CSWEA President's Message

June 2025

A New Mission Statement and Strategic Goals

Thanks to everyone who attended the 98th Annual Meeting in Madison this year. It was a fantastic event that included a strong technical program, and great outings. Thanks to Past President Troy Larson, the Local Arrangements Committee, and the Technical Committee for all your hard work!

At our Awards Banquet on the Thursday of the Conference, I shared with you the efforts that the Executive Committee have been working on to continue to grow and improve the Association. An ad hoc Committee, led by Amy Underwood, worked with WEF to identify what CSWEA is doing well, and where we can improve. This included a survey that you completed, telling us what you thought the Association was doing well, and what we could improve on. With this input, the Ad Hoc Committee wrote a new Mission Statement: “The Central States Water Environment Association facilitates connection, training, and technical excellence for current and future water professionals.”

Three strategic initiatives were identified as a part of this process; three areas where we wanted to focus on continued improvement. The first of these is Connection. This initiative is focused on developing a connecting and welcoming culture. The goal is to connect Young Professionals with Seasoned Professionals, not only to help YPs understand how to get more involved, but to help SPs understand what YPs are looking for in CSWEA.

The second initiative is the development of our Water Workforce. CSWEA will continue to provide and promote opportunities for members to be involved in CSWEA, not only in events but also in committees. We will also seek to improve ways to increase operator involvement in CSWEA. We are proud of our Ops Challenge Teams, and their success at WEFTEC, including the Pumper’s 1st Place finish in Division 3. Additionally, we will reach out to the workforce of the future by expanding participation in the Water’s Worth It Essay Competition, participating in Children’s Water Festivals in our communities, and finding ways to encourage the pursuit of careers in the water workforce.

The third is continuing to maintain a high degree of Technical Excellence in the Association. One of the strengths that has been identified is the high quality of the technical programs that we offer at the Annual Meeting, and at other educational events that our association and state sections hold throughout the year. We will continue to expand on this by offering sessions focused on soft skills such as teamwork, leadership and other practical skills.

Another important part of this initiative is the collaboration between state sections to improve the exchange of knowledge, understanding what events and activities have worked well in one section, and whether and how they can be replicated in the other sections. The Committee has been working for the past two years on the Strategic Plan. With your input, we identified these three areas, Connections, Water Workforce, and Technical Excellence, as things that CSWEA does well, and things that we can continue to improve. Now we get to the tough part: implementation. This is where we need your help. Talk with your Section Chair about volunteer opportunities. Participate as a member of a committee, like the Public Education Committee. Share your experiences from this year’s conference and other events throughout the year with your co-workers and your supervisor. Help them see the value of continued participation in CSWEA events. With your help, we can facilitate connections, training, and technical excellence for current and future water professionals.