Valuing Scholarships and the Vendor Community

Originally printed in the Fall 2016 issue of NC Currents magazine.

By Mick Heavener

The water and environmental industry has long been a provider of steady employment for a
diverse cross-section of many disciplines and water professionals. These include positions such as public officials from boards and commissions, to utility directors, plant managers, operators, and maintenance personnel. In the private= sector, employees of engineering firms, construction contractors, manufacturing companies as well as their local representative organizations, and the private operation companies can derive all or most of their livelihood from the water, wastewater, and environmental market place.

When the economy turns down and business slows for private concerns in markets such as housing and automotive, the water and environmental industry remains relatively steady, and is a much less volatile market sector. People must have safe water to exist, and wastewater services to maintain a healthy environment and decent quality of life. These basic essentials have become more sophisticated and complex over the years, and have served to keep the water industry in the forefront with opportunities for long-term employment and career advancement.

The mission to endow safe water scholarships for individuals pursuing careers in the water and environmental industry is, therefore, a strategic imperative toward growing and sustaining highly qualified people needed for a sophisticated and complex public and private water industry.

The vendor community is a necessary, and very important, subset of the various market place entities.Vendors provide materials, treatment equipment, chemicals, pumps, pipe, valves and all other items that keep water and wastewater treatment, distribution and collection systems operating on a 24/7 basis. This vendor subset serves to expand the employment opportunities and therefore the need for scholarship programs to help students with a desire for engineering, science and marketing educations. There will always be a critical need for the water industry to continue to attract the best and brightest students and graduates.

As part of this vendor community, manufacturer’s representative organizations offer unique opportunities for young, energetic individuals to establish relationships with all of the water market segments, and entities. Representative firms must maintain relationships on a local basis with all of these public and private companies and their key personnel, as well as with numerous manufacturing firms nationwide, and sometimes worldwide. The process of bringing manufactured products to the water industry can be as simple as direct one-on-one sales. It can also be as complex as planning, design, bid, construction and equipment installation for large-scale public capital improvement projects.

The functions and roles required for these vendor opportunities can be performed by individuals from all walks of life and with all levels of education and work experience. The key element is a strong desire to put the customers first and assist them in meeting their water and wastewater treatment and transportation needs. These firms provide opportunities for outside technical sales people, application engineers, project managers, inside sales and administrative personnel. The backgrounds and educational experiences of these employees are varied and flexible. In summary, the vendor community provides a necessary and very diverse, exciting, and challenging career for water and environmental professionals.

The NC AWWA-WEA Endowment Committee is striving to build an attractive sustainable financial source for numerous scholarships in the water and environmental industry. These awards will assist in the education of students in North Carolina on an annual basis. Funding is growing each year as the public becomes more aware of these educational opportunities. To learn more about the safe water endowment program, please visit the website at www.safewater.org/endowment or contact any Endowment Committee member.