Central Office News by Russell Hamilton, TWUA Executive Director
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ather, 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 22.1 % (- 1.0 %). White River is sitting at 16.7 % (+1.8 %). Panhandle - Lake Meredith is sitting at 32.6 % (- 0.7 %) and Greenbelt is at 15.1 % (- 0.2 %). If you want a complete look at current lake levels, go to waterdatafortexas.org. The drought has never left for some. Mark your calendar for the remaining 2022 Regional opportunities – McAllen is canceled for 2022. 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 can register for any region now, making use of budgets more efficiently. TWUA is excited about resuming the TWUA Regional Schools and in-person training events. San Angelo is the next regional event scheduled. Norma and Tom would love to have you come to San Angelo and participate in this event. After San Angelo, the Ft. Stockton school will be the next region in the rotation. If you are in this area of the state or need training hours, please consider these two events. From actual attendance data, it appears the operators are ready for in-person training; however, the decision-makers seem reluctant to approve extended travel. Successful Regional School events depend on participants. If the students are attending, the vendors will participate. If the student numbers drop, the vendors begin to question the value of their participation. In other words, if you want to see the TWUA Regional Events in your region of the state continue, we must do a better job of supporting the various events. It is a difficult decision for the managers. I can send a staff mem6 Texas Water Utilities Journal | www.twua.org
ber out of town and pay $5.00 per gallon for fuel. Deal with increased expenses of staying in a hotel. And increased costs related to food. Or has it become more cost-effective to rely on computer-based training and provide a workstation for staff members to train online in the workplace? In this edition of the journal, we are doing a new thing with the training calendar. Instead of listing each class, we will be using a QR code (barcode) for all training announcements. If you go to the training page and use your smartphone or from your computer, if you click on the QR codes, it will take you to a PDF listing of events. This PDF can be updated as needed and will not impact the QR code. We are attempting to take advantage of technologies and provide a way for the training classes to stay updated. You will see three different QR codes. One for Online events, One for Regional schools, and one that is all TWUA events. Also, there have been inquiries related to in-person classroom training. If this in-person training interests you, don’t hesitate to contact Norma Clark (n.clark@twua.org). What does the acronym DATL represent ? There is an old saying; you are not through until the paperwork is done . . . well, you are not registered for a state exam until you . . . Designate A Testing Location. 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 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 the vendors moving out at noon Thursday. We will update the information 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. The Story Goes Something Like This – A recent graduate of a prestigious Ivy League college was invited to attend a revival meeting. This graduate did not want to attend, but the girl who invited him was quite stunning and had a great personality. June 2022
