WQA announces leadership award winners

LISLE Il— In a new spin on an old tradition, the Water Quality Association honored 16 award winners last week during its Virtual Annual Meeting, an online event held in the wake of the canceled 2020 WQA Convention and Exposition. Among the online event’s highlights were WQA’s Lifetime Member and Hall of Fame awards, along with the Excellence award, created in 2018 to single out member companies that have excelled in their operations, innovation, customer service or community involvement.
The prestigious 2020 Hall of Fame award went to Peter S. Cartwright, PE, MWS, of Cartwright Consulting, an engineering consulting company he founded in 1980. Cartwright, of Minneapolis, MN, is a longtime member of WQA who has served on several WQA committees and task forces and has presented at WQA conferences and conventions for many years.
WQA’s Lifetime Member Award went to Richard A. Mest of Pottstown, PA, president of Master Water Conditioning Corporation. Mest served as WQA President in 2013-14 and is now Vice President of the Water Quality Research Foundation board. He is an avid educator and author and a member of the WQA Federal Government Affairs Committee.
This was only the second time that WQA has awarded the Excellence Award, and winners were named in two categories. Dealer Best Water Solutions of Gainesville, FL, was honored for two projects: the donation, installation and maintenance of reverse osmosis drinking water solutions for the local Ronald McDonald House, and their annual donation and installation of a water treatment system at a house built by the local community college as part of Habitat for Humanity. Manufacturer-Supplier-Retailer member May Supply Company of Harisonburg, Va., was honored for starting a community outreach program, Water for Hope, designed to allow families of young children undergoing cancer treatment bring the children home to recuperate.
Other leadership awards:

• Edward P. “Ted” Jones, MWS, of Carmichael, CA, was winner of the Key Award, which honors a member who demonstrates the highest quality of leadership within his company, industry and various associations, including local civic and community activities. Jones is Vice President of North American Dealer sales for Kintetico, Inc.
• The Ray Cross Award, recognizing a WQA member whose pioneer spirit and unwavering commitment has made a notable difference in the water treatment industry, was presented to Darwin “Buzz” Goldstein, MWS, of Elgin, IL. Goldstein, a member of the WQA Board of Directors, is General Manager of Charger Water Treatment Products.
• Shannon Murphy of Temecula, CA., was honored with the Regents Award, presented to someone who has made a significant contribution at the state or local level. Murphy, the Vice President, Business Development & Compliance, at TST Water/Aquamor, worked with a number of state and regulatory bodies to author decentralized rules and guidelines now used by states to implement, run and verity compliance through decentralized water treatment systems.
• The Award of Merit, in recognition of exceptional service to the water quality improvement industry, went to Rebecca M. Tallon of Milwaukee, WI. Tallon is Director of Water Treatment Technologies at A.O. Smith and has served on numerous WQA, NSF and ASPE committees and task forces, including serving as Chair of the WQA Water Sciences Committee.
• The International Award of Merit, in recognition of exceptional service to the industry internationally, was awarded to Anthony D. Oosterveld of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Oosterveld, Vertical Marketing manager for residential and light commercial systems for Viqua – A Trojan Technologies Business, has worked closely with regulatory bodies in the adoption of ultraviolet technology within small and remote public drinking water systems.
• France Lemieux, Head of the Materials and Treatment Section at Health Canada, was honored with WQA’s Honorary Membership Award, given to someone outside the water treatment industry for meritorious research, education or exemplary service. She is a member of various U.S. and Canadian committees on health-based standards for drinking water, treatment units and plumbing standards.
• The Next Gen award, given to individuals 40 or younger who have demonstrated a commitment to the betterment of the water treatment industry, went to three industry stars this year.
• • R.J. Easton of Wheeling, IL, Director of Marketing and Business Development at the U.S. Water Culligan Group, a second-generation family Culligan franchise with 21 locations.
  • Ashley Green of Chandler, AZ, General Manager of All About Water, a full-service plumbing company that specializes in water treatment.
  • Ryan Sowa, CWS, Vice President of Great Lakes International of Yorkville, WI, who serves on the Water Quality Association of Wisconsin’s board of directors.

WQA also honored three members with Presidents’ Club memberships for recruiting at least three new WQA members in the last year:

• Roy Esparza, MWS, CI, CWR, Business Development Manager of Puronics Water Systems Inc.
• Doug Haring, MWS, CI, CWR, Regional Sales Manager/Techical Training for Clack Corporation.
• Greg Reyneke, MWS, Managing Director of Red Fox Advisors

More details about the awards and the honorees can be found in the Program Guide, printed in advance of the canceled convention and now available online. You can also watch a recording of the Virtual Annual meeting, which includes the award presentations and remarks from Mest and Cartwright, at wqa.org.convention.
WQA is a not-for-profit trade association representing the residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment industry. WQA’s education and professional certification programs have been providing industry-standardized training and credentialing since 1977. The WQA Gold Seal certification program has been certifying products that contribute to the safe consumption of water since 1959. The WQA Gold Seal program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).