November 2003 Message from the President

by Don Ward



As the middle of my term as the TxSWANA Chapter President has come around I have noticed one continuous thread throughout and that thread is "change".  I have experienced changes in my career, seen changes in my family as my children grow and changes in our TxSWANA Chapter.  There are many reactions to change as one might expect but as we all know change is inevitable and we must adjust.

As a Chapter, we have seen changes occur on the Board Directorship as some Directors have retired from their careers to enjoy the benefits of retirement.  We have seen changes in our membership statewide with different Cities/members experiencing budget shortfalls thus reducing their participation in TxSWANA.  We have seen significant changes in our great state's regulatory entity from staffing to a name change (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality).  And most importantly we have seen changes around the world that have impacted our daily life.
As these changes happen we all must make our own decisions on how to deal with them.  As your Chapter President I would like to address the changes related to TxSWANA, the industry and your particular interest in the solid waste industry.

First TxSWANA will always try to represent its members in the most professional manner possible.  TxSWANA will strive to provide the most up to date technical information to its members, attempt to keep up with all the legislative changes that occur and make sure the membership is kept informed and also provide the highest quality of special events for the membership from the Annual Conference, Road-E-O and regional meetings.

Second the Board Directorship will continue to work together in assisting its members in solving regulatory issues and attempt to provide whatever the services that the TxSWANA membership requests.

And finally, the TxSWANA membership as a whole should try to assist all of their respective constituents in helping address some of the critical changes that occur nationally or globally.  As a member of TxSWANA, I welcome your participation to recognize to the changes and work to make them benefit our organization, your work group and your family.  I look forward to the remainder of my term with excitement knowing that TxSWANA will continue to grow and hopefully the membership will share in this growth.