APWA Florida Chapter 2009 Meeting & Trade Show
This past week I provided coverage for the APWA Florida Chapter, a group near and dear to my heart. For those of you who aren’t familiar with APWA, it stands for the American Public Works Association and is home to hard-working, fun-loving public works folks. I became involved with the group about two years ago when I attended my first Gold Coast APWA branch meeting. I was running on three hours of sleep, about to flop over from exhaustion, and (sad to say) begrudgingly stepped in the door. Immediately everyone introduced me around… even bought me some raffle tickets (which I won 3 times with!!). I left having experienced one of the most unexpected and happy nights. Since then they have looked after me and supported me as family.
Anyway, rarely do these folks get mentioned by the public. Most people aren’t even sure what exactly their city or county public works department does. Believe me, these guys do more than I can easily mention here. They are looking out for us all and help our daily lives run as smoothly as they do. Long story short, it was my privilege to document the State Meeting & Trade Show and now get to share it with you all.
Jeff and Wayne running registrigation with the usual smiles and mischief…
Cheech welcomed the first timers in the newcomer’s session.
The opening session lunch started with the color guard presenting the flag. It was extremely special to all the members for two reasons. First, the color guard’s funding was cut unexpectedly for the event and out of their good word and hearts, they still showed. Secondly, they paid a tribute with a half mast flag to Tony Meffin, a close friend to many and longtime member of APWA. Here they are, heads bowed, in tribute.
Our inspiring Keynote Speaker, Jerry Way, who flew all the way from Sacramento to share how he made it through tough budget cuts in California much like Florida is facing today.
One of the most memorable parts of Jerry’s speech, other than his optimism, was his mention of the “Dash Poem”. He talked about the dash between the start and end dates of our lives, how it means so much and that it is everything in that dash that distinguishes us all. (Jerry tells it much better than I do!) The photo below is a slide from Jerry’s presentation… this dash happens to be his father’s life.
Quite a bit more happened the first day with some wonderful technical sessions organized by Frank Van Pelt, but if I keep up this level of details, I’ll have a novel. So…. I’m changing gears to show you highlights from the rest of the week.
The rodeo was one of my favorite parts – the events use public works equipment and just have fun using the equipment. Here’s a picture of vacuball, using the truck you pick up basketballs and try to make baskets.
There are so many more to share and there’s no way to fit them all, so I’ll leave you with Russell’s enthusiasm.
Make sure to check out the rest of the photos in the Client Access section!
