Dear Fellow APWA Chapter Members:

Welcome, my name is Bill Gray; I was recently elected president of the Illinois Chapter of APWA.  It is an honor and pleasure to serve all of you.  As I look ahead the next two years I would like to build upon the strengths of the Illinois Chapter.  This includes supporting the annual May conference in Peoria, continued publishing of the membership directory, retain and reach out to expand our membership, promote the best personal development training of public works officials available anywhere - the Illinois Public Service Institute held in Effingham in October.  Lastly, I will continue to foster relations with the Chicago Metro Chapter and seek opportunities to partner with them especially as they prepare to host the 2013 Congress in Chicago.

There are two areas of interest that I encourage this Chapter stepping up to support.  The first is becoming part of the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN).  IPWMAN is planned to become a resource where communities that suffer from a natural or man-made disaster can seek help from fellow public works, water, and wastewater agencies to mitigate an incident.  IPWMAN will have an agreement that will stipulate the procedures and responsibilities of the receiving and providing agencies.  Membership is completely voluntary.  There is strength in numbers and when an agency is overwhelmed due to a catastrophe, and we have seen or experienced them, such aid is invaluable.  Look for more details about IPWMAN at the Annual Conference on April 30 and May 1, 2009.

The second area of interest is promoting sustainability.  Sustainability is an attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future.  In many ways we as stewards of community's infrastructure abide by this principle.  However, it is more important than ever that we learn from each other and seek out ways to incorporate sustainable practices in all areas of our duties and responsibilities.  I would encourage branches to consider topics that talk about where good sustainable programs are practiced.  Perhaps the 2009 Annual Conference could support an entire track on sustainable practices in public works.

We all thank our advertisers who have provided financial support for this directory and other Chapter activities.  Please review our advertisers and feel free to contact them for goods and services your community may need.  Also we give thanks to R & B Productions for putting this directory together.

In closing, I look forward to seeing and meeting all of you.  If you have any ideas that can make this chapter stronger and serve your needs better, please let me know.

Sincerely,

William R. Gray, P.E.