AWWOA Chair, Chris Huston

Our Executive Board is elected by AWWOA members. The Board consists of water & wastewater operations professionals from a variety of municipal categories, a public system category and a life member category. Together they provide oversight and direction to our Association. More information is available about Board benefits, duties and election process.

See AWWOA's Elections Policy and Nominations Form for more information.

2024-25 Board of Directors

Position	Name	Representing
Chair	Chris Huston	AWWOA Officer
Vice Chair	Nathan Vis	AWWOA Officer
Past Chair	Mike Bureaud	AWWOA Officer
Finance Chair	Darrin Wenzel	25K - 150K Pop.
Operators Seminar Chair	Dennis Tomuschat	Under 5K Pop.
Training Chair	Paresh Dhariya	5K - 25K Pop.
Charitable Donations Chair	Bert E. Miller	Life Member
Awards Chair	Wade Bell	Public Facilities
Events Chair/ WCW Director Rep	Bert J. Miller	WCW Rep.
Water Week Chair	Peter Crane	Over 150K Pop.
Nominations Chair	Jenny Pereira	Over 150K Pop.
Director	Mark D'Aoust	25K - 150K Pop.
Director	Megan Sauve	5K - 25K Pop.
Director	Shannon Gladue	Under 5K Pop.
Director	Robert Alcorn	Under 5K Pop.

Note: See bottom of page for picture gallery of all Board members.

Executive Board Member Benefits and Duties

Grab this opportunity to become involved and contribute to your profession.

Benefits

There are many great benefits for members elected to the AWWOA Executive Board, including:

Demonstration of leadership skills and commitment to the field
Input to the Association and government programs that affect operations of water and wastewater systems
Association represents Alberta operators with peer organizations, safety associations, and regulatory agencies
Network with peers to advance common short and long-term professional goals
Higher profile for the member’s employer and municipality
Great "extra curricular" addition to your professional profile

General Duties

An elected member of the executive is responsible for directing the affairs of the Association, usually over a three-year term. Executive members are elected to represent operators from communities in specific population categories and geographic regions. The Chairperson, elected by the Executive, in conjunction with the Executive Director conduct the meetings and the routine operations of the Association.

Meeting Dates

Executive meetings are typically held a minimum of four times a year: Depending on need and quorum, an additional meeting may be held in January or in September at the Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association Conference.

March (in conjunction with the annual Operators Seminar)
June (3 days)
November (in conjunction with the annual Water Week Conference)
January (2 days)

The Annual General Meeting of the Association is held at the annual Operators Seminar in March. All outgoing and newly elected members are expected to attend the AGM.

Committee Work

Committees coordinate the various functions of the Association. All executive members are expected to be involved in committee work related to: Finance, Communications, Training, Operators Seminar or Water Week Conference. This may involve an hour or two for occasional phone calls, plus a few hours of work that can be done during personal time.

Expenses

Reasonable travel expenses (meals, mileage, lodgings) are paid by the Association for the March, June and November meetings, if the Executive member's employer does not provide.
Members receive free registration and travel expenses (meals, mileage, lodgings) to the AWWOA Annual Operators Seminar (March) and Water Week Conference (November).
It is up to individual members to negotiate time off from their respective employers.

Elections

Elected Members

To qualify for the Board of Directors you must operate a system within the categories below.

There are 13 elected members, with full voting privileges, on the Executive as follows:

2 members from Municipalities > 150,000 population
2 members from Municipalities > 25,000 but < 150,000 population
3 members from Municipalities > 5,000 but < 25,000 population
3 members from Municipalities < 5,000
1 member from the “public facilities” category
1 member from the "life member" category
1 Alberta Provincial Director of Western Canada Water (WCW) (three year term)

Industry Representatives

Industry Representative - means a non-voting, non-elected water and wastewater industry representative that provides updates and information from their respective areas to the Association’s Board of Directors. Industry Representatives may apply in writing to the Association in order to be considered for placement on the agenda for a future Board of Director’s meeting.

There are three categories for Industry Representatives as follows:

Alberta Environment and Parks Industry Representative
Post-Secondary Institution Representative (providing water & wastewater curriculum)
Municipal Services & Suppliers Association Industry Representative

Notes

The elected positions are all three-year terms, unless otherwise noted.
Nominated member must be in good standing with AWWOA (membership paid by Jan 25th).
The Life Member Category includes both "life members" and "honorary life members". As of March 2016, only the Honorary Life Membership category remains as per bylaw amendments.
An Executive member can, if elected, serve a total of three consecutive three-year terms. After the first three-year term, the individual must be nominated and re-elected in order to serve the second three-year term. After the second three-year term, the individual must be once again nominated and re-elected to serve the third and final three-year term. If an individual serves three consecutive terms, he or she must take a minimum of one year off from the board.
All submissions for nominations to the executive must include a black and white passport photo and a brief biography which includes member’s reasons for running.