Eight nominees are up for election for the Water Quality Association Board of Directors at the association’s 2020 Annual Meeting, to be held during the WQA Convention and Exposition April 1-3 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The annual meeting is part of the convention’s Opening General Session at 9:30 a.m. EDT (8:30 a.m. CDT) on Thursday, April 2. The nominees are:
Manufacturer/Supplier category
- Larry Gottlieb, ResinTech, Inc. (seeking re-election)
- Doug Haring, Clack Corporation
- Trent Jacobi, GE Appliances, a Haier Company
- Sun Yong Lee, Coway Co., Seoul, South Korea
- Steve Ver Strat, Amway (seeking re-election)
Dealers Category
- Donald K. McGhee, MWS, HydroSystems, Inc. (seeking re-election)
- Michael McGowan, MWS, McGowan Water Conditioning, Inc. (seeking re-election)
- DJ Shannahan, MWS, CI, CCO, Sharp Water Culligan
Each nominee’s biography and more information about the annual meeting is posted on the WQA website. Members unable to attend the meeting in person can complete proxy voting forms and return them to WQA offices by March 13.
Educational sessions
Three days of education sessions – including tracks on emerging contaminants, commercial and industrial applications and other top issues in water treatment – highlight the convention. Attendees who hold professional certifications through WQA have the opportunity to earn much of the continuing professional development (CPD) credit they need for re-certification during the event.
Sessions are led by experts both inside and outside of the water treatment industry, bringing real-world expertise to the classrooms. Some highlights from the technical sessions:
- Thomas Speth, PhD, PE, US EPA Association Director for Science, will discuss POU versus centralized treatment for addressing PFAS.
- Marc Edwards, PhD, a researcher from Virginia Tech, will speak on the recently completed Emerging Technologies Benchmarking Study.
- Andrew Zeigler, Waterline Technology, will review effects of premise plumbing on the prevalence of Legionella.
Technical workshops offered the afternoon of the final day of the convention – the Commercial/Industrial RO Sizing Workshop and Introduction to Water Contaminants and Drinking Water Regulations MEP Workshop – each offer the opportunity to earn 0.4 CPD. Additional registration is required. Full details are available on the online convention schedule, which is searchable by educational track, date, speaker and CPD offerings. Registered convention-goers can use their email address and badge number to log in to the schedule and start marking the sessions they plan to attend. Doing so will allow the convention app to provide a personal convention itinerary and even keep track of potential CPD.