ED News

from May 2022

Oller Engineering, Inc

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 23.1 % (- 0.5 %). White River is sitting at 14.9 % (- 2.2 %). Panhandle - Lake Meredith is sitting at 33.3 % (- 0.8 %) and Greenbelt is at 15.3 % (- 0.9 %). 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 – Arlington will be May 16th – 20th . Killeen will be June 6th – 9th . McAllen is confirmed July 11th – 14th . 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.

TWUA is excited about the TWUA Regional Schools coming up. Arlington is the next region in the rotation, and David Henshaw and the North Central Texas board would welcome your participation.

We also have the Killeen School, which is June 6th – 9th, so if you are in the Killeen area, come join Bill, Vicente, Scott, and the board for a great educational event.

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 inperson training interests you, don’t hesitate to contact Norma Clark (n.clark@twua.org). Live In-person Training Events – The operators’ message is - I am glad that in-person events are occurring, and that is great news. $4.00 + fuel, rising hotel costs, and per diem reimbursements will undoubtedly impact in-person attendance. Do you currently have the ability to travel up to or beyond 100 miles to participate in an in-person training event? Please provide me a quick email with your response - r.hamilton@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 ComputerBased 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 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.

The Story Goes Something Like This –

Once in a college physics class, the professor asked the students, Why do you think we have brakes on our cars?

A student immediately sprang up and replied, to stop the car. Another student replied, to reduce and better control the speed of the vehicle. Another said, to avoid collisions. Soon all the students began to offer their versions of similar answers, so the professor decided to provide another perspective.

I appreciate all of your answers, although no one has approached this question from the perspective of, what if the brakes on a car, enable us to make it run faster?

The professor continued, for a moment, let’s assume your car has no brakes, then how fast are you willing to drive your car?

The students appeared confused. They never thought this way and never looked at brakes on a vehicle from this perspective.

The professor continued, similarly, there are many such “brakes” in our lives that alter, restrict, or stop our decisions. Our parents, teachers, friends, and morals influence the directions we naturally follow and the decisions we make in life.

We tend to view their opinions and disapprovals as “brakes” that impede our pace or hinder our success and the achievement of dreams and goals.

But what if we see our influencers as supporters or catalysts that enable us to take risks while ensuring that we protect ourselves. Sometimes we become so focused on our goals and dreams that we need our support structure to cause us to stop or slow down our actions and, in some cases, help us regain the required perspective.

Therefore, we need to understand that “Brakes” in our lives are not meant to push us back or restrict us; but rather to help us move forward faster than without the encouragement, guidance, wisdom, experience, and perspective that our supporters provide so that we can reach our destination quickly and safely.

Should we be thankful for “Brakes” (difficult situations) in life or see them as a nuisance or hindrance to achieving our goals and dreams?

Author Unknown