The Expo took place this past Dec. 7-9, and was visited by more than 3,000 attendees. They saw the products of more than 200 exhibitors on 50,000 square feet of exhibit space.
After the exhibit hall closed on Dec. 8, the NGWA delegates meeting took place and three were voted to the NGWA board of directors. Those earning seats were Ernest Pender of Pender Water Wells in Texarkana, Ark.; Brett McCarty of McCarty Drilling and Pumps Inc. in Rathdrum, Idaho; and John Christiansen of Mort's Well Co. of Latimer, Iowa.
Other highlights of the Expo were jam-packed workshops and classes, well-attended sessions at the AGWSE annual meeting and conference, and a President's Dinner which had a light atmosphere due to the comedy of Carmen Ciricillo, a regular on the Discovery Channel show "Your New House."
The workshops on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9 were incredibly popular. The one-hour session titled "Water Well Hydrology for Contractors" was so well attended that tables had to be removed so extra rows of chairs could be added. In another class, "Selling Yourself: Profit is not a Four-Letter Word," people were sitting on the floor.
Other hot topics were "Arsenic," "Marketing Your Services to the Geothermal Heat Industry" and "Transfer of Technology."
The AGWSE conference featured a keynote address from Fletcher Driscoll, the author of the popular book Groundwater and Wells. His talk focused on being successful in your field and not being afraid to learn new things in the industry.
The Darcy and McEllhiney lectures also were given to large groups. Dr. Mary Hill, a research scientist in the USGS, gave the Darcy lecture, while John Schnieders, a certified professional chemist and principal chemist of Water Systems Engineering Inc., delivered the McEllhiney address.
The big show returns to Las Vegas for this year - Dec. 9-11.
For more photos, please see the print edition of National Driller.
