Las Vegas Welcomes NASSCO Members

NASSCO’s 2012 Annual Meeting, held Feb. 15-18 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, was by far the biggest and best gathering of NASSCO members ever. Its record-breaking attendance included 101 NASSCO members in good standing, with 13 of those individuals being new to NASSCO.

The annual gathering, designed to further NASSCO’s mission to set industry standards for the assessment and rehabilitation of underground pipelines and to assure the continued acceptance and growth of trenchless technologies, provides an opportunity for industry experts to network, participate in a variety of committees, and learn the latest and greatest about trenchless technologies and methods.

The three-day event kicked off with a welcome reception on Wednesday night, which allowed members to catch up with old friends and meet new members before the general session and technical meetings.

Thursday was an intensive day that recapped the accomplishments of 2011 and included discussions about strategic goals for 2012. Reports were made by the various committee chairpersons, with division updates being made by ICGA (Infiltration Control Grouting Association) and IPBA (International Pipe Bursting Association). The General Meeting was followed by an afternoon jam-packed with committee meetings and opportunities for members to become even more engaged with NASSCO.

Education and technical updates continued Friday morning, with sessions on chemical grout specifications, design of CIPP, inspector training for manholes, fiber-optic sensors for CIPP temperature control, pipe joint leak detection during dry weather, large diameter multi-function inspection equipment and an update on the Registry of Carcinogens as it applies to styrene.

With the serious nature of the Annual Meeting concluded, the members joined together for a relaxing evening of networking and friendship for the awards banquet on Friday night. During this time the 2012 Board of Directors was introduced, Gerry Muenchmeyer was inducted into the Sanitary Sewer Sleuth Society and the 2012 Jeffrey D. Ralston scholarship recipients were announced. This year, NASSCO awarded two scholarships: Kenneth McLarin from Louisiana Tech University and Smith Sanabria from the University of Maryland – College Park were both honored with scholarships to further their educational careers in trenchless technologies.

NASSCO’s annual meeting was wrapped up on Saturday with a modified shotgun golf tournament held at Rio Secco Golf Club, and members are planning now for the 2013 annual meeting in Southern Florida, slated for Feb. 13-16.