ED News

by Russell Hamilton, TWUA Executive Director

Father, Thank You. We bow our heads and humbly say thank you as we acknowledge that you are the creator. We take comfort in knowing that You remain in charge and control of life as we understand it. We need You, and we welcome You in all we do. We come into Your presence, seeking Your grace, Your calm, Your guidance, and forgiveness. Father, we pray for Your mercy and ask that You guide, direct, protect, and bless TWUA and its members. Amen

In West Texas, Lake Spence is sitting at 24.4 % (- 1.0 %). White River is sitting at 18.5. % (- 2.0 %). Panhandle - Lake Meredith is sitting at 34.3 % (- 0.9 %) and Greenbelt is at 16.2 % (- 0.5 %). If you want to get a complete look at current lake levels, go to waterdatafortexas.org. The drought has never left for some.

Mark your calendar for the 2022 – Mid-Year Board Meeting on March 8th & 9th. Amarillo will be April 4th – 7th . Beaumont will be April 25th – 28th . Abilene will be May 2nd – 5th . Arlington will be May 16th – 20th . Killeen will be June 6th – 9th . McAllen is now pending board action (many pending factors on the South Texas border). San Angelo will be July 25 – 28th . Ft. Stockton will be August 22nd – 25th . Longview will be October 10th – 13th . Lubbock will be November 1st – 3rd. The links to all the fliers will be activated as soon as possible so that you may register for any region now, thereby making use of budgets more efficiently.

Check the TWUA Website for the most up-to-date information related to TWUA Regional opportunities. If travel and being in crowds cause you concern or your employer has not approved travel, please look at the TWUA Computer Based Training options. (https://twua.org/online-class-dates). Also, there have been inquiries related to in-person classroom training. If this in-person training interests you, please contact Norma Clark (n.clark@twua.org).

Dates For Annual School 2022. The 104th Annual School in Corpus Christi dates is September 26th – 29th, 2022. This will be Monday thru Thursday. The events have been pushed forward a day. The Opening Session and Awards will be Monday. The school will begin Tuesday and conclude with vendor move out at noon Thursday. We will have the information updated on the website soon, and the form will be live, so you could go ahead and preregister if you are looking for a legitimate budget expense.

Paper-Based TCEQ Testing - Help Spread The Word – if you want to continue to have the option of paper-based exams after TWUA regional events, we need exam numbers to justify TCEQ’s continued participation.

Click on or copy this link to find TCEQ computer-based testing locations. https://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing/exams/ cbt_occ_lic.html

For Clarification – There are three (3) steps in the TCEQ exam process. 1. application/payment – 2. approval/conditional approval – 3. designate testing location) You are not through if you have not designated a testing location (DATL) with TCEQ. To test at a TWUA Regional event, TCEQ asks for a 30-days designation before the event. If you did not meet the 30-day window, go ahead and submit; sometimes, you get lucky. Some have received their approval or conditional approval letter and think all they need to do is bring the TCEQ letter and challenge the exam. You will still need to follow the directions in the letter and designate a test location-(DATL.)

Call the TCEQ staff in licensing for more information or the official statement related to the Exams, Licensing, and Computer-Based Testing. 512-239-6133

The Story Goes Something Like This –

Most of us have watched and followed the popular reality television show, Survivor, where the contestants compete for a million dollars.

In 2005, there was a 23-year-old young man (Ian) who had made it to the final 3. The physical challenge to get to the finals was

clinging to an ocean buoy in the Western Pacific for the longest time. If this young man were somehow able to hang on and win this endurance competition, he would be assured a spot as one of the two contestants for the million-dollar grand prize.

The challenge was quite simple but brutal. Each contestant would cling to the ocean buoy as it swayed, sometimes violently, in the waves. The one that could hold on the longest would get a free pass to the final round. And decide who his challenger would be for the million dollars.

The two other contestants hanging on to buoys were Katie and Ian’s best friend on the show Tom. Katie dropped out after five hours, leaving just Ian and Tom.

As hours slowly passed, the challenge became increasingly difficult, but Ian’s more significant challenge was psychological. He carefully replayed in his mind the game and alliances that he had formed and broken to get to this point, as well as what a million dollars would mean in his life.

Ian could see a clear path to victory in his mind. If he won the challenge, he would choose which of the other two contestants to eliminate. He saw his friend Tom as the more significant threat. Ian felt that if he won the challenge and eliminated Tom, he would have a clear path to victory.

Ian was an Eagle Scout. As he clung to the buoy, he began to repeat the words of the Scout Law: “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal….” Ian stopped. He knew he had been neither while playing the game. He later said, “I’d been backstabbing people, and I was planning on doing that to my best friend in the game and realized I would lose that friend if I continued playing the game in the same way. Every time I pulled money out of the ATM account from the million-dollar prize, it would have bothered me.”

Ian thought of the example he would be setting, especially for his younger sister. “I thought about Scouting, and I thought about the people who would watch me win. They wouldn’t have been proud.” So, Ian quit. Not just the challenge but the game. He gave up and asked his friend, Tom, to eliminate him. Tom reluctantly agreed, and the chance to become an instant millionaire was over for Ian. As Ian predicted, Tom became the sole survivor and won the million dollars.

Thinking back, Ian stated, “I realized it’s not just winning the money. It’s how you win it.” That is what I learned in Scouts. It’s not just accomplishing something; how you achieve, it becomes important.” He added, “I decided to bow out. That was because of the Scout Law….and because of my sister.” For Ian Rosenberger, living according to the values he learned in scouting was worth more than a million dollars. Does he have any regrets?

“I can’t say that the cash wouldn’t come in handy right now, but I’m thrilled with the decision I made. I don’t regret it at all. It’s only a million bucks. I left with pride and a story I could be proud of…although if I stayed, I wouldn’t be eating ramen noodles every day as I am now!”

What would you have done?

Stay Safe, and Remember – we do not need all the operators in Texas to be a member of TWUA – JUST YOU ! ! ! !