Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/451364
The Resources Drilling and Blasting program at Sir Sandford Fleming College on April 24 will be graduating 110 students in Lindsay, On- tario. The one-of-a-kind pro- gram focuses on all aspects of surface drilling: water well and well construction; construction drilling; geo- technical, environmental, horizontal directional drilling; blast-hole drilling; and mineral exploration. Course information can be found at http://flemingcollege .ca/programs/resources- drilling-and-blasting. Christensen Well & Irriga- tion Inc. in Hartington, Ne- braska, hosted an open house for its renovated showroom on December 19, 2014. A local radio station attended the open house to do live interviews. WILO USA, a provider of pumps and pump solutions for groundwater, water man- agement, and building serv- ices, secured a three-year recertification of their ISO 9001 quality management certification and continuation of their ISO 14001 environ- mental management system certification. The ISO 9001 standards provide guidance and tools for manufacturing companies to ensure their products and services consistently meet customers' requirements and quality is consistently im- proved. ISO 14001 helps any company looking to control their environmental impact and improve environmental performance. Australian private water utility Trility announced it has entered into a purchase agreement with Water Infra- structure Group Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Pentair, to acquire the operating and maintenance contracts of its operations business. The agreement covers the opera- tion and maintenance of 35 treatment plants through six major contracts spanning New Zealand, Victoria, and South Australia. A.O. Smith Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary James Stern was honored by the Milwau- kee Business Journal in the Best Corporate Counsel (Public Company) category at an awards ceremony in Milwaukee on November 21, 2014. The publication so- licited nominations over re- cent months, with winners being selected by a judges' panel comprising attorneys from the Milwaukee area. The awards program featured a special section that profiled the nine corporate attorneys from across the state, includ- ing Stern, who are making a difference within their com- panies or organizations, the legal profession, and in their communities. F.W. Webb Co. received the "PVF Affiliate of the Year" award from Affiliated Dis- tributors at the organization's recent annual North Ameri- can meeting on December 9, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. F.W. Webb was founded in 1866 and is the largest northeastern distributor of products in water systems, plumbing, heating, HVAC, refrigeration, commercial and industrial pumps, thermoplastic piping, high purity process compo- nents, and process controls. Reed Manufacturing has released additional training videos to cover the Feed Tap Machine and Reed's re- designed PE Scraper. Other new clips include Drill- Powered Chamfer Tools and Bevelers. A brief video his- tory of Reed is now available at www.reedmfgco.com/en/ resources/training-videos. Water For People, an inter- national nonprofit organiza- tion dedicated to providing access to improved water and sanitation systems and serv- ices in developing countries, hosted its first annual Leader- ship Council on December 2-3, 2014. Greg McIntyre, CH2M HILL Global Water Market president and mem- ber of the new Leadership Council, joined Water For People CEO Ned Breslin, Board chair Patrick McCann, and other industry leaders for the two-day workshop to strategize around opportuni- ties, as well as programmatic and operational challenges faced by Water For People in its quest to give more people access to safe water and sani- tation resources. Industry NEWSMAKERS DRILLING AWARDS BUSINESS GROWTH NEWS ON THE WEB OPEN HOUSE CERTIFICATION National Ground Water Association Past President James Taylor Virdell Sr. passed away on December 11, 2014. He was 90. Tay- lor Virdell began his profession as a water well con- tractor after serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aerial engi- neer on B-25 bombers. He developed and was owner of Virdell Drilling Inc., a company engaged in the drilling of water wells, pump installation, and well service in Llano, Texas. The Virdells have been drilling wells in the Central Texas area for five generations (115 years in 2015). He was elected to the NGWA Board of Directors in 1977 before serving as president in 1984. Taylor Virdell was presented with the NGWA Life Member Award in 1990. At the state level, he was a mem- ber of the Texas Ground Water Association and was elected to its board of directors in 1968. He was president for two years and named an honorary member. IN MEMORIAM James Taylor Virdell Sr. WWJ February 2015 57 Twitter @WaterWellJournl