A newsletter dedicated to Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention www.abpa-sa.org

May Vol. 30 Issue 5

San Antonio ABPA Chapter Receives the 2020 PACE Award

The American Backflow Prevention Association-San Antonio Chapter has once again been awarded the PACE (Presidential Award for Chapter Excellence). ABPA-SA has won every year since 1999 with the exception of 2001, 2002, and 2003. The majority of these years our secretary, Greg Shean, has worked hard compiling the necessary information and writing it into a multi-page document to submit to ABPA each year before the Annual Conference.

The 2020 ABPA Conference was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has decimated the economy and the many activities we all have enjoyed. The National BOD had their pre-conference and after conference board meeting via internet video conference and announced the awards that are usually announced at a conference luncheon. There were three chapter members who received awards this year. Greg Shean and Troy Baird each received the Gold Eagle Award and Bill Hamrick received the Committee Chairperson of the year award. Troy Baird was elected our Region 4 Director for two more years. He was sworn in; along with President Frank Snyder, who is a member of our San Antonio Chapter.

Chapter Gauge Testing During COVID-19

All members should have received an email in the past about these rules for gauge testing.

1. Only gauges that expire before the second Thursday of the following month will be eligible for testing. That is, if it expires before June 11th you need to get it tested on May 14th.

2. On the second Thursday of the month, take your gauge, less tools, fittings, and hoses to Bexar Mail Boxes at 2186 Jackson Keller Rd. between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm and leave it after filling out the ABPA-SA paperwork form.

3. IMPORTANT: Provide a cell number in the event you need to be contacted Thursday after 5:00 pm. Be sure and tell them you are with ABPA-SA for the FREE Gauge Testing.

4. Pick up your gauge, no charge, the next day, on Friday between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm Any gauge not picked up on Friday will incur a $10 per day storage fee, starting at 5:00 pm Friday.

5. We will pick up all the gauges at 4:45 pm on Thursday and Carl and Bill will test them. Carl will deliver them back Friday morning when Bexar Mail Boxes opens.

6. Everyone planning on taking a gauge for testing must email Carl at carlsbackflow@satx.rr.com and Bill at wlhamrick@peoplepc.com no later than Wednesday afternoon May 13th.

There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to these rules. Carl and Bill are doing this to continue providing the gauge testing benefit of your membership in our ABPA-SA Chapter. Carl Michaud Gauge Testing Chairman

May Meeting Details Meetings of the San Antonio Chapter ABPA are usually held the second Thursday of every month except December. Dinner and refreshments are served at 6:00 p.m. sharp with the meeting starting at 6:30. The next meeting is: Date: CANCELED Time: CANCELED

Location: CANCELED Program: CANCELED Meal Sponsor: CANCELED

No alcoholic beverages allowed

Next Meeting: UNKNOWN

Meeting May Agenda CANCELED 5:00 p.m. General discussion and quorum

confirmation 5:15 p.m. Call Meeting to order. 5:16 p.m. Secretary’s Report. Read and approve the

minutes of the previous meeting. 5:20 p.m. Treasurer’s Report. Discussion and

approval of the treasurer’s report. 5:25 p.m. Supply Officer’s Report 5:30 p.m. Vice President’s, Directors’, and any other

reports for the good of the chapter. Comments, new business, any discussion.

5:40 p.m. Training Report. Training & Meal Sponsors 5:45 p.m. Webmaster Report 5:50 p.m. President’s Report. New & old business 6:00 p.m. Meal is served. 6:30 p.m. General Membership Meeting

1. Gauges to be tested. Carl Michaud- Bill Hamrick 2. First time attendees or visitors (get w/Treasurer

for membership application / info) 3. Irrigator’s Report. Ron Renouf 4. Report from the Directors Meeting. President 5. October meeting election of Officers & Directors 6. City, regional, and national reports. James

Cantrell and any City personnel present 7. Supply Officer Report. Troy Baird 8. Training program for the evening. 9. Raffle prize drawing.

Ongoing Goals of ABPA-SA Chapter

1. Educational Outreach with public by

presenting at PHCC meetings, engineering firms, schools, and neighborhood associations. Continuing goal.

2. Greater use of TCEQ website. Tracking of CEUs, Services available. Personal education.

3. Increase member awareness of importance of chapter meetings. Increase attendance and public awareness.

4. Increase website resource information. More detailed links to more information like TCEQ, COSA, and any place that would be helpful to our members

Big Thanks to

Those who had their gauges tested in April for following the procedural instructions.

Everyone did pick up their gauges on Friday so no storage fees were assessed.

Let’s all practice social distancing so we can get back so some kind of normal.

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"Direct Talk" by the President

I hope each and every one of our members are staying safe and practicing social distancing. I continue to work, as I expect most of our members are doing, since backflow testing is part of the essential work force. This shows how important it is to help keep the water safe for our Texas communities. I look forward to our next chapter meeting, which I hope will be soon, and trust everyone will get over these trying times, and get life back to normal.

Joe Fazekas

Here is a good website for emergency information: www.sanantonio.gov/emergency/ Check it out. Chapter Chatter Self Quarantined Secretary, Greg Shean Do you ever wonder where your $125 membership dues go? ABPA National keeps $65 for their dues to help defray the cost of managing the parent organization. They return $60 back to the Chapter for us to manage the operation of our San Antonio Chapter. Our Chapter dues used to be $20 when we were meeting at the Leon Valley Conference Center, previous to February 2016. We were then paying about $6.00 per meal for all the members in attendance. The LV Conference Center notified us that starting in February 2016 we would have to pay $500, plus hire a security guard for each meeting. Through the good graces of SAWS (San Antonio Water System), we were provided a beautiful meeting room complete with AV accommodations; but we had to use their contract caterer for our meals, which jumped the meal cost to as much as $15 per plate. It was at the February 2016 meeting the membership voted to increase the Chapter dues to $60. The $60 Chapter dues are still a real bargain when you consider all the benefits an active member can receive from the chapter. The free gauge testing per year exceeds the $60, not to mention the free Hands-on training provided by BAC-FLO-Unlimited every year and the potential eleven meals per year. The knowledgeable speakers and CEUs earned are a bonus. The sharing of ideas and the comradery are priceless. The Chapter has additional income from meeting sponsors, newsletter advertising, and raffle ticket sales for the monthly meeting raffle drawing and the big November raffle. We are thankful for the meeting sponsors who usually donate a gift card or merchandise for the monthly raffle. The Chapter has been participating in the San Antonio Fall Home and Garden Show for the past several years at a cost of about $1,800 per year. The membership feels it is important to educate the public about the need for backflow protection on their hose bibs and irrigation systems to keep their water clean. ABPA-SA also purchases a booth and participates in the STILE (South Texas Irrigation & Landscape Expo) each year and the Spring Bloom held at SAWS. The ABPA-SA Chapter has supported the PHCC Clay Shoot held each year for the past several years. Our appreciation goes to our treasurer, Jeff Hoffman and our Finance/Budget/Audit Committee for their work and expertise.

Due to COVID-19 canceled meetings, there are no Meeting Minutes to report.

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(*Buy the popular ‘BAC-FLO-5’ test kit, see course schedule, and much more on our website.

For gauge certifications, call 210-698-0411 for weekly test times in Boerne, TX!) 4

Here is an article from TCEQ regarding licensing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Occupational Licensing Response to COVID-19 (coronavirus)

Expiration of Occupational Licenses

With the onset of COVID-19 (coronavirus) and the Governor’s Proclamation of a state of disaster in Texas, TCEQ is extending the expiration dates of all occupational licenses expiring in March and April of 2020 by 30 days. In addition, TCEQ is aware that occupational license holders may be having difficulty completing their continuing education requirements for renewal of their licenses. All license holders are encouraged to seek additional help when possible. https://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing/training/AllTrainingProviders

Exams

In the interest of safety, paper exams have been cancelled through May 2020. In addition, CBT testing is not currently available. Therefore, TCEQ is extending the validity of new applications until testing is available. If you have an approved application on file, you will not be required to reapply and pay the application fee again.

For other questions or concerns, please email licenses@tceq.texas.gov.

TCEQ will continue to monitor the situation closely and modify this policy, as necessary.

This information and future updates are available on our website at https://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing/covid-19

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ABPA-SA Board of Directors

2019 - 2020 1) President – Joe Fazekas 2) Vice President – Keith Waldrep 3) Treasurer – Jeff Hoffman 4) Secretary – Greg Shean 5) Immediate Past President – Brad Harrell Special Officers to the Association 6) SGT-AT-ARMS –Jeff Meeks 7) Liaison to SAWS – James Cantrell 8) Public Relations/ Speakers/ Program Topics – Manny Hernandez 9) Gauge Testing and Certification – Carl Michaud 10) Membership – Bill Hamrick 11) Supply Officer – Troy Baird 12) Webmaster – Matthew Wilgen

Directors at Large

Two-year term

1. Fred Baird 2. Timothy Sales 3. Robert Stricker

One year term remaining

4. Gene Hinojosa 5. Bruce Rathburn 6. Ron Renouf 7. Frank Snyder

NOTICE: Mail Address: ABPA-SA - P.O. Box 47820 - San Antonio, TX 78265

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“The Direct Connection” is published monthly and may be obtained from the www.abpa-sa.org website. Opinions or facts within “The Direct Connection” are not necessarily representative of the opinions of the American Backflow Prevention Association and may or may not represent an official policy. Additionally, the opinions or facts of contributors or advertisers may or may not represent an official policy. Published by the ABPA-SA Chapter Editor: Bill Hamrick Assistant Editor: Bruce Rathburn Additional Editors: The entire Membership For further information about ABPA, contact:

Bruce Rathburn – Past ABPA President americanbackflowh2o@gmail.com Troy Baird – ABPA Region 4 Director troybaird@gvtc.com

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APPLICATION FOR

MEMBERSHIP

US Membership $65 International Membership $79

Sustaining Membership $300.00 New Member

Renewal - Member #______________ To join the American Backflow Prevention Association, simply fill out the membership application form and mail it with your check to the address listed below, or if paying by credit card you may fax the completed form to 979.846.7607. Local chapters have additional fees. Below is a listing of chapters by region. To find out if there is a local chapter in your area, please review the chapter information on our website at abpa.org or call the National Office at 979.846.7606. Membership in the Association constitutes paying National dues.

Sustaining Member: • Must be a company or organization • Assign only one person as the member of ABPA • A Sustaining Member must submit a letter that

designates their Voting Representative.

Please Print Legibly or Type

Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc First Name MI Last Name (Include suffix)

Organization (Agency/Firm) Department/Division Title

Address:

City: State / Prov Zip + 4 Code/Postal Code Country

Daytime Phone Fax Email

ABPA-SA $ 60.00 Local Chapter (if joining a local chapter) Local Dues Amount

Method of Payment

Charge $ 125.00 to my Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Check Money Order Invoice Me

Credit Card Number Card Expires (MM/YYYY) CVC Number

Name as it appears on card Signature

Additional Information

How would you like to receive your Membership Renewal Invoice Notification? Email US Mail (Not available for International Membership)

Local Chapter Dues Listed by Region

REGION 1 New England Rhode Island

REGION 2 Virginia

REGION 3 Carolinas Florida Suncoast Peach State “1788” Tennessee

REGION 4 Arkansas Central Texas Corpus Christi Lower Rio Grande Valley North Texas San Antonio

$12.00 18.00

$25.00

$10.00 12.00 30.00 20.00

$10.00 20.00 23.00 25.00 23.0060.00

REGION 5 Colorado Southeastern Colorado Utah

REGION 6 Arizona Central Coast Central Valley California Hawaii Silver State Southern California

REGION 7 Big Sky Idaho Oregon SRC4

REGION 8 (USD) BCBPA (British Columbia)

$15.00 15.00 12.00

$20.00 10.00 10.00 23.00 23.00 15.00

$10.00 10.00 20.00 20.00

$26.00

REGION 9 (USD) Ontario

REGION 10 Wisconsin

REGION 11 Indiana Indiana BPA Michigan Northern Illinois Ohio

REGION 12 Central Missouri Eastern Nebraska Heart of America Panhandle Western Nebraska

$50.00

$10.00

$ 5.00 25.00 40.00 23.00 10.00

$20.00 10.00 12.00 5.00 8.00

Please make checks payable to: ABPA 6672 S 1570 W, West Jordan, UT (801) 436-7238Email: membership@abpa.org

11.2019