Water Well Journal

February 2015

Water Well Journal

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Editor's NOTE T he invite was like any other. An owner of a small company invited me to dinner during the course of the NGWA Groundwater Expo and Annual Meeting last December in Las Vegas. A chance to catch up I thought as we zeroed in on a night. Perhaps a conversation will spark an article idea for Water Well Journal, I brainstormed as my editor's mode kicked on. What unfolded was much more than a fantastic meal. It was much more than seeing how things have been going the previ- ous 12 months. It was humbling. Over the course of several hours, I was thanked. "You were there at the very beginning with us," I was told. An article I wrote years ago "gave us our career," they said. "We wanted to take you to dinner and say 'Thank you.'" Wow. Even months later, I shake my head at the kindness and things said that night. I was floored. All I could do was say "Thank you" in return. I've reflected on the article about the company years ago. When I was writing it, I didn't do it to be nice or as a favor. I did it because it was an interesting technol- ogy I felt needed to be shared with the groundwater industry. I'm happy to say the technology has spread since the article was published years ago and made a significant impact on many contracting firms. When I wrote the ar- ticle, the company was doing business in four states. Now, it not only has customers in nearly every state—it is international. It has clients in Europe, South America, Australia, and in other regions of the globe. One of its most loyal customers is a contractor resid- ing in Zimbabwe. What humbled me the most is knowing putting together the article was the right thing to do. The tech- nology was innovative at the time, so of course I would write about it, I keep think- ing. There is no reason to thank me. So I am humbled to know I impacted someone. You can never really try to impact a life. You can only do the right thing every opportunity you get, and when opportunities arise to be nice to someone, you should take advantage of them. I witnessed an incredible act of kindness at the 2013 Groundwater Expo. A young attendee in Nashville was looking at a book in the bookstore and it became obvious he couldn't afford it. Another attendee told me, "I'm going to get it for him," and did just that. Who knows if that purchaser impacted someone's life? Who knows if years from now when that young attendee is a wise veteran of the industry if they'll return the favor. Here's to betting they do. Thad Plumley is the editor of WWJ and director of information products at the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at tplumley@ngwa.org and on Twitter @WaterWellJournl. MAKING AN IMPACT The Water Well Journal (ISSN #0043-1443) is published monthly by the National Ground Water Association, 601 Dempsey Rd., Westerville, OH 43081. Printed and mailed at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and additional mailing offices. Postal acceptance: Periodical (requester subscription circulation) postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Water Well Journal, 601 Dempsey Rd., Westerville, OH 43081. Canada Post/ Publications Mail Agreement #40739533. Return address: 4960-2 Walker Rd., Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. Advancing the expertise of groundwater professionals and furthering groundwater awareness. Chief Executive Officer Kevin McCray, CAE kmccray@ngwa.org NGWA President Richard Thron, MGWC Director of Information Products/Editor Thad Plumley tplumley@ngwa.org Water Well Journal Editorial Review Board Art Becker, MGWC, CPG; Tom Christopherson; Don Harvard; Dan Milan; Roger Renner, MGWC; John Schnieders, Ph.D., and Robert Sterrett, Ph.D. Senior Editor Mike Price mprice@ngwa.org Copyeditor Wayne Beatty wbeatty@ngwa.org Production and Design Janelle McClary jmcclary@ngwa.org Advertising Shelby Fleck sfleck@ngwa.org Vickie Crosby vcrosby@ngwa.org Contributing Writers Ed Butts, PE, CPI; Donald W. Gregory; William J. Lynott; Julie Hansen; Christine Reimer; Al Rickard, CAE; Ron Slee; Lana Straub; Jennifer Strawn; and Alexandra Walsh Editorial, Advertising, & Publishing Offices 601 Dempsey Rd., Westerville, OH 43081 (800) 551-7379 Fax: (614) 898-7786 Selected content from Water Well Journal is indexed on Ground Water On-Line™ at www.NGWA.org/gwonline ©Copyright 2015 by the National Ground Water Association. All rights reserved. An APEX award winner 11 consecutive years with 24 total awards, most in the groundwater industry. waterwelljournal.com You can never really try to impact a life. You can only do the right thing every opportunity you get. 6 February 2015 WWJ

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