10/19/2006 October 19 was a great day to have a Sam Houston meeting. The day was clear and just cool enough to be comfortable. And we didn’t have those pesky Astros in the playoffs to hinder our attendance. And our attendance was good. We had 100 people there, not counting 4 children. I am glad that we had a good turnout for one of our longtime sponsors and hosts – Alsay Incorporated.
Our meeting got started at in the usual way with the blessing of the meal and hope for only good for our members and their world. Dave Williams did the honors for us. That was followed by the ever popular eating of the meal. Joe Galvan, one of Alsay’s great employees, did the cooking. We enjoyed a great meal of brisket, sausage, and beans, along with the trimmings. The food was outstanding.
After the meal, we got the meeting moving along at with Allen Schreiber leading the honors to America with the pledge of allegiance. A brief recounting of the election process for our association was explained and Missy Steadman, our new President, was introduced. She introduced the candidates for the 2007 Board of Directors. These folks are listed elsewhere in this newsletter. Missy also made us aware of upcoming training opportunities in the grater Houston area. Look for those in this newsletter also.
Ben Connelley, our award winning playwright, was otherwise engaged in serious theater work and was not able to provide a side-splittingly hilarious, yet serious safety skit. There was a smattering of applause at this announcement, and those names were forwarded to Mr. Connelley.
Next on the agenda at was our featured speaker – Mr. John Nelson of LBG-Guyton. He gave us an overview of freshwater aquifers and static water levels in Montgomery, Harris, & Fort Bend counties. It was a good topic and generated many questions after his presentation was completed.
An introduction of Lyndsey Beaty and Jonathan York with CEX Financial Services, Inc. was made. They were first time exhibitors at our All Day in September and have expressed interest in supporting our organization in the future. Welcome them to our family. The meeting closed out in our usual fashion with the door prize drawings. Prizes are listed in this newsletter. Once again, we had great participation with $255 dollars being raised for our scholarship fund. We thank you. We hope to see everyone at our November meeting at the city of Humble Civic Center on November 15. It is our annual sponsor appreciation night, so let’s show them some love with a big turnout.
7/20/2006 It’s July and July is “Katy Month”, something all long-timer Sam Houston folks really look forward to and this year was no exception. Aside from being the meeting in which scholarships are awarded, the folks at Katy always go above and beyond in showing their hospitality. This year in addition to hosting our meeting they also threw in some great door prizes to further supplement our scholarship fund.
The meeting got going early, (6:45 I am told as I was fighting construction traffic) with an invocation and meeting kickoff that got things off to a great start. We were again privileged to feast on the culinary results from the National Waterworks cooking team. They do a great job and the pork tenderloins and sausage were excellent this year (as they have been in years past). A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You for the “chefs” on the National Waterworks team and to National Waterworks for again providing the meal for our meeting. After dining and accomplishing our peer-to-peer training with utility discussions as well as the provided questions on fire hydrants, our Prez, Allen got things going with the Pledge of Allegiance, acknowledgment of our fine meal, excellent hosts and some local training opportunities. We next had the Secretary report in which Regina reminded everyone that we still have people signing out that have NOT PAID. No money, no hours. Pat gave us a Treasurer’s report in which he gave us all the balances of our accounts. We have money, so that is a good thing.
The Prez opted next to have the scholarship recipients suffer through the Sam Houston Safety Player’s Skit. Our cavemen made an appearance on the topic of heat and the hot weather. Some scholarship applicants may think twice about re-applying next year. Finally, we awarded our scholarship qualifiers the first half of their scholarships (listed elsewhere).
Our presentation was on fire hydrants and Mr. Mike Lindgren, Sales Representative for Mueller, gave an informative and historical view of fire hydrants that included different types, operations and some history on the evolution of the fire hydrants. Mr. Lindgren used competitor’s products in his discussion and pointed out the positives and negatives of both types of units. Particularly interesting was the manufacturing of the hydrants. Molten iron is cast in Styrofoam casts. That takes some worry about whether or not my foam coffee cup will stand up to the hot coffee. After a brief question and answer period, including discussion of the handout questions, we got down to the door prize drawings (also listed elsewhere). We collected enough to have a $100 “Kitty” and deposit $230 into the scholarship fund. Good going. Be safe, stay cool and I’ll see you all (and a friend) in Deer Park!!
5/18/06 Our May meeting was at a brand new site at West University Community Center on Bellaire Boulevard. I heard some of you went to the “Bellaire Community Center” where we had our January meeting last year. Close, but no cigar! I hope those who did so made it safely over across the big road to the meeting. I didn’t hear anything about the meal, but I’m guessing it was good as I also hear NO complaints. Our meal sponsor will be embellished in the President’s column so I will get on to other things now. I was up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for a class and since it let out at noon, had every intention on getting home and surprising all of you. Unfortunately my car had other plans and we both rode a wrecker home. They don’t make alternators like they used to!
Anyway, I heard Mr. David Beyer did a great job in presenting a program on MS4 Phase I and II Stormwater. MS4 is short for Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewage Systems—see I know a little bit about the subject, which is why I was intending on attending. Sorry about that—that’s what happens when I don’t write a skit. By the way I heard there was a “spattering of applause” when it was announced that there would be no safety skit. Do we need to go back to reading articles out of the paper? That can be arranged, you know! I was glad to hear that there was an extended question and answer period, so Mr. Beyer was a good presenter and sparked some interest. Thanks David!
It was good to see a nice door prize list (as this was our first “neutral” meeting site of the year) and I hope the five of you that won TWUA manual sets will use them to your full advantage. I’ve heard that ALL of the answers to both Water and Wastewater “A” Exams are in those books. Something to think about.
Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday and please make an effort to attend Galena Park and bring a friend!!
--Ben Connelley
4/20/06 The month of April brings the start of spring, the completion of taxes, the deadline for our scholarship applications and the big show at All-Pump. Ken and Edith didn’t disappoint us this year, as once again their open house included us for our monthly meeting. Again, Ken chose to have this event at the SPJBT Annex Hall on Nolda, and it was an excellent choice as we filled the hall and had enough room for our meeting and meal. The chow line opened early which is always a good thing when a large crowd is anticipated. After a delicious meal of lasagna with salad and garlic bread, we were presented with our monthly discussion questions well before the meeting started, somewhere around 6:30. A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You Ken and Edith for all your hard work for sponsoring the meeting, meal and making our door prize drawing so successful this month. Those items are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.
At about 7:15 our Prez, Allen Schreiber got us going with an invocation by the Immediate Past Prez (that’ me!) and our routine Pledge of Allegiance. After Allen got the announcements concerning training and some upcoming social events (Softball Tournament) the Past Prez made a final plea for scholarship applications. We were followed soon thereafter with the lovable cavemen in our safety skit. There were some callings, chants and cheers to start the safety skit, but we must consider that alcohol was available at this meeting. The discussion questions were then discussed which got all of us present primed for our feature presenter, Mr. Brian Branch from Vapex Inc. Mr. Branch brought some interesting information on hydroxyl ion fog used for odor control. This is some new technology and it was refreshing to hear it first at one of our meetings.
After some questions and answers, Patrick, Allen and I got started on an extended door prize drawing. The 130 of us in attendance bought some 589 raffle tickets which translate into almost $500 for our scholarship fund. Way to go All-Pump, its affiliates and to the members who bought tickets. Remember this month we will be at West University Place. It’s a new location, so pay attention to the maps and make a special effort to attend! See you and someone you brought to the meeting in May!
--Ben Connelley
3-16-2006 March has been “Pumps of Houston” month for the past few years and Tommy Cooke and his crew are always trying to promote our organization through vendor involvement and door prize contributions. This year was certainly no different as Tommy was fighting the threat of thunderstorms (40%) and the competition with college basketball. In spite of all that, we had a great turnout (112 at the time of the presentation). Pumps of Houston set up a tent and the door prize list was bulging (see list elsewhere). A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You to Tommy and his crew at Pumps of Houston for hosting AND providing the meal. As I said before, when vendors step up to do this kind of hosting, it really takes a burden off our yearly budget. Thanks again.
We got started a little after seven, although the chow line started earlier as did the distribution of the questions for discussion to the early eaters. Our Prez, Allen got us going with the Pledge of Allegiance after Brother Dave Williams blessed our food and meeting. Mr. Pat Gray gave us detailed Treasurer’s report, followed shortly thereafter by Regina with the Secretary’s report. Hours are getting posted and money is in the bank, so all appears well with us in those categories. After some brief announcements about training and employment opportunities followed by updates on the recently passed Annual School, Tommy Cook was summoned to welcome all in attendance and acknowledge the vendors present who set up booths. The former Prez (that’ me!) next gave the scholarship announcements—remember there is only until the April meeting to get those applications in.
We were next visited by the Sam Houston Cavemen Safety players, who gave us some insight on “lifting”.
The Prez then welcomed our featured speaker, Moye Wicks from GHX Power Systems to give us an informative talk on Motor Testing and Reliability Based Performance. It was detailed and very pertinent to all our fields. Thanks Moye!
Patrick next had a time with all the door prizes listed elsewhere. Great meeting and hope to see you all next month at All-Pump!
--Ben Connelley
2/16/06 February has become NTS month and David Neil had some wonderful surprises for us as he hosted our monthly meeting. NTS has a brand-new facility and David and his staff did an outstanding job of not only hosting and providing a wonderful Bar-B-Que meal from Hickory Hollow, but also provided some great incentives for attendance. A Big Sam Houston THANK YOU to David and all his crew!! David has always sponsored a “new member” and “members who bring new members” drawing at his open house, but this year he tossed in an “additional kitty” for our raffle. Prizes are mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter.
Because of the anticipated large crowd, we opened up the meal line early at 6:35 and it’s good we did as we counted 167 during the main presentation. There may have been more, but that’s the count we go on. At about 6:45 we distributed some excellent calculation questions that Charles Ledhigh came up with. We had some preventative maintenance questions, but we will save those for later. At about 7:35 President Allen got us going with the Pledge of Allegiance and Brother Dave Williams blessed the food most of us had already consumed along with blessing the meeting. We had a quick Secretary’s report by Regina and Pat gave us an update on our funds. With corporate and consulting membership monies coming in, we are in great shape. The Prez next gave us some excellent training opportunities as well as reminding us about the TWUA Annual School right around the corner and the SE Regional School in April. I hope many of you have or will attend these wonderful training events. The Past Prez (that’s me!) stole the microphone for reminders of the scholarship applications. The deadline is April 20th, which is not as far away as you might think! Taxes, scholarship—it’s not that hard to remember. Up next those wonderful cavemen visited us as the Sam Houston Safety Players took the stage. Correct me if I’m wrong (as I’m sure some of you surely will), but I get the feeling you folks actually like these guys. Maybe we have finally reached a level of understanding (or the author has found his level of inspiration) that you folks can relate to, or not. After the players waddled off, we had Mr. Charles Ledhigh (another Past Prez!) come up and work out the problems most of us had some difficulty with at dinner. He worked them out on a dry erase board and some folks now might pass that next licensing exam. Thanks Charles for your insight and instruction. Our speaker for the evening was none other that Mr. David Neil, our host. David employed some wonderful illustrations (via a fork lift) of how and when water and wastewater maintenance should be performed to prevent equipment loss due to outages. Great job and the exhibits were wonderful! Next, Allen (Patrick was out ill) and I had a time with all the door prizes we had in the raffle, which raised $535 for our scholarship fund with a $100 “Kitty” to boot! Great job to all who furnished prizes mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter. Keep up the good work, be safe and I hope to you and many more at Pumps of Houston in March!
--Ben Connelley
1/19/06 Happy New Year to all! As normal, Sam Houston got off with a bang at our monthly meeting at NAPCO on Spring Cypress. NAPCO had expressed an interest in hosting again after their debut last year in May. They got bumped up since it was rather warm last year and what a great choice that was, as evidenced by the 121 in attendance. We got started at 7:00 with Richard giving us an invocation. The discussion questions were distributed to the tables and the chow line opened up. We were graced with some great BB-Q from Demeris that was provided by Southern Flow Meters, Inc.; Progressive Pumps Corp.; Source Point Solutions, Inc., and DXI Industries. As always, a BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You to all our meal sponsors. This is a big expense and when our sponsors and supporters step up and cover this cost, it frees up more monies for scholarships and training opportunities.
At about 7:40 after some great dining and discussions on prepared questions related to our featured speaker, we kicked off our business meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Allen welcomed all in attendance and acknowledged NAPCO for all their work in setting up the tables and chairs and all the other things that go on when we are welcomed to a business for a meeting. Great job, guys!! Regina stated that we are up to date with our hours and will give a more detailed report next month. Regina was rather swamped with renewals and new member registrations. Pat gave us an update on the bank accounts stating that with the corporate sponsorships coming in, we are in pretty good shape. Allen next stated that we have several training opportunities coming up, highlighted by the Gulf Area All-Day event on January 27 in Texas City. The past prez (that’s me) was allowed the microphone to once again push the scholarship applications. Time is rather short in that all applications are due no later than April 20, our April meeting. Let’s get started and get those filled out. We were next graced (if that is appropriate) with the Sam Houston Safety Players and their caveman rendition of fire safety. It seemed to be well received, but that might have been attributed to the fine meal mentioned above.
Next, our featured speaker, Marv Lytle from HACH Company, gave an outstanding presentation on chloramines. It cleared the air on the source of many confusing issues in drinking water disinfection where ammonia is present or is added. He covered breakpoint chlorination and showed us some great background chemical information. For those of us dealing with surface treatment plant water distribution, it was some great tools for delivering high quality, safe water to our customers.
Last and certainly not least, Patrick had a time with the many door prizes (listed elsewhere) we had for our raffle. We raised $185 for our scholarships with a $100 “Kitty” to boot!! Great meeting!! I hope to see each of you and then some at NTS (look for map of new location) in February!!
--Ben Connelley
11-17-05 November was our last meeting of the year and traditionally we have turkey and dressing and this year was no different. As we gathered at the Humble Civic Center, many of us were already preparing for the busy holiday season ahead. A new meeting format was installed that we will certainly see more of in the upcoming year. It involved the issuance of questions for discussion during the meal. These questions were directly related to the speaker’s topic and ensured that credit could be earned for the time we were enjoying our fine “Thanksgiving” meal.
Right at 7 PM, we had our invocation and the discussion questions were placed on the tables. About 7:40 we had our Pledge of Allegiance and started the business meeting. November is always the presentation of the plaques to our sponsors and board members. I know what you’re thinking…I was bored and I didn’t get a plaque…put a lid on it—I’ve heard it!! Seriously, we were honored to have in attendance many of our esteemed sponsors and the 102 present gave grateful acknowledgement to the support they have given us during this (and for most) many other years. Each representative was given a plaque to display at their business to show all their customers our appreciation of their support. Next we honored the Executive Board and welcomed the newest Board Members. We have a fine staff and we should see some great programs and events this upcoming year. After Pat said we had a balanced checkbook with money in it (always a good sign) and Maria said all the hours have been submitted and are up to date, we all had to sit through the season finale for the Sam Houston Safety Players. A rumor had circulated that this would be their final performance, but a “higher authority” has spoken and stated that these skits should continue. I would reveal the identity of this person, but I believe they are in the witness protection program, so we will leave it at that.
Our featured speaker, Maria Sheroney gave a great talk on “The Next Generation in Screening Technology”. Some great information was passed along and we understand she was in from Chicago, so little was said about the recent baseball season as we thanked her for her time.
Next we raffled off some great door prizes mentioned elsewhere and had the maximum $100 for the grand prize “kitty”. Hope everyone had a great safe and happy holiday season and let’s all try to be there for our January meeting at NAPCO!!
--Ben Connelley
10-20-05 October has been “Alsay, Inc.” month for as long as I can remember and it certainly was no exception this year. We are always grateful when one of our long-time supporters opens up their “home” to host a meeting and the fine folks over at Alsay, Inc. once again did a great job of doing just that.
The meeting got underway with some discussion questions passed out for our “peer-to-peer” time allotment for training purposes. I know it may seem like a big inconvience, but if we expect to receive two hours training, we are going to have to talk shop for the time allotted for training credit that is not attributed to our presentation. It is either that or have a two-hour presentation and I’m sure we don’t want that as we would be 10:30 getting out of there every night. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we always appreciate someone taking the time to do a presentation for us so that we may receive credit for renewal of our treasured licenses.
Now some of you may be wondering where the Past Prez (that’s me) has been these past few months. OK, maybe not, but for those of you, who HAVE, take note—I’m not gone and I will be back—in fact I will be there in November. Had some obligations and schedule conflicts, don’t we all. That’s behind me and it’s on with the show.
After the chow line of fajitas dwindled down and those in attendance had a chance to eat (and go over those discussion questions!!), Allen led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Maria gave a brief Secretary’s report and stated that all meeting hours (except for the All-Day) have been submitted and those will have been done by the time you read this. Pat gave us the status of our finances and Allen (Da Prez) gave some announcements, training opportunities and presented the new slate of officers for 2006. Richard went over the discussion questions that we all talked about during the meal and the dreaded Sam Houston Safety Players once again raised their ugly heads. I can say that, because I wasn’t there!! Seriously, we had a repeat of one of last year’s skits (Ginger or Mary Ann) and I hope no one was too bored.
Next, we had “Cutty” Cunningham and Steve Brown of Mainline Integrity Services give us a talk on “What’s a Bagstopper?” If you are wondering—well you weren’t there!! I heard it was an excellent presentation that all of the 72 present enjoyed.
Our meeting concluded with the raffle of prizes listed elsewhere and I’m told we raised $113 for our scholarship fund. Thanks for everyone who contributed, participated and attended. Work safe and see you in Humble in November!!
--Ben Connelley
9/30/2005 It would be appropriate to call it the “All-Day that Almost Wasn’t” because that is what is was. But, thanks to our loyal members, our loyal sponsors and the “never say quit” commitment of our staff and speakers, we were able to have a very successful meeting. Given, the attendance was down as we only had about 100 attendees and last count I had, we were short about ten vendors who had previously committed. But you have to look beyond the numbers and just remember back exactly one week when we had a Category 5 hurricane bearing down on the upper Texas coast. In the Houston area, most of us escaped any major damage, but our neighbors to the east and to the north in the piney woods of east Texas were not as lucky. I’m sure I speak for all the Sam Houston Executive Board when I say “Thank you” to all that attended and worked to make this event happen. Thank you for coming out when we all know that there were bigger things that really needed your attention. Thank you for giving your time as a speaker when your office was flooded with calls of desperation or your office may have been “piggy-backed” with an eastern branch office that had no power or water. To see the TCEQ Houston office there in force when they had their neighboring region crowded in their office space trying desperately to get systems on line in the far reaches of southeast Texas, was a testament to their support of us and the support of the training aspect of those of us here in Region 12.
It was nice to see TWUA Central Office come through with their commitment, as another region had a school that also “almost wasn’t”. Mr. Gene Chisum flew into Austin from Amarillo then drove to Humble to fulfill not only a commitment for George Patterson, but also filled in nicely at the last minute (actually the last second) and gave us a presentation on ethics that was informative and necessary. He stated at the close of the school that our District as well as the Panhandle Region could have very easily cancelled these events, but that “is not the way we do things here in Texas”. What a great sentiment for all of us who didn’t look for the big Stop sign, but saw a green light and ran with it. I guess that is why this group is so special—we never say die.
We had some great speakers and some very valuable information and training was presented. Thank you all who gave so much effort, so much of your time, so much of expertise to provide one of the smoothest All-Day events in spite of a naughty little girl named Rita.
We were able to complete a full eight hours of training for all in attendance. Golden Triangle (who had major destruction at their home office in Beaumont) still was able to cover half the catered meal. No one expected that and no one would have been surprised if they had said, “Hey, we just can’t do that this year.” But guess what? They didn’t. A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank you also goes to Macaulay Controls who stepped up and picked up the other half of the tab. We were able to raise about $500 for our scholarship fund through the raffle alone, so thanks for all the door prizes that were donated and awarded at our event. The Humble Civic Center and the City of Humble were their usual gracious selves in providing such a great facility for our show. Thanks again and we will do it again next year at the same place (September 8—the Friday after Labor day). Hope to see you all (and then some) at that time.
--Ben Connelley, Sam Houston District All-Day Chairman—2005
8-18-05 August is usually hot and it certainly didn’t disappoint anyone this year. It was nice to once again visit the Galena Park Community Center, although the turnout was kind of low (67 was the count I heard). It’s not really that hard to find—trust me, (the immediate Past Prez), I’ve found it and “No that’s not why I wasn’t there” for all of you that are wondering. I heard the chow was really good and Richard Steadman gave us the invocation before we got started. We were also “blessed” to have THREE meal sponsors for our meal in Galena Park! A BIG Sam Houston THANK YOU to Synagro, AEI, AquaServices and Hartwell Environmental!! It takes a big financial load off our budget when we get sponsors like these fine folks. Remember to thank them or seriously consider them for services when the need comes up!!
After a fine meal of enchiladas (really hated to miss that one!), the Prez, Allen Schreiber led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance about 7:35. Maria gave the Secretary’s Report and asked all in attendance to verify their license numbers (and start using them!!) on the roster sheets at the end of the meeting. Pat Gray next gave us a Treasurer’s Report. Even though we look like we are doing fine, the Central Office (the Association) has been falling behind and hence the announcement that dues might go up for 2006. (I was in Austin and yes they did!). The golf tournament is scheduled for October at Glenbrook—I think that is the same place we have had for the last few years. I believe Mr. Jimmy Graves (G-M Services and wateroperator.com) is heading it up again this year. Give him a call if you need info. The Prez said the newsletter date for the All-Day is wrong—the correct one is September 30, a Friday—Again!! We next had a burned out safety skit—oh, wait a minute, it was a skit ON burnout (might have been right the first time). That opened the door for our main speaker(s) for the evening—David Johnson of BioStim and Andrew Bates. Their topic was on biofilm and using specific bacteria to treat oil and grease by breaking them down into Carbon Dioxide and water. Thanks guys.
The meeting wrapped up with a door prize of $95 (low attendance—think of all the starving scholarship applicants for next year) and the sign in sheets. Remember there will be NO MONTHLY NIGHT MEETING in September, so I hope to see ALL of you and more (bring a friend!) at the All-Day in Humble on September 30. Be careful and work safe!
-Ben Connelley
7/21/05 The July meeting is always a favorite of mine for two reasons—one it’s traditional to enjoy the great hospitality from the City of Katy and two—it’s the awarding of the scholarships. Well, both of those happened in July and what a thrill it was! We got started at about 7PM with an invocation from the Past Prez (that’s me!) and we were all treated some outstanding pork tenderloins and all the trimmings cooked on site by the National Waterworks Cooking Team. As usual, they did a great job and there was plenty for all 112 of us there. A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank you for providing and cooking the meal!!
Officially, we got underway at about 7:40 with our Prez, Allen Schreiber leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Next, Mr. Bill Drohan, Director of Public Works for the City of Katy welcomed all of us in attendance. Mr. Pat Gray next gave the official totals for our Treasurer’s report. Maria was up next (actually, she let us know from the back of the room) and told us all hours were turned in and should be posted. (Mine were!) The Prez. next gave us some announcements about training including a Safety class in Deer Park (it’s good to be the Past Prez.!). We also have a CSI class the first week in August in Spring. The Past Prez. next gave us the “skinny” on the All-Day in September. The programs are all set and we have the honor of having the TWUA Executive Director as our Keynote Speaker! We all need to make plans to attend. Other announcements were to start using your license number in sign out sheets and our next meeting on August 18th in Galena Park at the Community Center.
Next were pleased to award the first half of the scholarships to our winners. Present to accept the checks were Kayla Simpson, Paul Bonaventure, Jason Ussery, William Travis Kolaja. The proud parents of those not able to be there accepted the checks on their behalf (we WILL be checking those endorsements!!!).
Next, we had the Safety skit with the Sam Houston Safety Players making a routine appearance. The writer stated at the conclusion that he would not be present at the next meeting (rude applause) and wanted to know if the Safety Players could enjoy a month off. The crowd wouldn’t have it—the masses have spoken. A skit will be presented next month.
Our feature speaker, Mr. John Thompson from Mueller Inc. gave us a great presentation on hydrant security and maintenance including some little known facts about fire hydrants. Great job, John! A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank you for that presentation!
Mr. Patrick Walters had a time calling numbers for the raffle at the end of the meeting in which we raised over $300 for future scholarships not including the $100 Kitty. Great job all. Make plans for Galena Park in August!!
6/16/05 It’s always a thrill to meet in a park overlooking a lake and we only get to do that once a year if we are lucky and this year we were lucky enough to have our meeting at Deussen Park on Lake Houston. We had to start a little early as they lock the gates at 9 PM, so we got started at 6:30. Our immediate past president (that’s me!) led us all in the invocation and we got started with a fine meal of chicken-fried steak and chicken-fried chicken sponsored by STP Services and Rebel Dozier. A BIG Sam Houston THANK YOU to those sponsors for stepping up and helping us out!! After we all had time to eat, the Prez, Allen Shreiber, got us going with the Pledge of Allegiance. He thanked the folks at Harris County for allowing us to meet at Deussen Park and gave a great ovation for the meal sponsors. He reminded us of our next meeting in Katy at the VFW Hall on July 21st. The All-Day was mentioned and the Prez brought up a good point. It is going to be on a Friday again this year, but it will be in September. Now is the time to put that on your calendar and for the daily operation folks, now is the time to get in line to attend (first come, first serve!). If staffing is a problem, ask your supervisors to treat this like a holiday so more of you from the same organization, whether it be city or company, can attend. The Prez next touched on the training we have coming up that can be found in the TWUA Journal and on Water Operator dot com as well as TWUA and TEEX websites. If you want to know where you stand on hours (within the last 45 days) you can see your training hours, but you must put in your certificate number (any certificate number for those who have multiple licenses) and not your Social Security number.
Next, we had Maria give us a quick update on the hours posting. All hours from March, April and May have been sent in and will be posted as soon as the folks in Austin can get them up. That kind of leaves it open as to whom to blame if it doesn’t happen doesn’t it?
Pat was next and gave us all the bank balances and it looks like we continue to be in pretty good shape. It is a lot of work to keep up with the books and Pat, as quietly done a great job!
Next the Scholarship committee announced that we have awarded $8175 in scholarships to nine lucky and deserving applicants. Remember next meeting is the awarding of the first half of those, so make a special effort to be there for that!
We next had our Safety Players give us a quick (but never quick enough!) skit on water safety. That’s something we all need to be aware of this time of year!
Our main presenter, Mr. Randy Bridges of Coastal Pump gave us an informative presentation on pump curves and how to fit the right pump size to the right application. He showed us that it is really not hard to get the right piece of equipment in to do the right job and if we don’t size it right, we will be constantly replacing perfectly good equipment. Great talk Randy and a BIG Sam Houston Thank You for that!
After we announced that we raised $226 for our Scholarship fund by sales of tickets here, Patrick Walters drew tickets for the door prizes listed elsewhere (we hope) in this newsletter. Good job everyone! Thanks for coming and we will see you all next month in Katy!!
--Ben Connelley
5/17/05 It’s always a great thing when we have a new meeting sponsor and this month we welcomed NAPCO as our newest meeting host. A BIG SAM HOUSTON thank you to the NAPCO folks for hosting our meeting. We (all 88 of us) had to travel to the northern boundaries of our district, but it was not so far north that the climate got colder, although the pine forest was nice to see. With our meal ready to go, the Prez, Allen Schreiber, asked the immediate past president (that’s me!) to give the invocation and we got the meal underway about 6:30. This seems to be a trend for the last few meetings as it keeps the chow line from congesting, so you might want to be early (especially with the early start in June) to the next meeting to get your grub.
About 7:30, the Prez led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed our newest host. He also thanked Global Treat, Progressive Pump and G-M Services for co-hosting the fine Demeris Bar-B-Que meal. Another BIG SAM HOUSTON thank you to you guys! Pat Gray got us going with an up to date Treasurer’s Report, followed by Maria letting us know that all of our hours have been documented and will be posted soon. The Prez made some training announcements and then it was all too soon for the Sam Houston Safety Players. The skit was brief, much to the delight of all in attendance. The Prez then let us know that the SE Regional Board had met and the “Big Prez”, Mr. Tanny Busby, wanted us all to recognize our Double A members, which our Prez did by having them stand. These are our experts and they are the ones to turn to when we have problems in the operations of our systems and plants.
We next learned of our newest member, John Marshall Steadman. He’s been around for over a week, but he chose not to come tonight as did his parents, Missy and Richard. Congratulations, but listen up—fork over the forty bucks or the kid ain’t getting no hours!! Sorry about that, but the MobFather made me say it!
We were next honored to have Mr. Bob Watson as our featured speaker. Bob gave us the scoop on Water Treatment and clarified the maximum use chemical criteria. I know I have been worried about how that works, so now we all know. A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You Bob for your excellent presentation. We next got Mr. Patrick Walters almost hoarse again with all the door prizes. If you don’t come and buy a ticket you can’t win. It’s that simple!! We raised $179 for our scholarship fund and managed to give away $100 to boot! What a great organization! Great meeting, folks! Thanks to all who helped and we hope to see you all in June at Deussen Park at 6:30!!
--Ben Connelley
4/21/05 April is All-Pump month and the last two years Ken and Edith have added some variety to their hosting. Last year we had hamburgers on Telge Road and this year we went across the freeway to the SPJST Hall for the All-Pump meeting. I asked Edith what that stood for and I don’t think I have enough keys on my keypad to let you all know! All-Pump co-hosted this year with Electrical Field Services and while it looked like we had a whole bunch of folks there, I only counted 134 during the presentation. Even with a sizable group outside, 134 is a nice crowd! Thanks for all of you who came. As always a BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank You to Ken and Edith and the folks at All-Pump and Van Johnson and the folks over at Electrical Field Services. It’s always nice when we have sponsors who step up and host our monthly meetings and feed us all to boot!
Well, our food line got going a little early, about 6:30 by watch, but it kept the line from stringing on forever, so I guess that worked. We “officially” got going at 7PM with an invocation from the most recent past president (that’s me!), followed by some time for the rest of us to complete our dining. About 7:35, we had Ken George lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Next during the Secretary report, Missy (with a child to be named at a later date) informed us that the March meeting hours would be reported with the April hours for this meeting when all is said and done. This meeting was the last meeting to ensure that your 2005 membership is paid to get hours for this and future meetings. We cannot retro-activate hours for late payment of dues. For the Treasurer’s report, Pat Gray said we had money in the bank and no checks have bounced. The Scholarships were due at this meeting and we had several scramble to get theirs in. I’m happy to report we have now received all that we are to review for the awarding ceremony in July. Good Luck candidates! Next, Prez Schreiber let us in on some great training in the area. He mentioned we all need to check the website for additional training announcements and events. We had a few job announcements that hopefully made it into this edition of the newsletter. The Prez said we got the newsletter out early this month and hoped that no one showed up LAST week. None did—or at least they didn’t acknowledge it!
Next we were blessed with a short appearance by the Sam Houston Safety Players—the key word here being SHORT!
Our featured speaker for the evening was Mr. Craig Collings who did a great job in enlightening us on Automated Meter Reading or AMR. It is incredible what our current technology can do with so very little effort. And the price is becoming extremely affordable as well. Many thanks, Craig!
Patrick almost lost his voice calling ticket numbers as we had a long list—hopefully also mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter. In all we raised $557 for our scholarship funds, with a $100 cash prize kitty!! Great Meeting Folks!
3/17/05 March is and has been “Pumps of Houston” month and this year is no exception. We all look forward to Tommy Cook and his crew “opening their house” for our meeting. Tommy also always “puts on a show with vendors and goodies galore. The door prize list did not disappoint any this year and it appears elsewhere in this newsletter.
The show got going early (Tommy likes to get a jump on the crowds so no one has to wait long in line) and everyone (118 by my count—it seemed like much more, but St. Patrick’s Day probably pulled many away) had pretty much cleaned their plate of the fine 529 Bar-B-Que when President Schreiber called the meeting to order with an invocation by Richard Steadman. About 7:30 we “officially” got going with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr. Tony Martinez. The Prez asked Tommy to come up and welcome everyone including his vendor guests, Time Mark, BJM Pumps, KJI-Hydro, Myers, Dealers Electric and USF Fabrication. All his guests donated door prizes and Tommy and his crew chipped in for several more, including a 20” Flat screen TV! A BIG SAM HOUSTON Thank you for Tommy and his crew!!
Back to the meeting, we had no Secretary’s report, but Pat Gray gave us a great account of our Treasury, because—he is the Treasurer!! Pat has worked hard getting the books in order and should be commended on his efforts. The Past Prez (that’s me) gave everyone the heads up on the scholarship applications—they are due NEXT MONTH!! Remember they are available at our web site. Just download, print and fill it out!! The Prez next gave the Annual School updates including the TCEQ training hour dilemma that has hit some the sections of TWUA. The PES (Pretreatment-Environmental Section) actually had their hours pulled due to reporting of 15-minute presentations for 2 hours of training credit. While we have never done that, we may have to bump up from 45 minutes to one hour and be given only one hour instead of two. That is something TWUA Central Office is fighting hard to prevent, but be forewarned. Also, there was a call to translate all the manuals and training material into Spanish. All members fluent in both languages were asked to consider helping out in this area. We were then told of the Executive Director’s resignation. What a shock that was to all us, especially Sam Houston as we just had George as our featured speaker last month. The Prez then finished off the announcements with the delivery of the Perfect Attendance awardee’s prizes.
We were next graced (that’s supposed to be funny) with the Sam Houston Safety Player’s Safety presentation. I think the players are starting to pick up on the accents or we are all getting deaf—what did you say?
The featured speakers for the evening were Denny Weber and Bob Jennings from Chicago’s KJI-Hydro to talk to us on storm water pumps. It was a great presentation followed by an extended raffle, run efficiently by Patrick Walters. We had a scholarship donation of $291 after the $100 “Kitty”. Great meeting folks—see you all this month (April) at SPJST (see calendar for map and details in the April newsletter).
--Ben Connelley
2/17/05 Neil Technical Services (NTS) again hosted our February meeting and David has consistently proven to be an outstanding host. In addition to providing the meal and the facility, David also provided added incentives for new members, members who bring new members and to those who wear his logo. If we can’t get some people signed up by that, I don’t know what it will take. A BIG SAM HOUSTON THANK YOU David (and all your staff) for all the support you have given us this year and in years gone by.
Apparently, the newsletter “thing” got straightened out as we had about 172 attend the meeting. An unannounced bonus was that all in attendance were presented the new Sam Houston Calendar. I know personally, many of our board members worked extra hard to have it ready for this meeting and word is that it should be a fixture in years to come. President Allen Schreiber got us started at about 6:55 PM, by asking Richard Steadman to give the invocation and then the lines got started on the triple meat buffet by Hickory Hollow. After we all had our fill, we got the meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Delores Compean, a US Veteran.
The Secretary’s report was next and Missy gave us an update on hours (all ’03 and ’04 hours are in and should be posted soon by TCEQ) and the constant updates to bring everything current. Way to go Missy!! From here on out, hours will be sent in on a MONTHLY basis; so we should all have access to our updated information on a more consistent basis.
Pat Gray gave us the Treasurer’s report and it appears we are getting in the “all important” corporate sponsor’s monies so we are looking more comfortable in the financial area.
Next, the Past-Prez (that’s me) mentioned that we had scholarship applications available here and on our web page. The Application Deadline is the April meeting and that’s not that far away!!
The Prez next listed some great training opportunities in our area and mentioned the Gulf Area Association’s All-Day event the next morning.
We were honored next to present the perfect attendance awards to many in attendance that had made every meeting in 2005. Awardees are listed elsewhere in this newsletter. We also had three members who, additionally, had perfect attendance for the last 5 years. They were given (or promised) TWUA jackets. Good job folks!! It’s that kind of dedication that makes the Sam Houston District special.
How special? Our guest speaker, TWUA Executive Director George Patterson, had a surprise announcement. Sam Houston District has been designated the winner of the “Recruitment Chapter of the Year”!! Way to go, everyone for making us stand out in chapters from around the state!!
Next the Past Prez handed out some more of the plaques from November and we stumbled into our Safety skit. The Sam Houston Players have now completed the second leg of their final farewell tour.
We were honored to have Mr. George Patterson speak to us on Security in the Water and Wastewater field. George opened many of our eyes when he personified the terrorist and showed how simple a “victory” can come to them. He touched on some vulnerable areas of wastewater that this reporter had not even considered being a potential target for terrorists.
We concluded our meeting with a “massive” door prize raffle that almost made Patrick Walters hoarse and raised $372 for our scholarship funds. The prizes and categories are listed elsewhere in this newsletter.
Great meeting folks!!! Keep that momentum going and I look to see you all and then some in March!!
--Ben Connelley
1/20/05 Well, the year started off with a bang, only it wasn’t the bang of the starting pistol, more like the bang from something going wrong. In a series of unfortunate events (sorry Lemony Snicket!), our year got off to a bad start. If you’re reading this and you’re not on the Internet, you got your newsletter and the first problem was resolved. To those of you who checked the location and/or got a fax from our newsletter editor (who by the way was NOT the reason for the newsletter miss), we appreciated your attendance at the meeting in Bellaire. We had 82 who made it!!
The meeting got started promptly with an invocation for our meal by the most recent Past President (that’s me!). After a great meal of lasagna and all the trimmings, President Allen got us going at about 7:40 by leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. The City of Bellaire’s Director of Public Works, Mr. Joe Keene, then welcomed us. Director Keene thanked all of us for coming and invited us back next year (something we should probably take him up on, as Bellaire has a great place for us to meet). A BIG Sam Houston Thank You to Bellaire for your hospitality!! Next, we got to the distribution of our appreciation plaques for those who were not there for our November meeting. The Prez recognized the TWUA President-Elect, Mr. Tanny Busby. We were also honored to recognize and have stand, one of our most recent scholarship recipients who will not re-apply this year because she graduated!! Lisa Whitsett completed her degree and was ready to distribute resumes to anyone interested. How nice to have one we have helped show such appreciation. We had a few new members and even one new corporate sponsor (who brought door prizes!). Welcome one and all to our group. The Prez next touched on some training events in our area, most of which should be listed elsewhere in this newsletter. We also wanted to give a BIG Sam Houston Thank You to Claunch and Miller Engineering, Inc. for sponsoring our ENTIRE meal for this meeting. That always helps later on in the year when scholarship monies are being gathered. The Prez said we should all make an extra effort to make our next meeting, as our speaker will be Mr. George Patterson, the Executive Director for TWUA. George will give us a great presentation and we all need to have some good questions to grill him in return! Mr. Pat Gray gave us our Treasurer’s report, followed by Maria’s Secretary report. We were next honored (if that is appropriate) with the first leg of the Farewell Tour of the Sam Houston Safety Players. We tried some new accents and some of our Italian came out Cajun, go figure?! Our featured speaker was Ben Connelley (me again!) who gave a presentation on Pretreatment, What When Why and How. Mr. Patrick Walters then woke everyone up with our door prize drawings. We raised some nice funds for our scholarship fund and gave someone $100! See you all and then some this month at David Neil’s place—NTS!
11/18/04 Our November meeting in Humble at the Civic Center got started at 7PM with an invocation from our most recent Past President (that’s me!). We all then jumped in line for Turkey and Dressing and all the fixin’s (except for Mom’s Mince Meat pie, guess she couldn’t make that night!). It was nice to know that about 80 of our members and guests were in attendance, given the upcoming holiday and hunting seasons. At about 7:45, Mr. Johnny Rubio led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Our newest President, Mr. Allen Schreiber, welcomed us and got the meeting underway. He told us of the latest training events by TWUA, TEEX and TRWA. We next had our committee reports starting with Treasurer’s. Mr. Pat Gray said we had money and all was well. The Secretary’s report was next as Missy did her last one (it’s Maria’s baby from here on out!) by telling us that we have over 450 members! She also told of the November 29th meeting with the Austin TWUA bunch here in town to get the training reporting past, present and future on the same page, quick and accurate. We next presented the Corporate and Consulting sponsor plaques. The Sam Houston Executive Board was accordingly recognized with plaques as well. We had some many plaques that a couple of Dentist called on the cell phone. Not really, but it sounded cute. Speaking of cute, the Sam Houston Safety Players—Sixties version, performed their final skit of the year (applause), but rumor was they would return next year (curses!)
Our main program of the evening was our guest speaker, Mr. Paul Bland from Ashbrook Simon Hartley to talk to us on belt presses. Mr. Bland gave us insight on operation and upgrades available to meet the increasingly rigorous demands on sludge hauling and disposal.
Mr. Patrick Walters took over the raffle and door prize drawings for this meeting. We awarded a “kitty” of $100 and raised about $178 for the scholarship fund. We stood in adjournment around 8:45PM.
9/16/04 Our September meeting was scheduled at the Galena Park Community Center and got underway at 7PM with a quick invocation and another great feast catered by Demeris Barbeque. This month’s meal was sponsored by Envirodyne, TEADIT, Moody Bros., and Tackle Construction. A BIG SAM HOUSTON THANK YOU to this month’s meal sponsors. It always allows more room in the scholarship account!
After everyone had a generous helping of the bacon-wrapped hamburger steaks with all the fixin’s, the meeting got underway about 7:35. One of our longtime members, Mr. Don Ray led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance.
After some welcoming remarks by the Prez (that’s me) we had some announcements. We all need to remember the Golf Tournament coming up on October 30! Contact Jimmy Graves at (713) 644-4959 or check the web at www.wateroperator.com for your spot at the Glenbrook Golf Course. Start time is 8:30 and last word I heard was that the spots were filling up fast. Next we heard about some great training opportunities coming up in our area. Be sure to check the listing elsewhere in this newsletter. We were next reminded about the TWUA Annual School Awards Packets. They were available and we really need some of the fine folks from Sam Houston to be recognized by our Central Office, but if you don’t nominate someone, we won’t get the recognition we so rightly deserve. If you have someone in mind, please get a packet and get going on this at the October or November meetings. The Prez also said we will get an early start on the scholarship application process, so those forms will be available at the October and all the following meetings.
Next, we got into the committee reports and our Treasurer, Pat Gray gave us an up to the minute account of our financial status. Missy Steadman came up next and reminded everyone that we are still in the “updating process” with TCEQ, but with the new purchase of a new laptop, we will soon be sending training hours (for monthly meetings) on a monthly not quarterly basis. We were honored next with Mr. Jerry Arnold who gave us an update on the By-Laws revisions. We will vote at the October meeting on the changes and will sign in send in the new copies. We were next visited by the Sam Houston Safety Players with a quick (but never quick enough) rendition of some hurricane precautions.
Our main event was a presentation by Dr. Paul Pierce on Emergency Response Plans, Heading into 2005 and Beyond. As many of you in the larger water systems know, emergency response plans are the second step in the Vulnerability Assessment process. We had a quick open forum in which the Prez asked about gift suggestions for the Perfect Attendance awards in January. We have had gift certificates, but some awardees have wanted something special they could “show off” to their co-workers the next day. That’s something to think about. Our next meeting is this one, at Alsay, Inc.
The Prez-Elect, Allen Schreiber handled the raffle with prizes listed elsewhere in this newsletter. Great meeting and hope many more of you attend the October one—it’s presentation of the slate of officers for the next year. You’ll want to be there for that. See you soon!