AWWA Selects Koontz as President-Elect

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) board of directors elected Gene Koontz, of Lemoyne, Penn., as the association’s next president-elect and chose five new vice presidents and two directors-at-large.

An AWWA member since 1982, Koontz oversees environmental services for Gannett Fleming Inc., a global infrastructure firm that provides planning, design, technology and construction management services for a diverse range of markets and disciplines. He has served as an active volunteer and leader within the AWWA Pennsylvania Section, as well as on the broader Association level.

Koontz begins his role as president-elect in June 2014, at the conclusion of AWWA’s annual Conference and Exposition in Boston. He will serve his one-year presidential term beginning in June 2015.

A civil engineering graduate from Lehigh University, Koontz has held many leadership positions within the Pennsylvania Section, including Section Chair, Chair of the Water Quality Committee, member of the Water Utility Council, and Chair of the Program Committee. On a broader level, he has served on three separate Water Research Foundation project advisory committees.

The five new vice presidents selected by the Board are: Brenda Lennox, a Pacific Northwest Section director from Tualatin Valley Water District; Tom Moulton, a former board member of the Ontario Water Works Association, who is profit center manager for Emco Corporation Waterworks; Warner Palermo, director of technical services at Integrated Global Solutions in Puerto Rico; Lela Perkins, Rocky Mountain Section director from Colorado, who works as engineering manager at Black & Veatch; and Steve Shoaf, North Carolina Section director, who is also director of the City of Asheville Water Resources Department.

Also elected were a director-at-large and a service provider director-at-large. The director-at-large is Uma Vempati from the Minnesota Section, a principal engineer with Brown and Caldwell. The service provider director-at-large is Pete Samson from the Ontario Water Works Association. Samson is team leader and system integrator with Eramosa Engineering Inc. in Guelph, Ontario.