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Over 1,600 members, vendors and speakers contributed to the record-breaking 2006 Rural Water
Annual Conference held February 27 - March 2 at the Dixie Center in St. George, Utah. We had a great turnout
of Water and Wastewater Operators, Mayors and Elected Officials, Office Personnel and Small System
Employees from all across the State.
Here are some of the highlights...
Exhibit Hall
 We had a record number of exhibitors this year with 135 vendors filling 187 booth spaces full
of the latest in the products and services available to the water and wastewater systems of Utah.
Hopefully it proved beneficial to all involved. The exhibit hall had the same layout as the 2006 conference with the addition of some booths
in the Grand Concourse hallway to accomodate even more extraordinary vendors. Hopefully there was something in there for everyone.
Lost and Found
This year there was some supplies dropped off by the Dixie Center staff at the wrong booth during the Exhibit Hall breakdown. If any exhibitors are missing a tape measure, please contact Shannon (801-756-5123) for details on getting it back.
Training Sessions
Over 60 training sessions were offered this year in the areas of Water, Wastewater, Office
Personnel, Management, and Small Systems. There were also two different courses offered for Operator
 Certification - one in Water, and one in Wastewater. The training was
geared for small systems
and level
I, but testing was offered in all areas.
Seven simultaneous training sessions covering a wide variety of topics were held over the course
of the week, including human development sessions on Stress Management, Leadership, Risk Management, and Dealing with
Difficult People among the other more technical courses. Hopefully, everyone came away with something
useful to take back to their system.
Golf Scramble
  One hundred
fifty nine golfers swarmed the Sunbrook Golf Course Tuesday morning aiming for either the trophy or one
of the three $5,000 Hole-in-One prizes available. Threatning rain and winds the entire day didn't stop these avid golfers from
having a successful tournament of good golfing (well...sometimes), prizes, and fun!
This year's golf tournament winners were: Jeff Mendenhall, Kent Sundberg, Brian Maxfield, and Greg Packard.
Research and Education Drawing
This year RWAU brought back the dart throw for the Research and Education fundraising activity.
 There were 5 dartboards set up to test the participants
skill. The dart thrown decided the
number of tickets each participant received which they could then put in various buckets for prizes drawn at the
end of the conference. Prizes ranged from rifles and saddles to ipods and quilts. There was a prize in the pack to
suit anyone's tastes.
The money raised from this activity funds the 2 RWAU scholarships given to 2 well-deserving
students in pursuit of higher education and also the research and education efforts RWAU continually participates in.
Awards Banquet
Wednesday Night's Awards banquet was a night with great food, extraordinary entertainment, and recognition of
 Utah's finest. We also honored 19 Member Systems
and System Employees for a job well done. After the Award's Presentation, we enjoyed some fabulously
unique entertainment provided by "The Bar J Wranglers" -- a group of 5 men notorious for their preforming style from their ranch in Jackson
Hole, WY. The Bar J Wranglers have entertained the RWAU crowd before and were such a hit, a repeat performance was just what
the crowd needed. They delighted the crowd with good 'ol country songs and humor for just over an hour, leaving the crowd
on their feet having thoroughly enjoyed such an awesome performance.
Voting Membership Meeting
 Thursday's Voting Membership meeting went very
smoothly as the Rural Water voting members received
an update on the affairs of the Association, complete with a financial
report, committee reports, the
conducting of the Water Taste Test, election of a new Board Director, and the delivery of the scholarships.
The Taste Test received some state wide media as it was featured on
St. George's KCSG television news cast. It was also and highlighted in the Deseret News. The best tasting water finalists were:
3rd Place: Genola City
2nd Place: Oakley City
1st Place: North Emery Water Users SSD
North Emery Water Users SSD's representatives will accompany RWAU's Legislative representatives back to Washington DC for the
National Rural Water Association's (NRWA) Water Rally. North Emery Water Users SSD will represent
Utah in the National Taste Test. The NRWA Water Rally is April 29 - May 2, 2007.
This year's Scholarships were awarded to Shaun Marie Cornwall of Riverside North Garland and Shad Webb of Blanding. The
RWAU Voting membership also re-elected 5 directors by acclamation and Ken Orton (Region 2) to the RWAU Board of Directors
in this year's election.
Partner's Program
The Partner's Program bus tour this year took us  to the Valley of Fire. We marveled at the colorful sandstone
formations accenting the otherwise bleak Mojave Desert and took in the sights at the Lost City Museum. Tour Guide Brenda
of Colorland Tours gave us a complete history of the surrounding area and kept us informed on little-known facts on just
about everything! Bus Driver Bob coped as well as he could with a bus filled with women, although we did have a few menfolk
along to even out the odds a bit. The pleasant weather even allowed us to enjoy our box lunch picnic outside in the sunshine.
Friday brought another treat as the Partner's Program featured a make-and-take workshop given by Karen Fleming of Blanding.
Each participant assembled and painted a cute wooden Easter egg door hanger. Door prizes geared more toward the interests of those
involved were drawn following
the craft activity, and a delightful time was had by all who participated.
Thanks to everyone for the great conference!
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