AWWA Directors Select Koontz As President-Elect

The American Water Works Association Board of Directors elected Gene Koontz of Lemoyne, Penn., as the association’s next president-elect and chose five new vice presidents and two directors-at-large.

An AWWA member since 1982, Koontz oversees environmental services for Gannett Fleming Inc., a global infrastructure firm that provides planning, design, technology, and construction management services for a diverse range of markets and disciplines.  He has served as an active volunteer and leader within the AWWA Pennsylvania Section as well as on the broader Association level.

Koontz begins his role as president-elect in June 2014, at the conclusion of AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition in Boston, Mass. He will serve his one-year presidential term beginning in June of 2015.

A civil engineering graduate from Lehigh University, Koontz has held many leadership positions within the Pennsylvania Section, including Section Chair, Chair of the Water Quality Committee, member of the Water Utility Council, and Chair of the Program Committee.  On a broader level, he has served on three separate Water Research Foundation project advisory committees.

The five new vice presidents selected by the Board are:

• Brenda Lennox, a Pacific Northwest Section director from Tualatin Valley Water District. She currently serves on the Management & Leadership Division, Standing Committee on Diversity & Member Inclusion and Heroism Award Committee.
• Tom Moulton, a former board member of the Ontario Water Works Association, who is profit centre manager for Emco Corporation Waterworks. Previously, he was involved in the section Membership, Publication and Communications committees.
• Warner Palermo, director of technical services at Integrated Global Solutions in Puerto Rico. He has served for more than 10 years at the section board level and in many different leadership positions.
• Lela Perkins, Rocky Mountain Section director from Colorado, who works as engineering manager at Black & Veatch. She has served as section chair, vice chair, trustee, Warner Scholarship chair and Communications Committee chair, among other positions.
• Steve Shoaf, North Carolina Section director, who is also director of the City of Asheville Water Resources Department. Shoaf has been a leader in the section for more than 20 years with a special focus on operator training.

Also elected were a director-at-large and a service provider director-at-large.

The director-at-large is Uma Vempati from the Minnesota Section, a principal engineer with Brown and Caldwell. At the section, he has served as secretary/treasurer, assistant section secretary and a member of various section committees.

The service provider director-at-large is Pete Samson from the Ontario Water Works Association. Samson is team leader and system integrator with Eramosa Engineering Inc. in Guelph, Ontario. At the section, he has served on many committees, including the Young Professionals Committee, the Website Ad-Hoc, and the Young Professionals Student Chapter Leadership Forum.

About The American Water Works Association
Established in 1881, the American Water Works Association is the largest nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water, the world’s most important resource. With approximately 50,000 members, AWWA provides solutions to improve public health, protect the environment, strengthen the economy and enhance our quality of life.