Water Well Journal
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1330849
T h e o n l i n e h o m e o f W a t e r W e l l J o u r n a l ® Industry NEWSMAKERS Victaulic announced the appointment of Rick Bucher, Ph.D., as CEO, succeed- ing John F. Malloy, effective January 31. Bucher was named president of Victaulic in April of 2020, following a June 2019 appointment as COO. Prior to joining Victaulic in 2009 as vice presi- dent of engineering, Bucher worked for 15 years for W.L. Gore, a manufacturer of technologically advanced composite materials. Since its first patent was re- ceived in 1919, Victaulic has grown to be one of the world's leading producers of mechanical pipe joining solutions. Several local families in Jacksonville, Texas, received a donated water well system as beneficiaries of Hometown H2O—a domestic water program that's working to bring access to clean and sus- tainable water to the more than 2 million Americans without it. The property is home to 11 residents who, prior to the new water well, relied on rain barrels to collect water for everyday use and traveled to a filling station for pota- ble drinking water. They now have access to clean, running water for the first time. Hometown H2O was launched in late 2019 as a result of a partnership between The Chris Long Foundation's Waterboys initiative and Xylem Inc., a global water technology company dedi- cated to solving the world's most critical water challenges, along with nonprofit partner Water Well Trust. The new well, which provides David and Beverly Daily, their three adult children and their families with potable water directly to their homes, is the third Hometown H2O well donation project in 2020. Xylem donated Goulds Water Technol- ogy brand equipment while local distribu- tor partner Wholesale Pump & Supply of Tyler, Texas, coordinated its discounted installation through pump installer Jackson Distributors of Cushing, Texas. For more information about the Hometown H2O project, visit www. waterboys.org/hometown. Herbert Arthur Potts passed away on October 27, 2020. He was 90. Potts started Potts Drilling Inc. in Bozeman, Montana, in 1964. He sold the business in 1992 upon retirement. Potts served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Kent Wilkins passed away on October 28, 2020. He was 59. Wilkins worked as a well-site geologist and consultant before he began his career at the Okla- homa Water Resources Board in 1990 as division chief of the Planning and Management Division. Among other organizations, Wilkins was a member of the National Ground Water Association and Oklahoma Ground Water Association. Brian Dean Taylor passed away on October 30, 2020. He was 79. Taylor was the owner and operator of Tay- lor Well Drilling Inc. in Millington, Michigan, for the past 50 years with his family. Taylor was a member of the Michigan Ground Water Association. NEW ADDITION IN MEMORIAM CHARITY facebook.com/WaterWellJournal WWJ February 2021 n 43