Some folks overcome obstacles to make their annual trip to the Pumper & Cleaner Expo. Norton Williams is a great example of a pumping professional dedicated to attending the Expo and making the most of the educational and product research opportunities it presents, even when circumstances make it difficult.
I met Williams at the Expo in 2005. He was taking in an Education Day seminar and I recall sidling up to him to strike up a conversation.
This was Nashville in February and there was a dusting of snow on the ground and wind chills nipping below 20 degrees, not a great weather day in the mid-South. There sat Williams, alone in the corner of the big seminar room, huddled in a warm jacket and wearing a stocking cap, looking like he couldn’t get warm.
Williams greeted me with a bright smile and a gentle voice with a Caribbean accent. I soon learned that he came from the tourist destination of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he operates When You Gotta Go Sewage Disposal in the city of Kingshill. That explains the winter coat, I remarked.
Williams was attending his first Expo to shop for 10 portable restrooms to add to his modest septic pumping business on the island. Information gleaned from the Education Day seminars and the immense scope of the pumping industry energized him to go back to the tropical paradise and build up the business.
In the ensuing years, I’ve seen Williams in passing at the Expo. Literally in passing, both of us hurriedly moving from one booth to another in a hopeless effort to see everything offered by vendors. We acknowledged each other, but didn’t always stop to exchange greetings.
This year, we fortuitously landed at the PolyPortables Inc. exhibit at the same time, both looking to Henry Davis to explain the features and benefits of a new shower unit. Just like in 2005, Williams remained serious about learning anything and everything related to the industry, and made a point to express how important it was for him to attend the Expo each year.
“If you’re serious about what you do, if you have a passion for this business, you’ll be here. As long as I have the health, the strength and the finances to come, I’ll be here,’’ he told Davis and me.
Williams is not just blowing smoke. He explained that 2008 was a rough year, capped off by losing his wife in October. But he said their daughters are at home to support him, and he pushed himself to attend the Expo despite the terrible loss.
“She would have wanted me to continue coming here to make our business better,’’ he said. “Life goes on and God has a better plan. I’m taking it one day at a time.’’
Part of what buoys Williams’ spirits are the people he’s met at the Expo, colleagues from across the country who are becoming lifelong friends. Just like they have supported Williams with advice over the years, he believes it’s his duty to help the newcomers he meets on the show floor.
“I offer as much advice, help or knowledge as I can to people who want to get into (the industry),’’ he said. “Every year I meet people buying their first portable restrooms, coming here for the first time. The first thing I ask them is, are you passionate about this? If you’re not passionate about it, you’re going to lose your money. You’re going to waste your money.’’
We wouldn’t question Williams’ passion for the industry.
SEEING OLD FRIENDS
Norton Williams is one of a cast of thousands of participants who make the Pumper & Cleaner Expo a great place for me to learn and grow in the industry. It’s an honor and a privilege for me to walk the exhibit floor with you and present a glimpse of the show to readers who couldn’t make the trip to Louisville, Ky., this year.
If you took the time to share your thoughts with me at the Expo, I’d like to offer my thanks. I enjoyed meeting many of you at the Education Day seminar track coordinated by the National Association of Wastewater Transporters … especially all of you nice folks from Michigan who flocked to the seminars to learn about disposal options.
In Michigan, and many other regions across the country, alternatives to septage land application and rising dumping fees at municipal treatment plants continue to be growing concerns. And so is the handling of grease trap waste, which treatment plants often shy away from taking and so many entrepreneurs are looking for profitable ways to recycle. NAWT should be commended for exploring these pressing issues throughout Education Day.
The poignant story of one pumping family’s tragedy unfolded at the NAWT membership meeting at the Expo. The sad story of New Mexico pumper Rocky Horton, who died while volunteering his plumbing skills to an elderly friend, is told in a recap of the NAWT event in this issue of Pumper. Horton was posthumously honored with the industry’s Ralph Macchio Lifetime Achievement Award.
MAKE PLANS FOR 30
If you didn’t make it to the 2009 Expo, I’d like to make a pitch for you to think about Louisville in 2010, which will mark the 30th annual Pumper & Cleaner Expo.
At this year’s show, so many people told me they weren’t going to let an uncertain economy keep them from making the trip to the Kentucky Exposition Center to see new products and network with friends. A few can-do contractors told me they were refusing to participate in the recession and looking for new and innovative ways to diversify their businesses in the coming year.
These attendees counted the number of Expos they attended over the years, some missing only one or a handful. They’ll be back next year. How about you?
