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TAWWA Chapter Award Winners
Texas AWWA recognized it's local chapters for their achievements and valuable contributions at Texas WaterTM 2023. There are five award categories: Communications, Community Service and Public Outreach, Educational Offerings, Fundraising, and Membership Recruitment and Retention.
Chapter Communications: Capital Area Chapter
The Capital Area Chapter communicated with their members through six, bi-monthly newsletters that reached over 1,000 individuals. The chapter used other tools such as LinkedIn to extend its outreach, posting monthly to advertise events, meetings, newsletters, and sponsors. In 2022, its LinkedIn following grew by 85 people and had over 8,000 organic impressions. The Capital Area Chapter also used a young professionals homepage to introduce members to the YP group and as an avenue to get involved in events. In an effort to engage its members, the Capital Area Chapter sent a survey to members requesting feedback on communication preferences and event types, locations, and timing. The survey received 57 responses and provided valuable input that the chapter plans to use for future communication and event planning.
Community Service and Public Outreach: North Central Texas Chapter
The North Central Texas Chapter continued participation in the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST) and established a new initiative of interactive water trivia at local businesses. North Central Texas Chapter’s Education and Outreach activities included supporting the 2022 Science Teacher’s Association of Texas annual CAST Conference in Dallas. In partnership with local water conservation educators, the chapter used interactive trivia at small businesses to share the value of water at nontraditional venues where water is essential. The chapter provided “No Water No Beer” branded items, promotional support, and sponsorship. The Education and Outreach Committee hosted two water trivia nights that included over 120 players. A step-by-step planning guide was shared with the TAWWA Education Division so this model can be replicated by others. So far, the water trivia template has been downloaded and used by five other organizations.
Educational Offerings: Southeast Chapter
The Southeast Chapter conducted or sponsored a variety of events to provide the local water community a range of options for engagement and learning. One of their biggest events is the Half-Day Seminar, an annual symposium co-sponsored by the Southeast TAWWA Chapter and the local chapter of WEAT. This event brings together the region’s water and wastewater communities, and provides a forum for networking and interaction, while also providing informative technical content. The seminar offered four continuing education credits to over 200 attendees. The chapter also held an in-person and virtual Open House to introduce the chapter and its committees to a wider community and expand membership. The goal of this event was to educate interested individuals from the water community about what the chapter does and ways to get involved through chapter committees. The Young Professionals Committee organized several events, including a tour of the Houston Alfa Laval factory, a tour of the City of Houston’s Northeast Water Purification and a YP Seminar that offered two continuing education credits.
Fundraising: North Central Texas Chapter
The North Central Texas Chapter organized several successful fundraising events, including their Annual Holiday Dinner, the Drinking Water Seminar, and the Young Professional Ugly Sweater Party. These fundraising events donated 100% of their proceeds to student scholarships or water-related charities, such as TXWARN and Water Equation. In total, the North Central Texas Chapter raised $5,000 for state scholarships, $13,000 for local scholarships, and $12,520 each for both TXWARN and Water Equation.
Membership Recruitment and Retention: Southeast Chapter
The Southeast Chapter held an in-person and virtual Open House to introduce the chapter and its committees to a wider community and expand membership. This event directly resulted in several new memberships and expansion of several chapter committees, most notably the Young Professionals Committee. A second new effort by the chapter to aid in recruitment and retention was the development of an informational flyer about the chapter to share with new and prospective members. The Southeast Chapter president noted that the strongest recruitment and retention tool that the Chapter offers is likely the quantity and quality of the events it organizes. Through these efforts, the Southeast Chapter increased