At the recent winter board meeting, the AWWA Board of Directors chose Terry Rolan as president-elect. He will take office at the annual conference in San Francisco in June.
As the director of water management, Rolan oversees the water and wastewater utility for the city of Durham, N.C. He considers utilities the "heart and soul" of AWWA.
"[The election] is an opportunity to give back some of what AWWA has given me in experience, training, and information," he said.
Rolan strongly supports AWWA's quality improvement programs for utilities and is a team leader for QualServe peer reviews. He believes a utility's participation and commitment in quality improvement can be key in regaining the confidence of customers. "The use of these programs, coupled with the use of technology to provide more cost-effective training, should help our utilities become more competitive in the global marketplace," said Rolan.
"As I have traveled to section meetings, I was impressed with many personal stories about how members got involved in AWWA as a direct result of individuals who encouraged them to become active volunteers. Each of us must take the opportunity to encourage our young members to become actively involved in AWWA."
Rolan represented the North Carolina Section on the AWWA Board of Directors, chaired the Young Professionals Committee, served on the Administrative and Policy and the Water Utility councils, and has been a member of AWWA committees on membership, strategic planning, regulations, source water protection, surface water, dependable yield, sludge disposal, and residuals management, as well as a member of the Awwa Research Foundation Board of Trustees.
Rolan has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's in public health in environmental chemistry and biology. He also holds the highest level of certification in North Carolina for both water and wastewater plant operations.
Also elected at the board meeting were five vice-presidents:
* Steven Burns;
* Mari Garza-Bird;
* Nilaksh Kothari;
* Mike Leonard; and
* Janice Skadsen.
Bryan Jordan was elected director-at-large, and Christopher Jarrett was elected manufacturers'/associates' director-at-large.
Source: AWWA
