I am honored to have been elected the new President of the Colorado Section of AWRA for the 2008-2009 year and want to thank you for your support. Since 2005, I have had the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the dedicated people we have committed to our organization. I believe that our Annual Symposium continues to provide our members with informative sessions concerning Colorado’s water resources and it continues to provide a great opportunity to raise money for our Scholarship Program. This year’s Symposium, Water, Energy, and Climate Change, organized by the 2007 - 2008 President Laurel Stadjuhar, was a great success. We are currently working on next year’s Symposium which will be held on April 17, 2009 at the Mt. Vernon County Club.
We have continued to increase the amount of contributions that have been provided to outstanding students in various colleges and universities throughout the State that are studying water resources and related fields. Thanks to your support, the Board has approved six scholarships for this school year totaling $11,500. I hope to continue and expand this strong tradition of increasing our scholarship contributions to help defray the ever increasing costs of education. As such, the Board will be encouraging additional donations this year through various programs. Our Education Committee has recently embarked on an effort to coordinate with local schools on getting the word out about our organization and opportunities and I anticipate that this will further expand the interest in our scholarship program.
The Board recognizes that the Section’s Membership is our strength. This is reflected in our Section receiving the Outstanding State Section Award from the National AWRA Board of Directors. Without your continued involvement and dedication, the Section would not have been able to accomplish the many things it has over the years. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank you for your support and encourage you to stay involved or become active in the Section and our various programs or committees.
Each year, we seem to be faced with new challenges concerning our water resources. The Board is hoping to expand the diversity of our luncheon programs and I would encourage you to participate in our monthly programs or provide us with any suggestions you may have for future programs. The past few years, we have coordinated very informative summer field tours to see first-hand various projects or issues. I would like to thank our 2006 – 2007 President Mike McHugh of the City of Aurora for arranging a very informative tour of Summit and Grand Counties in August to view and discuss the impacts from the pine beetle infestation. Our upcoming programs and other activities will continue to be updated on our website (www.awra.org/state/colorado) and through our e-mail announcements.
We also would like to grow our membership to include other interests throughout the State that might benefit from the programs and opportunities that we support. Please encourage your contacts to become members to help strengthen our organization. If you would like to get involved on any of the committees or with the Board, please feel free to contact any of the Board members for further information.
If you have additional thoughts throughout the year, please let us know how we can best serve you.
Bill Warmack, President