophy, this is a call for us to be flexible and resilient — to adapt to face any obstacles in our way.

Our PNCWA conference is a true testament to this. In 2020, we pivoted to a virtual format to keep our members safe. Our Summit Series showed us that a virtual format could be more inclusive and engage members in new and substantial ways, myself included. And in 2021, in an ever-changing environment, we remained flexible and had a successful first hybrid conference, reminding us how much we still need in-person connection to recharge us. I am excited to announce that PNCWA 2022 will build on last year’s success and continue innovating on the hybrid format.

PNCWA 2022 will host our in-person attendees in Spokane, Washington, along with an expanded virtual program and a more seamless experience for our remote attendees. In addition to an excellent technical program, we are planning networking and volunteering events for our in-person and remote attendees to allow us all to connect with purpose and intent in new and existing environments.

As I mentioned, I had an opportunity to engage more purposely in 2020, assisting with the Summit Series. From the moment I volunteered, I have felt welcomed into the community. I am honored to be the conference chair this year and excited that I get to participate in shaping it. If you, too, want to be part of the evolution, do not hesitate to raise your hand to join our planning committee. Whether you’re a veteran or a new member, we need your input and collaboration. We have something special here with PNCWA — we can all feel it. So let’s create the future of our conference together!

See you in Spokane or at a local networking event next year.


 

A Message from Jeff Schmidt, PNCWA 2022 Technical Program Chair

Dear Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Professionals,

Building on the success of the 2021 annual conference, we’re excited to offer even more opportunities for professional learning and collaboration at the 2022 PNCWA Conference in Spokane, Washington. To do this, we are planning to “Be Like Water,” moving around challenges to purposely find new opportunities. Our 2022 conference will offer more technical content (back to the full eight tracks of previous years), as well as increased opportunities to join these tracks virtually for those unable to travel. While we certainly feel in-person collaboration is preferred, there is no denying the fact that a virtual model has proven successful during the past few years. Together, a hybrid approach maximizes the opportunity for our members to participate and grow our industry. Soon, we will be submitting our PNCWA 2022 call for abstracts, and I encourage all of you to consider presenting at next year’s conference.

In addition to offering more technical tracks in 2022, we also are planning to try a new approach to the pre-conference workshops. We’ve heard from members that it’s difficult to give up a weekend to travel and participate in these workshops on the Sunday before the conference. Consequently, this year we will be pivoting to bring you a series of post-conference workshops planned for the final day of the conference, including Wednesday all-day workshops and Wednesday afternoon sessions. This will allow members to stay on a bit longer at the end of the conference for additional learning opportunities without giving up time on the weekend to attend these workshops.

Whether you represent our technology manufacturers, engineers, regulators, operators and maintenance staff, construction contractors, or students, our conference brings together the best minds in our region, and there is much that we all have to share and learn from one another! The success of this conference falls on volunteers just like you and me to leverage the talent we have in the Pacific Northwest. As we head into 2022, I ask you to consider how you can be involved and how you can work with us to craft the vision for PNCWA 2022. There are opportunities to help review abstracts, lead tours, coordinate activities in the vendor hall, and lead through committees in both small and large ways. Thanks for your participation!

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