For over two decades, SWPA has been providing unmatched, one-of-a-kind educational programs giving attendees the opportunity to interact with dozens of SWPA Member Industry Experts while tapping into their extensive experience and wide-ranging expertise. This unique two-day session combines our two highly successful training programs into one comprehensive two-day forum. Day one will be a general session for all attendees. Day two will break out into two separate tracks… Pumping Systems Training and Controls Training. For those of you who are looking to the next level in training, we offer two “200 Level” training courses and a New Hands-on Control Panel Assembly and Troubleshooting course.

Keynote presentation will be Tom Decker

In 2016 and after a career spanning more than four decades, Tom Decker saddled up his horse, rode into the sunset, and crossed full-time employment for large diversified engineering and construction companies off his bucket list. Following his formal retirement, Tom is now heading up Thomas E. Decker Consulting based in Northern Virginia and provides market strategy and business management expertise to water and wastewater sector companies, organizations, and agencies.

Prior to becoming “the best boss he has ever worked for”, Tom was a vice president and geographic area leader for Brown and Caldwell, a vice president, regional business group manager, and principal program manager with CH2M HILL, a vice president and business development director with the Parsons Corporation and a partner and director of marketing for the Infrastructure Business of Black & Veatch.

He has served on the board of directors of the Water Environment Federation and the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and is a past president of the Missouri Water Environment Association.

During his long and eventful engagement in the water and wastewater field, he has led worldwide and national business development operations, directed numerous growth initiatives ranging from geographic expansions to acquisitions of companies, orchestrated “an impossible to count” number of direct sales efforts for engineering and construction services, developed strategic plans for business units, departments, and individual service lines, directed business unit operations, led business planning efforts for water and wastewater utilities, and has been a program manager for large capital improvement programs. At one point in his career, he even operated wastewater treatment plants.

Because of this very expansive background, he has comprehensive and unique grasp of the business of water. He is a frequent speaker to a variety of trade and professional groups on the issues and trends impacting the water and wastewater marketplace.

He is a registered professional engineer in multiple states and is a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.