What you can do for National Public Works Week
espite its name, National Public Works Week (May 17-23) has very much a local focus. It will succeed through the efforts of individual members in your towns and cities. It is you who can approach shopkeepers and librarians about displaying the NPWW poster, you who can persuade local editors to cover NPWW activities, and you who can speak out about the importance of the services your departments provide your communities. This year’s National Public Works Week theme is “Revitalize, Reinvest, Renew.” Here are a few suggested NPWW activities:
Proclamations Each chapter should request a proclamation from the governor/premier. A sample proclamation can be viewed at www.
recycle.com
recycle.com
recycle.com
Solid Waste & Recycling
Posters Don’t forget about posters. To be effective, they must be displayed where they will be seen by large numbers of people. Shop windows, public libraries, and city halls are good places. Don’t forget to display them on public vehicles, too. This year’s National Public Works Week poster is a spectacular presentation of the theme “Revitalize, Reinvest, Renew.” Robert Rodriguez, a New Orleans native, has painted the essence of public works: the care and nurturing of our communities as a city being “planted” in the soil of reinvestment. The background shows fields of green, healthy communities growing strong. The poster is available for purchase and can be seen on page 32.
Careers
Facility Engineering Sustainability and Green Energy
We are your
RESOURCE Since 1985, a leader in waste reduction and recovery strategies for local, state, and federal governments, industries, and non-profits. (800) 517-9634
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apwa.net/About/npww/proclamation.pdf. Individual members should ask mayors to issue similar proclamations. The best time for the proclamation is a week or so before May 17. If there is to be a ceremony, be sure to contact newspapers and to have a photographer on hand. On May 29, forward either the original proclamation or a copy to APWA Kansas City headquarters.
APWA Reporter
April 2009
One aim of National Public Works Week is to interest capable youth in public works careers. Tell the guidance counselor at your high school that you would be happy to meet with classes or groups of students to discuss public works as a career. Keep in mind that a Shadow Day would enable a high school student to experience a workday in the life of the public works professional who performs a job of interest to the student. In the process, students learn that public works services employ a variety of professionals, technicians and administrators who have been schooled and trained in a variety of fields. Likewise, bringing an Equipment Show and Tell to a middle school enables students to see firsthand the equipment you use in daily operations. Recycling vans, refuse trucks, pavement recyclers, road graders and lift trucks hold fascinating possibilities for students this age. This activity is especially ideal if you have limited resources. You could schedule an Equipment Show and Tell at a different school every day of National Public Works Week.