Letter from the TRWA Executive Director

Letter from the TRWA Executive Director

Dear TRWA Members, In May, our Board of Directors met for a planning retreat to update our Strategic Plan, which was adopted in 2016. This meeting was originally set for 2020 and was postponed a year due to the pandemic. At our July board meeting, the Board adopted our new plan for 2021–2026, which will be posted on our website. The Board also revisited our mission and vision statements and slightly modified each. TRWA’s revised mission statement is “To serve, represent, support, and strengthen member water and wastewater utilities.”

Our revised vision statement is “TRWA is recognized by its members, the regulatory community and state leaders as the leader on water and wastewater utility issues; is the premier provider for education and expert assistance through our well-qualified and knowledgeable staff; and has an active and engaged membership.”

The Board established six areas of strategic focus and, within these, set goals ensuring that everything we do is strategically aligned. The areas of strategic focus are Advocacy and Communications; Membership; Financial, Managerial and Technical Assistance; Training and Conferences; Leadership and Workforce Development; and Organizational Resources.

Some of our goals have carried over from the last Strategic Plan, including industry promotion, achieving legislative goals, increasing influence and cultivating

relationships with state leaders, providing expert services and resources (including technical and legal), and producing new online classes.

The Board also established new goals including working collaboratively with the Public Utility Commission to improve their processes for small water systems, developing a marketing plan to identify member needs, holding member meetings throughout the state, providing grant writing services, growing our technical services such as mapping, leak detection and drones, launching an apprenticeship program for water and wastewater utility operators in Texas, partnering with high school programs and engaging youth to learn about our industry, and purchasing a new headquarters location.

Our TRWA staff team will be developing an operational plan to achieve these goals in the next five years. We are excited about this new roadmap and will invite your input and engagement along the way.

My best,

Lara Zent Executive Director & General Counsel TRWA