Dick Blake, formerly of The Metro Group, received the prestigious Ray Baum Memorial Water Technologist of the Year Award during the Association of Water Technologies’ 2003 Water Technologies Convention and Exposition in Phoenix, Ariz., on Sept. 19th.
The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurial spirit and contributions to the field of water treatment and particularly for service to the AWT and its members. Blake has been a long-time friend of AWT through his activity with the education and certification committee and serving on the board of directors. His tireless efforts and work led to the development of the water treatment industry’s first independent certification program, the Certified Water Technologist.
Blake spent 37 years with The Metro Group before his retirement in 2000. Prior to that, he worked for Union Carbide before joining the army.
During his distinguished career, Blake authored numerous papers and articles on the subject of water treatment and made multiple presentations at not only the AWT Convention, but related trade organization’s meetings as well. His work, "Water Treatment for HVAC and Potable Water Systems" was published by McGraw Hill in 1980 and "Handbook on HVAC Design" was published in 1990.
Blake, prior to his retirement, held membership in several professional organizations and certification from the American Institute of Chemists, The National Association of Corrosion Engineers and AWT.
Past recipients of this award include: D.C. "Chuck" Brandvold, Robert R. Cavano, Ronald Knestaut, Dennis Clayton, E.J. Caruso, John J. Baum, Jessie Jefferies, Brent Chettle, Dr. Janet E. Stout, Dr. Arthur J. Freedman, Dr. Bennett P. Boffardi and Dr. Zahid Amjad.
Source: Association of Water Technologies
