FROM THE PRESIDENT

Changes Are in the Air: There are a lot of exciting new things happening with the KGWA.

Summer heat has fully arrived in Kansas with some places seeing record temperatures. It seems some things never change. There are many things that do change though — and the Kansas Groundwater Association is one of those.

In the spring issue of our newsletter, I said that changes were coming. Some of them are here now. One of the largest changes is Clint Tyler resigned as the KGWA executive director effective July 1.

While Clint and I didn’t get to work together long in our current roles, I can’t thank him enough for the help he provided. Many of us got to know Clint over the years, and I want to thank him for his years of service and dedication that he gave the KGWA and the groundwater industry. His resignation will allow him to focus on his family and career, two things that we can all agree are critical.

The second big change that has taken place is the Association has hired Dave Schulenberg as the new executive director on a two-year contract. Dave is the director of partner states with the National Ground Water Association and specializes in performing the duties of a state association executive director. He is the director of six other state groundwater organizations and will be introducing himself to everyone.

Dave has been diving into everything behind the scenes with myself, the KGWA Board of Directors, and of course, Clint, to make the transition as smooth as possible. I look forward to working with Dave over the next year-and-a-half to make this the best organization that we can be.

Finally, as some of you are probably aware, Carrie Ridley with the Kansas Department of Health (KDHE) has resigned to take a job at the Kansas Geological Survey. KDHE has not named a replacement yet. I have been having monthly calls with the interim section chief, Ally Lane. I would like to thank Carrie for her time at KDHE and wish her the best at her new job.

More changes are coming over the next few years, and a lot of them are already in the works. If there are changes or ideas that you have, please reach out to a board member and share your ideas.

If you have questions or comments (good or bad) please do the same. We plan to have updates to share with everyone at the general membership meeting at our January convention. If you haven’t attended or rarely attend, I urge you to attend in 2023.

Tony Wedel
KGWA President