Julianne LaRock and John Trofatter Receive WEF Volunteer Service Recognition Awards

Volunteer Service Recognition Award pin.

Have you ever seen a Water Environment Federation (WEF) member sporting a gold lapel pin shaped like a torch with the signature blue WEF “W” on it? These rare pins signify a recipient of the WEF Volunteer Service Recognition (VSR) Award, which recognizes members who significantly contribute to the successes and achievements of WEF through service on a WEF committee or the house of delegates (HOD). To receive a pin, the awardee must be nominated, and then selected, by a WEF committee or the HOD. All recipients are recognized (and pinned) at the WEF Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC).

During WEFTEC 2022, held in October in New Orleans, two long-term WEF members from Florida were recognized: Julianne “Juli” LaRock and John Trofatter. Juli was nominated by the WEF Public Communication and Outreach Committee and John by the Committee Leadership Council. Their awards bring Florida’s VSR recipients to a total of five since the award was created in 2017.

Award Recipient Backgrounds

Julianne LaRock

Julianne LaRock, a licensed engineer in Florida, Guam, and the Northern Marianas, is a past chair of both the WEF and FWEA Public Communication and Outreach committees. She has been an active volunteer since the mid1990s, serving on numerous subcommittees and projects. She was also the recipient of the 2010 WEF Public Education Award in the individual category.

Juli currently works as a section administrator in the water quality bureau of the South Florida Water Management District. Previously, she served as a consulting engineer providing industrial, civil, and environmental engineering services in Guam, the Marianas, and Micronesia. She’s had a diverse career, working as an industrial engineer with Walt Disney World, the U.S. Air Force at Patrick Air Force Base (AFB) in Florida, the Hickam AFB in Hawaii, and as the former deputy base civil engineer at Andersen AFB in Guam. Juli holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Florida and a master of engineering in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina.

John Trofatter

John Trofatter is a past member of the WEF board of trustees and has been a WEF member since 1989. He became engaged with the Operations Challenge competition in 2001, starting as a collection systems event judge and eventually assuming the roles of collection systems event coordinator and Operations Challenge Committee vice chair and chair. John is a member of the WEF Collection Systems Committee and active with numerous other committees as well, and is a past Committee Leadership Council chair and vice chair. He is also a member of the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA), the Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), and a past member of the Michigan and New York WEAs.

John is the director of business development for Teledyne Water and is responsible for the strategic development activities of its products and services. He has more than 40 years of experience in the development and application of instrumentation and control systems in water-related industries working in a variety of capacities, including executive management, sales, product development, project management, and engineering. John attended City College of New York for electromechanical engineering.

While Julianne and John are exceptional volunteers, outside of work and volunteering, Juli leads a club for Volkswagen enthusiasts in Palm Beach County and John spends his free time traveling, or with his family, especially his grandchildren.

The FWEA congratulates Juli and John on their VSR awards! Be sure to look out for the VSR pins to recognize other past recipients and thank them for their outstanding service to WEF. S

Julianne LaRock John Trofatter