As we reach the end of 2022, I am grateful for our tri-state association returning to in-person activities where members reconnected. Committee participation has significantly increased, more than 900 attended the annual conference in Spokane, and region and section workshops were once again full. I am hopeful we will continue this strong engagement in 2023.

I recently attended the Oregon Operators Conference at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Roseburg, Oregon. The event, in partnership with the PNCWA Oregon Region, Umpqua Basin Operators Section (UBOS), American Water Works Association Pacific Northwest Section, and Umpqua Community College, provides operators the opportunity to earn CEUs through technical presentations, facility tours, workshops, and a tradeshow. Seeing so many water and wastewater professionals gathered to network, engage, and exchange ideas was inspiring. I particularly enjoyed the hands-on demonstrations of products and services in our field.

The PNCWA regions and sections are critical partners, and our water professionals and operators are key to this collaboration. There are PNCWA sections active in each of the four regions (Idaho, Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington), providing training and networking to meet the needs and interests of the area. They are independent organizations with their own governance that are recognized and chartered by PNCWA. In fact, each region has a representative on the PNCWA board of directors:

• ID Regional Director — Marc Branscome, City of Moscow
• OR Regional Director — Stephen T. Lusch, Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority
• Eastern WA Regional Director — Jade Mecham, Jacobs, Walla Walla
• Western WA Regional Director — Andrew Perez, Kennedy Jenks, Federal Way

This collaboration has huge benefits for all, as we share our passion for educating and connecting members to promote a healthy water environment, and I’m excited about the events the PNCWA regions and sections have planned for 2023. Please visit our website for the calendar of events and contact information for the regional directors and section presidents.