The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
[Music] foreign [Music]
Nation are you looking for a way to become an asse certified Legionella
water safety and management specialist well if you’re thinking about getting that certification a class that you
should consider is special pathogens laboratory asse 12080 Preparatory course
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more go to scalinguph2o.com forward slash special once again that’s scalingup h2o.com forward slash special
foreign up H2O the podcast where we scale up on
knowledge so we don’t scale up our systems my name is Trace Blackmore and I am here at the beginning of December
hoping you guys are having a good wrap up to quarter four quarter four how the
heck did that happen it seems like we were just on lockdown it was just 2020.
we were trying to figure out how to deal with a pandemic and now all of a sudden we’re getting ready to say goodbye to
2022. I don’t know where the time goes but I will say it has been amazing
trying to figure out a new economy a new world a new normal all of those things
with the scaling up nation of course we don’t have to do life alone the fact
that we are all together we’re trying to figure out what it is that we all need how we can help each other that is
tremendous and it doesn’t just stop here in the United States where I’m from we
have listeners all over the globe in fact we had the most growth this quarter
in Germany so I don’t know what’s going on in Germany but thank you so much for
all the listeners over there that are tuning in to scaling up H2O just
tremendous growth over there and we have been posted in the top three percent of
all podcasts out there simply amazing I want to thank everybody in the scaling
up Nation for allowing that to happen for making that happen you are the ones
that are consuming the content and sharing it with other people out there so thank you for that one of the
comments that I get all the time is thank you for sharing what’s going on in our industry so I want to go ahead and
mention a few things that are going on in our industry and by the way if you ever miss any of these you can go to our
events page at scalinguph2o.com and we will have everything that I mentioned
for you and it is in a format that is very easy to find and you can even click
straight through to the event and you can also make a calendar invite straight
into your calendar so you can get everything done at that One Stop Shop so
the first thing we’re going to talk about is the Asia Pacific Smart Water Utilities conference that’s going to be in Singapore December 14th through 15th
so if you are in the global Water community and you want to learn more about this conference we’ll have all of
that at scalingup h2o.com at our events page also one of my favorite
organizations Bulma I was very active in Bulma in our hometown and Boma is just a
great organization that stands for building owners and Managers Association they’re having their winter 2023 meeting
January 20th through 23rd in Scottsdale Arizona well if you’re going to have a
winter meeting why not have it in Scottsdale Arizona so this is where
people can get together they can Network they can get involved they can participate in discussions and emerging
Trends and learn about all things best practices and the commercial real estate
Arena so we’ll have information for that all on our events section of our webpage
and then also one of my favorite events now this is truly my number one favorite
event twice a year I get to go to wherever the awt is having their
Technical Training I’m one of the trainers there I get to meet so many of you out there in the scaling up Nation
so we’ve got two opportunities to do that coming up in 2023 we have the San
Diego version which is February 21st through 24th and then we have the
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania version which is March 29th through April 1st so if you
go to our events page at scalinguph2o.com we will have all the information so you can click through and
find what you need to find about all of these events that I mentioned and yes even put an invite in your own calendar
without leaving that page Nation today is going to be a fun show
because one of the organizations that I have personally committed to for over 20
years of my life is the association of water Technologies I had the privilege
of being president of that organization as I mentioned earlier I am one of the trainers and I work at one of the
Committees to get the technical training going each and every year I am crazy
about the awt I’ve met so many wonderful people at the association of water
Technologies and of course one of the things that the awt does each and every year is they have a convention to
Showcase all the things that are going on in the water treatment world around the water treatment that I practice and
we listen to papers we hear expert speakers but we also get one place where
pretty much every vendor every supplier that we will ever come in contact contact with is Under One Roof and we
get to talk with them see what new wears they have and talk with them about solutions to possible issues that we are
having in the field well we did this just a few months ago in Vancouver
British Columbia we were in Canada and folks it was beautiful several years ago
my family and I took an Alaskan cruise and we actually left out of the same port that our hotel for awt was attached
to it was so much cooler that we were able to walk around and see so much more of that City such a beautiful city one
of the best walking cities I think on the planet so many miles of trails to
hike we truly enjoyed ourselves and of course that’s not to mention how awesome
the awt convention was so I want to share a few things about the awt
convention on this show today about some of the things if you weren’t able to go some of the things that you
might have missed and of course it’s not just going to be me that is talking
about what’s going on at awt I brought my recorder and I walked around the
exhibit hall to see what other people were saying about the awt and the
convention itself so I hope you enjoy today’s episode where you’re coming with
me to Vancouver where we’re walking through awt
I’m here with president-elect Steve howier getting ready to take the office
just hours from now Steve how are you enjoying the convention I’m I’m having a
great time it’s been a pleasantly surprised that it’s it’s been good of a turnout uh I think everyone’s pretty
excited about the activity and the and the traffic and I’d say it was it’s definitely it’s been a challenge but
it’s a success what’s definitely been beautiful we could not have asked for a better landscape you know we saw cruise
ships this week they docked just feet from where we were meeting so I I it’s
just fantastic Vancouver is a beautiful city but I’m curious president next year what are some of the things that the
listeners of the scaling up H2O podcast should expect from awt well we’re concentrating a lot on our training so
we’re we’re gonna have basically two courses offered one’s going to be in Pittsburgh the other is going to be in San Diego so we’re looking forward to
that we’re looking forward to a phenomenal convention next year in Grand Rapids I think we’re going to get a hit
a home run because historically that has been a great venue it’s a beautiful city and the last time we were there I
believe it was about five years ago we broke the record for the number of attendees so we’re really looking forward to that as you may be aware or
may not be aware we had a bylaws vote and both motions were passed so we’ve
increased the upper limit of the size company that can be involved with awt and then also we uh implemented the
individual membership so we’re looking for a surge in attendance and a surge in membership and that will also equate to
a larger convention and I think we’re just gonna we’re looking for blue skies ahead compared to a little bit of the
the you know the covid downward so we’re all excited to see that of course being
a past president I know we only get things done when people can help us get
things done we’re a volunteer organization what do you need help with I’m glad you asked uh actually we could
use some volunteer help at every commit committee we’ve got a number of different Technical and business committees and we’re always looking for
volunteers to help carry the load and and come in and uh and and be active just really contribute some time and and
uh and volunteer uh your services and obviously your knowledge because we are a volunteer-run organization and the
more people that contribute the better off we all are it’s it’s almost like a rising Tide Rises all boats I like that
I don’t know where you got that from but I love that Steve I remember the first time I came
to a convention it was daunting so many people I didn’t know anybody and even if
I wanted to volunteer for something I had no idea how to do that so if somebody’s listening today and they said
you know I really want to get involved in this part of the awt what should they do well first off I would make sure
you’re a member and join and if you’re not ask your company to join if they don’t fit the criteria for the size of
the company they can always join as an individual and then just volunteer uh talk to Angela Pike she’s with our
management uh company and she is very good at putting you in the area where you show interest and just just joining
some committee calls I mean right now in the old days they were phone calls and nowadays their Zoom calls so they’re so
much easier to to attend and they’re on the calendar and really it’s just very rewarding to be involved in some of
these committees it’s been great Steve what would you say your biggest takeaway was from this week
well I mean Vancouver is gorgeous I’ve never been here before the weather’s just been spectacular outside except for
today but other than that I I think it’s um with the covet and everything it’s really nice to get together with your uh
you know a room full of your peers and talk about the struggles you’ve had and actually get some good Insight I also
one of the things that I really love about the convention is I have pretty much every one of my suppliers Under One
Roof that I can go visit with and and talk to them and find out what their new Innovations are their new strategies
their new products it’s just to me it’s a big Time Saver so that you know normally if you’re entertaining these
these suppliers on a regular basis it could really eat up a lot of your time and having them all Under One Roof is
just amazing one of my big benefits or one of the big benefits that I see
a nation it’s always a treat when we get to talk with the awt president and I am
so thankful that I get to call Steve how you’re a friend he has just been amazing
he got on the board a couple of years ago that’s where I met Steve Steve was one of the original Rising tide
Mastermind members and it has just been amazing to get to know him better and I
consider Steve a friend and Steve good luck this year the awt could not be in
better hands and we are looking forward to see what you bring to our great
organization I’m here with Janice Shaw of amsa Janice
how’s the convention going so far so good uh the traffic has been a little bit down but what I’m finding is folks
who are coming around the booths are spending a lot of quality time they’re not feeling pressured to move on so I
really appreciate that aspect and I just and I do appreciate a shout out to anybody who’s coming down to the exhibit
hall to support the spot or the the exhibitors and sponsors we really do appreciate that and we’re in Vancouver a
beautiful city oh my gosh beautiful convention hall we’re underneath these tent like things yes
what is amsa veiling in their Wares this year filling in our Wares well
well biology which is an organic deposit cleaner dispersant when you use it with a biocide you have an effective biofilm
control program and this year we have a new product which is a new formulation that allows folks to easily do a
continuous feed program so it’s expected especially designed to work with oxidizing programs and continuous
oxidizing programs so that you can with those surfaces being continuously clean
you can use hopefully less biocide and your Inhibitors will have a cleaner surfaces in which to do their job better
so it’s just another tool or another way to use our chemistry and I think that
just expands out the uses especially when you want to keep a system highly clean well thanks for sharing all that
with us thank you Janice thanks for chatting with us
Janice is always at the awt she always has a booth she’s always greeting her
present customers and meeting new customers and she’s always a delight to
speak with [Music]
Buckman Stephanie how is the show going for you the show has been amazing you
know honestly I was kind of worried that the attendance was going to be low but it’s been awesome the traction has been great the booth has had a ton of traffic
so it’s been a great week and what are you showing in your booth this year so we are offering through Buckman our
chemistries as well as now we are giving you the opportunity to enhance your Solutions with us with the digital side
so what that means is we’re going to give you the complete solution of having the remote monitoring the data that is
going to be at your fingertips so basically anything that you would need in the report side as well as I think
the biggest part of what we’re selling through the Acumen platform is the remote monitoring the IL team that’s
going to service you be there hand in hand so it’s a great platform sounds exciting what’s your biggest takeaway
from this week I think the biggest takeaway is I’m excited that we as an organization have been able to get back
together it’s nice seeing each other’s faces and the network of support that we have so I think you know just the
relationships the opportunities that we’ve been able to continue to grow
Steph Curry is always a delight to speak with now you might remember she used to
be with aqua Phoenix scientific we loved her over there and of course we love her
over at Buckman whenever you stop by a booth that Steph is in you are sure to
walk away smiling I’m here with Tom Marcone of wall Kim
Tom how’s the show going great show great location great venue so happy to be part of awt for many many years and
we’ll look forward to seeing everybody in Grand Rapids next year and you guys of course always have a beautiful Booth
what are some of the things under the booth this year intuition series of controllers are 600 900s are awesome
state of the art technology and that’s medium pumps on the market I think that’s a cruise ship behind us we’re
here yeah it sure is let’s get on go to Alaska Trace
a big thank you to Tom and walcam of course walcam has been one of our
sponsors on the scaling up H2O podcast and we’re able to do so much more with
the help of our sponsors that we are able to reach more people maybe we
wouldn’t have the new Germany listeners if we did not have some of our sponsors
it was at an awt conference many many years ago that I remember somebody
actually I remember exactly who it was it was Mike Standish of radical polymers he asked if I was ever going to open it
up to sponsorship and I told Mike I didn’t know if that was something that I
should do and Mike told me stop being selfish was exactly what he told me I
was worrying about bringing something to the podcast that might weaken it and it
hasn’t done that at all in fact it has allowed people like Mike and walk him to
do exactly what Mike was trying to make his point with where the sponsors could
help the scaling up H2O podcast so we could get our message out even further we could update things like our website
we could hire staff to make things a lot better so for all of our sponsors out
there I want to say thank you because we are able to do so much more because you
are supporting us I’m here with Chelsea Farmer at the
radical polymers Booth Chelsea how’s the convention going it’s going very great it’s been a great show so far and what
is radical polymers showing to all the members here at this year’s awt we’re
showing them Our Best in Class products our most recent stint of research has
been on looking at polymers as phosphonate Replacements so that’s what we’ve been emphasizing this year
excellent It’s been a good show so far very good been very very busy met with a lot of people good to see a lot of our
customers great talking with you thank you
now I want to talk about Chelsea Farmer for a second now I didn’t plan to talk
about Mike Standish her dad before I brought her interview up but that’s exactly what happened now Chelsea most
likely knew because I think everybody knows about the awards before they get them but later that night where Chelsea
was interviewed and then just hours later in that evening Chelsea accepted the Rising Star Award The Rising Star
Award is where the association of water Technologies specifically recognizes younger people
within our industry who are having a tremendous impact you might remember
laith Charles was the first recipient of this award last year and lathe came on
the podcast and shared all about that award so Chelsea congratulations and of
course that night we had several Awards some other Awards to mention Pyxis
receive the Innovative Award of course picks this another sponsor of this
podcast and the Innovative award is something Innovative that has helped change our industry so congratulations
to Pixis AP Tech was the supplier of the year and then Gary Garcia was the ray
bomb Memorial watertreater of the Year award recipient of course you might
remember Gary was on the show back in August of 2021 where he was episode
206. Gary just stepped down off the awt board of directors Gary congratulations
the highest award somebody can get in our industry and it is well deserved
congratulations to everybody that won an award at this awt Vancouver Convention
so I just found Jill cavano of Scranton Associates a huge supporter of the scaling up H2O podcast a matter of fact
the official Booth where people can get their scaling up H2O buttons thank you
for doing that Jill how are you good how are you trace always good one of my favorite events to attend all year long
what are some of the things that you’re talking to people about here about Scranton well Scranton Associates is
having a great convention in Vancouver it’s a beautiful city um it was nice to really see everybody one thing I like about how we go to
different locations is that we get to see you know all of our West Coast friends and colleagues this time so it’s
been nice and this is the most West we’ve gone I guess with the exception of Hawaii I believe so in Palm Springs
that’s right is this more West we got to get a map out and check the latitude longitude which whatever one that is you
might be right one of the things that I was really happy is um got to listen to and meet Drew Dudley the keynote speaker
in person so that was very exciting lighting I actually have a a picture for you and Corinne thank you for that of
course Corinne our producer on the scaling up H2O podcast yeah Drew did a book called this is day one and we got
the pleasure of reading that in the rising tide Mastermind and he not only came on to digest the book he actually
introduced the book when we introduced it at the live event so he’s he’s been great with the Mastermind he really has
that was something that I’m I’m very glad I got to see him in person you know you’re a member of the rising tide
Mastermind and every week we talk we try to figure out how can we help each other with their issues what are the issues
that we all have in common and a little piece of that would be the business owners meeting that awt does and that
you are the chair of I think a very successful business owners meeting we had on Tuesday what’s going to happen
next year for the business owners meeting well thanks for asking trace the business own owners meeting next year is
going to be Tuesday October 3rd it’s going to be the day before the convention in Grand Rapids officially starts and I feel like the committee the
business resources committee had the best business owners meaning we’ve ever had I really think and I heard a lot of
feedback from people that the panels that we had at the meeting really fostered uh you know togetherness and
dialogue and I feel like everybody had the same business issue I think as a business owner you can feel isolated so
whether it’s through awt with the business owners meeting or through the rising tide Mastermind the more that you
can talk and network and dialogue with other owners the less isolated you feel and the more that you feel that
everybody has the same problems and the same challenges and I got so much good feedback and my committee did as well
about all of the the wonderful panels and discussions and I think people were very vulnerable and I feel like
everybody walked away excited and that they had learned a lot I feel this next business owners meeting putting the
pressure on on the business resources committee I feel like we all we do is every year we just build build build and
I feel with all of the great feedback and committee members that we have that every year it just gets more and more
and more relevant and we do plan on having panels um many people asked uh if Tom branvold
can moderate again next year he did a great job didn’t he he’s agreed to do that for next year Well awesome Jill
thank you for all you do for this Association and thanks for chatting with us thank you trace
well of course that was Jill cavano you’ve heard Jill several times on this
podcast most recently was April 29th of this year episode 249 where Jill talked
about what it was like to run a fourth generation company and of course that
Scranton Associates Jill is also a mastermind member she was one of the
original members that helped me start the rising tide Mastermind so Jill always a delight when you can come on to
scaling up H2O podcast so my last interview is with the
upcoming president for the next year here’s Noah Baskin
I just found Noah Baskin in the exhibit hall Noah president-elect congratulations thank you very much
Trace what do we have to look forward to with the new upcoming awt year I think
we have to look forward to a really robust convention a great location that
has historically brought big numbers I think there’s pent up demand for going
to Convention I think that that’s really going to be one of the best conventions ever you know we’ve seen a lot of really
strong presence in the business owners meeting which has you know brought a lot of life into it and I just think it’s
going to be a really good year you know especially coming off of this convention which I think was well it worked out
it’s you know it’s uh I see a lot of people’s interests but I think there’s a lot of people that are really missing it
and are looking forward to next year so next year is Grand Rapids I think we did a duck race a couple years ago and we
were there any special activities like that no not on the agenda yet but I’m sure there’s going to be some good ones
planned we’re going to be start working on that right after this you mentioned the business owners meeting for
listeners that don’t know about that how could they not know about that and listen to this podcast but just in case
there are a few out there what is the business owners meeting business owners meeting is uh brought on by the business
resources committee and it’s just really a place for all the business owners to get together share ideas get really good
insights I mean it was it was eye-opening this week the way that you
know we interacted as a group and we’re able to selflessly give information of
the things that we’ve succeeded the things that we failed at and really just share that information amongst everyone
it brought a lot of value and and I saw it in the room and I heard the results
and you know Tom Bramble did an amazing job of just pulling information out of
all people in the room to really get ideas that you can use and get traction on well as a former past president I
want to say thank you for your service we thank you trace you’re always willing to help out the industry and the awt and
we appreciate it I always love getting awt royalty on the
scaling up H2O podcast so Noah we can’t wait for all the things that you bring
in the following year so we have Steve we have Noah Nation the awt is in great
hands and I also want to point out that on an episode a couple of months back I
had made a comment that the awt does not always share the information that the
Liaisons for all of our related trade organizations as well as they used to as
soon as that show aired I got a phone call from board member Kyle Rossi and he
said we hear you we understand it we already knew it and we are working on it
so I just want to say I think it’s great that the people that serve at the
association of water Technologies are not only giving their time they are
listening to the members so you guys are doing a great job job and I also want to say that the Vancouver Convention was
amazing I know there were some people that could not attend because it was a little bit further than they wanted to
travel and there were some restrictions going on but for those of us that did attend it was fantastic it could not
have been more beautiful weather and I cannot wait to see you all next year in
Grand Rapids Michigan that’s right the next convention is going to be during the first week of October October 4th
through 7th in Grand Rapids Michigan you know I will be there I can’t wait to see
you there and maybe we’ll do some more interviews well Nation we’re not quite
done with the show yet I want to make sure that we bring on our favorite Professor yes here’s another thinking on
water with James [Music] welcome to thinking on water with James
the segment where we don’t give you the answers we give you the topics and questions for you to think about drop by
drop now let’s get to it in this week’s episode we’re thinking
about the purpose of the slow and fast rinse of softener regeneration after the brine draw why are these two
different flow rates of rinse required why not just a slow rinse or just a fast
rinse what is being accomplished with each what is the impact if either step is too
long or Too Short what is the proper flow rate of each can you measure the flow rate
take this week to think about the purpose of the slow and fast rinse of softener regeneration
be sure to follow hashtag tow 22 and hashtag scalingup H2O share your
thoughts on each week’s thinking on water I’m James McDonald and I look forward to learning more from you
thanks for that James and James is somebody that I met from the association of water technology so here’s my
challenge to all of you out there in the scaling up Nation are you putting yourself in a situation where you are
learning more about your craft are you challenging yourself by maybe working on
something with the committee or a project or just something a little bit more than your day-to-day where you’re
giving back to this great Community we call industrial water treatment well
maybe the awt is the place for you to go to fulfill those items maybe another
organization similar to the awt is where you need to go my ask for you is that
you realize that things do not happen without volunteers when it comes to all
these organizations like the associations of water Technologies so my call to action to each one of you is to
find a place that you can serve find a place that you can help find a place
that you can grow because I promise when you do you’re going to meet people like
James McDonald and James McDonald he painstakingly creates a segment on
our podcast each and every week because he cares about the scaling up Nation he
cares about the water treatment industry and he cares about our friendship he wants to make sure that we are all
raising the bar one water treater at a time if you want friendships like that I
tell you they are within the organizations that need our help Nation I can’t wait to bring you another
episode next Friday until then have a great week folks
[Music] scouting up Nation if you keep doing the
same things you’re going to get the same results and that’s why joining a
mastermind like the rising tide Mastermind is a game changer in allowing
you to achieve different and better results you have an entire team that
combines to help you get to where you want to go the rising tide Mastermind is
the Catalyst to your next level of success to find out more about the
rising tide Mastermind go to scalingop h2o.com forward slash Mastermind