How to start this?

...other than hi, my name is Larry Brownell, which sounds like the beginning of some recovering addicts’ session you would see on a police drama. Rarely does one introduce oneself to a new community via a mass distribution. Even more remote is following a legend. Over the past month I have had the pleasure of learning from and following Pat Hyland. The adoration I have witnessesed is similar to what some of us experienced when Johnny Carson retired. An important and respected member of the public power community is moving on. I have the dubious task of following him.

True to his nature Pat has been busy this past year preparing NEPPA for the future. The foundation has been laid at Littleton and by October 2012 NEPPA will have a new home, with its offices and training facility on one site for the first time. One of the other changes that Pat oversaw in October is that Rockie Blunt has transitioned from Director of Educational Services to become a training and education consultant. He is now one of our cadre of outstanding trainers.

My addition to NEPPA comes at a fortuitous time. I am a professional association executive by background and I have specialized in education and training organizations. While working at one of the regional AWWA affiliates I worked on revitalizing and creating education and certification programs. In the next year our challenge here will be to gear up for Littleton. We will be looking at our current and previous educational offerings and any unmet needs you have. In pursuit of this I will be hitting the road over the next couple of months to visit as many of you as possible. My goal is to understand the uniqueness of your operations and challenges that face you. With this information I should be able to better direct our educational, legislative and operational functions. But, I need your input.

If by some chance you have an urgent need or issue, please contact me. There is a lot of ground to cover in the next couple of months and I don’t want your needs or concerns to wait. I am looking forward to serving you and moving NEPPA on to the next phase of its mission.

Sincerely,
Larry Brownell