Dozens of education sessions about water quality, water treatment, and business operations—offered in-person, by livestream, or on-demand—will highlight the 2021 WQA Convention and Exposition on July 28–30 in Las Vegas. Attendees who hold professional certifications through WQA have the opportunity to earn much of the Continuing Professional Development credit they need for recertification through this one event.
“Offering education sessions in these different formats gives all Convention registrants an expanded catalog from which to choose,” said Tanya Lubner, PhD, WQA Professional Certification and Training Director. “And, as always, we’re offering classes on a variety of business operations and technical topics that will appeal to people involved in all aspects of the water treatment industry.”
Whether you’re traveling to Las Vegas or attending the Convention virtually, you have several ways of accessing the education. Several of the in-person convention sessions will be live-streamed each day so virtual Convention-goers have the opportunity to participate in discussions or ask questions in real time. All the in-person convention sessions (even those offered in livestream) will be recorded for later online access. Also, some education sessions have been pre-recorded to be offered on-demand only—they’ll be uploaded a few days before the Convention opens and available online for many months afterward.
Whatever the format, all education sessions are led by experts both inside and outside of the water treatment industry, bringing real-world expertise to the classrooms. Some highlights are:
- “Ethics in Action: Navigating the Gray Areas,” a discussion featuring Dave Hawkins, MWS, of Hawkins Water Tech., Inc.; Jonathan L. Lewis of Lowenstein Sandler LLP; Amanda Moore of Atlantic Filter Corporation; and WQA General Counsel Mike Sennett (0.1 CPD)
- “Industry Perspectives on the Consumer Opinion Study,” a panel moderated by WQA Executive Director Pauli Undesser and featuring Mike Mitchell of PUR; Greg Reyneke, MWS, of Red Fox Advisors; and WQA President Toby Thomas of Kinetico, Inc.
- “Solving Water Treatment Problems with the Water Treatment Pros” is a live session featuring a discussion of real-world situations discussed in the Water Treatment Pros Facebook group (0.1 CPD)
Full details are available on the online convention schedule, which is searchable by date, speaker, and CPD offered. Online-only sessions have their own listing category, plus the livestream schedule is also highlighted online.
For nearly 50 years, the WQA Convention and Exposition has been the signature event of the water treatment industry. “Imagine” is the theme for 2021, the first live WQA gathering in nearly two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. Education sessions are offered on all three days, and the trade show floor is open July 29 and 30. The Convention’s Opening General Session will feature keynote speaker Simon T. Bailey, plus presentation of industry awards for both 2020 and 2021.
For the third time, WQA’s Business Boot Camp will be offered alongside the convention. This intensive one-day workshop in all aspects of running a water treatment business will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The WQA headquarters hotel, the Wynn Las Vegas, is offering a special WQA rate of $159 a night; rooms must be booked on or before July 5. More details on the convention, including COVID safety guidelines and registration information, is at wqa.org/convention.
Source: WQA
