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Solving The Water Equation

In the middle of the exhibit hall at ACE15, attendees are browsing through silent auction items, including a golf outing for four, a painting, two iPads, a duck decoy, jams, a Puerto Rican rum basket, a Mexican Colonial vase, a painting, a Kindle Fire and bottles and bottles of California wine.

It’s all part of The Water Equation Campaign, AWWA’s new philanthropic program dedicated to workforce advancement, community and international outreach, and education. Proceeds from the silent auction fund scholarships in the water field.

Commemorative plane“One of the biggest concerns of utilities is the aging work force,” said Martha Segal, who will become one of AWWA’s four vice presidents at the conclusion of ACE15.  “Within the next decade, 38 percent of water professionals are going to retire. How do you ensure you have a steady supply of water professionals to keep our water clean and safe? Providing scholarships is one answer to that.”

The 40-plus auction items were donated by AWWA sections and conference exhibitors. Sections keep half of the money their donations raise to support their own scholarship programs.

At the auction, a value is posted for each item, ranging from $50 for a wall clock, or oval box and pewter bracelet, to an ACE16 attendee package for $1,500 for the conference in Chicago. The package includes hotel, an airfare allowance and full registration fees.

Bidders write offers for items on sheets of paper set up at tables. They can bid on multiple items at once. When the auction ends, the bids are reviewed and the person who bid the highest for each item wins.

"Priceless" plate at auction

Sharon Powers, director of administration and development for AWWA, said the most intriguing item is an AWWA Diamond Jubilee commemorative plate, which was donated by Steve Dennis, an incoming AWWA vice president. The advertised value: Priceless.

“While it’s hard for me to part with it, I know whoever purchases it will have the same interest in it as I do,” said Dennis.

The plate dates to 1956 and commemorates the 75th anniversary of the association.  It is creamy white and includes an image of the Polytechnic Institute in St. Louis Mo., where 22 men from six states met and founded the AWWA on March 29, 1881. The plate is in mint condition and depicts several scenes, including a river and bridges and a structure labeled “Old Water Tower”.

Many of the sections donated items germane to their location. The Wisconsin Section gave a lap quilt; Kansas, jam baskets; Kentucky and Tennessee, a bourbon and whiskey basket; and Montana, the duck decoy.

Proceeds support students

Auction proceeds support the Abel Wolman Fellowship and the Larson Aquatic Research Scholarship. The scholarship competition is fierce and winners are the best and the brightest in the field, Powers said.
 
David Hanigan, 2014 recipient of the Abel Wolman fellowship, said the award alleviated a lot of financial stress. The 28-year-old PhD candidate from Arizona State University plans to research the effects of pharmaceuticals on water and marine life.

“The fellowship has enabled me to go to conferences and take advantage of educational opportunities,” Hanigan said. “It has allowed me to concentrate on my work instead of chasing around money. I used to do a lot of that.”

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