News2009 Symposium
Seattle Bound
Hello again from the President’s office of AALSO. It has been a hectic few weeks since our last gathering in Baltimore and your Board and I have been very busy organizing our 2009 Symposium. We are pleased to announce that our next Symposium will be hosted by the Seattle Aquarium on the waterfront of Seattle. We will be in the beautiful city of Seattle in the spring of 2009 from April 19th through the 22nd. Our home for this great experience will be the Downtown Sheraton hotel and our seminars will be held in the Seattle Convention Center directly across the street from our hotel. We will be finalizing the details of the event in two weeks and opening registration for both operators and vendors by the end of July. This will enable everyone to plan for your event in 2009.
I for one was extremely pleased with our Symposium in Baltimore this past spring. The schedule of events, host facility and presenters were one of our best line-ups ever. I came away from that event with not only great contacts and information about our industry but I came away with something else. I left there with a little more confidence in my ability to challenge standard methods of operation. While I have always had this idea, I have been known to challenge a few issues in my time, it was seeing and hearing our three very talented and educated presenters discuss their approaches to denitrification that rekindled the flame. I learned you just need to approach your issues with an open mind, a willingness to challenge preconceived methods and a desire to persevere. It is always important to understand where you started and what you are trying to accomplish but using the three ideals mentioned above you will achieve success. Hopefully all of you took a little bit of this with you as well.
Well get ready to do it all again, your AALSO Board is planning another great event for Seattle. Our theme for your 2009 event is going to be Water Chemistry and we are rounding up some great presenters to challenge your beliefs and open your mind. This year’s agenda will have a few experts presenting on algae control methods and algae research. We will also be doing some follow-up seminars on pump cavitation, pump seal issues, and filtration basics and problem solving to name a few. We will be following a similar format to the Baltimore Symposium with several presentations and then open forum discussions. I found this style very appealing and informative and I hope you did as well. A complete agenda will be posted as soon as possible but look for the major topic outlines in early August.
So start laying the ground work to attend another great Symposium in Seattle. I know you will have a great educational experience and come away with some valuable tools and information that will enhance your facility’s operations. In these trying financial times it is important to make wise and efficient decisions for your facility and one of the easiest ways to do that is by being informed. That is what you will be when you attend our Symposium in Seattle. You will be informed by our presenters, our attendees, our vendors and your fellow operators. If you are willing to get involved at the Symposium then you will leave an informed and wiser operator.
I look forward to seeing all of you in Seattle and thanks for your support of AALSO.
George Tenhagen P.E.
