Vacuum truck training course

The National Association of Wastewater Technicians conducted a vacuum truck training course at the 2016 WWETT Show in Indianapolis. At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to recognize trucks and their associated equipment, understand the equipment’s function, understand the vocabulary of pumping, how to apply safety principles, how to operate the equipment safely, recognize materials they will encounter and some they may have to avoid, recognize how their job is regulated by government, and how to speak to customers with confidence. The course was conducted by Bruce Fox. A remarkable 328 attendees participated in the educational session.

NAWT Educational Day sessions

Along with the vacuum truck training course, NAWT also participated in Educational Day at the WWETT Show. The first two sessions were presented by Tom Cianci of Alderon Industries. His first session was on the basic operation of electrical panels and was attended by 110 individuals. His second presentation was on using the information available from the panels to troubleshoot systems and was attended by 130 people.

The third session was presented by Claude Goguen of the National Precast Concrete Association, covering what to look for when inspecting concrete tanks. It was attended by 190 people.

The fourth session was presented by Bob Wright, of Alles Taylor & Duke, consisting of an exercise on troubleshooting septic systems. This session was attended by 239 people.

The fifth session was presented by Frank Parker, of Parker Wastewater Consulting, covering the basics of inspecting drip systems. It was attended by 151 people.

The final session of the day was an “ask the experts’’ panel discussion, which was presented by all of the speakers of the day and was attended by 35 people.

2016 NAWT Hapchuck Memorial Scholarship

A number of applications were submitted for the 2016 NAWT Hapchuck Memorial Scholarship. The assignment was to either build a short story about a homeowner meeting with a septic professional to discuss why his system is not working properly as indicated by a floating manhole rise. The story needed to explain why the system may have gotten that way and what will need to be done to fix it. The other option was to create a short video or cartoon that could serve as a public service announcement directed at homeowners on how to avoid having this problem.

This year’s scholarship recipient was Jeb Von Crissman. Jeb is an undergraduate currently attending North Carolina State University majoring in business and finance. NAWT was proud to announce Jeb as the winner of the coveted Hapchuck scholarship. The ceremony was held at the State Association Breakfast at the WWETT Show.

2016 Ralph Macchio Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

Each year, COLE Publishing presents a worthy candidate with the Ralph Macchio Lifetime Achievement Award, considered the major annual award in the liquid waste industry. The award was presented at NAWT’s Association Breakfast Meeting at the WWETT Show. The award was presented by COLE Publishing founder Bob Kendall.

This year’s recipient was Hank Vanderveen. He is Amthor International’s National Vacuum Tank product manager. He has been in the industry for more than 45 years and has seen many advancements in the business. When Hank began working in the industry in the 1970s, vacuum truck technology was not dependable. Today, vacuum tanks are lighter, carry bigger payloads and are reliable. Hank has seen vacuum tanks grow from 1,600-gallon capacity to today’s typical 4,000-gallon capacity.

Hank has been with Amthor International since 2007. He says his keys to a successful career include educating the customer, providing the customer with products that fit their business and plans, and building relationships based on trust and confidence.

“Building sound relationships takes time,” Hank said. “But the relationships I have built over the years have lasted a long time and this is an important key to success.” Hank added that the years working for Amthor International have been his best working years.  

For more information on everything NAWT, visit our website (www.nawt.org) for additional details.