ED News

by Russell Hamilton, TWUA Executive Director

Father, we bow our heads in respect 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, calm, guidance, and forgiveness. Father, we pray for Your mercy and ask that You guide, direct, protect, and bless TWUA and its members. Father, we thank you for your blessing of abundant rainfall. Amen

In West Texas, Lake Spence is sitting at 19.0 % (- 0.7 %). White River is sitting at 14.8 % (-0.6 %). Panhandle - Lake Meredith is sitting at 31.4 % (- 0.4 %), and Greenbelt is at 12.4 % (- 0.2 %). If you want a complete look at current lake levels, go to waterdatafortexas.org. The drought has never left for some.

Annual School – the 105th Annual School will remain in Corpus Christi. The dates are September 17th – 20th 2023. After the 100th anniversary, it was suggested that the association make each upcoming 5th year a special event to acknowledge and commemorate the association and those who have served in management positions. Not sure at this point the specifics on how the 105th will be celebrated, but please, make plans now to come and be a part of this historic accomplishment.

Mark your calendar for the 2023 Regional opportunities

– Amarillo will kick off the regional events beginning April 4th – 6th 2023. Beaumont will be April 24th – 27th 2023. Abilene will be May 9th – 11th. The entire regional calendar and 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.

We remain positive that the TWUA in-person training events will remain successful and attendance will return to historical numbers, but your participation is needed. In-person, Live training events are struggling to attract students. Training manuals are requiring longer shipping times, so please register early, and we are hoping that last-minute registrations do not become problematic (relating to training manuals).

How is the QR code for advertising training events working? Central Office would love to have feedback and get your thoughts on this method of advertising training. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Norma Clark (n.clark@twua.org).

TWUA Central Office will begin our database change or conversion over the New Year Holiday break, beginning January 2, 2023. This update will make our data more secure and provide more options and functionality for how data is used while bringing ownership of the processes, such as membership information and renewals, course advertising, registrations, and association information, all in-house. During this conversion, please call the central office for assistance if you need anything.

The Story Goes Something Like This –

The Employee Taken For Granted

Have you heard about the staff member (we will call him Jim) who worked as a general laborer whose primary job was all the daily tasks that no one else wanted to do?

Jim began his day by ensuring the bar screens were all cleaned, the debris was placed in the trash bin, and the area was hosed down. He then “checked” and maintained the eight “lift stations” in the collections system. Somedays, this meant mowing and weed-eating around the structures. On other days, this meant he repacked a pump or changed out a bearing that was failing. Some days he had to unclog the pumps.

This staff member rarely asked for assistance, but when he did, it was for someone to assist with pulling a pump or motor out of the lift station for extensive maintenance or replacement.

When asked, none of the other public works staff could ever remember Jim calling in sick or missing work when he was scheduled. Jim’s was a thankless “dirty job” and probably not a whole lot of fun. Can you imagine being excited to go to work and deal with others’ waste each day? But yet, Jim always seemed to be in a good mood, and if asked, “how are you” Jim would typically come back with something like, “I am blessed.”

It happened that there was a new Director of Public Works that was named for the entity in which Jim worked. In the first two weeks of taking office, the new director wrote a personal thank you card to every employee for whom he

was responsible. Then he had his assistant take him to introduce himself personally and hand out the card and shake the staff member’s hand.

When Jim received his handshake and opened his card, he was overcome with emotions. Jim asked if he could take the remainder of the day off. Thinking he was experiencing a sudden illness, he was allowed to leave with the agreement that the next day or when he returned, Jim would stop by the new director’s office just for a visit and get to know each other.

When Jim returned to work, he went to the director’s office. Jim was welcomed and given a cup of coffee. The director began by asking how long he had worked for the city. Jim stammered a bit but was able to get out 22 years, sir.

Jim, can you elaborate on what caused you to become emotional when we first met?

Jim took a deep breath and said, in my 22 years, your card was the first time anyone told me “Thank you” for the job you do. You make the fourth director that I have worked for or under, and before meeting you and receiving the thank you card, I thought I must be doing something wrong or unable to meet expectations. I thought this was probably a good time to quit.

Well Jim, I appreciate your honesty and sincerely hope you reconsider. Give me time to make a few changes. My team will always have a place for you. Just so you know, the thing that impressed me when I toured the facilities before I was named director was the care and pride shown by whoever was responsible for your primary job duties. On my tour, I asked the City Manager to allow me to look inside a couple of the lift stations, and I was impressed with your work ethic. Your pride in job performance will be recognized if you can give me a little time.

Moral – a little praise goes a long ways.

Author Unknown

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

TEXAS WATER UTILITIES ASSOCIATION connect. engage. educate. TEXAS WATER UTILITIES ASSOCIATION

connect. engage. educate.

DISTANT LEARNING NOW TCEQ APPROVED DISTANT LEARNING NOW TCEQ APPROVED

Visit www.twua.org for more information Visit www.twua.org for more information Contact Us: 888-367-8982 Contact Us: 888-367-8982