Company History

The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future1 Prepared by J. Paul Riley 2and Jerry R. Rogers3 The Beginnings - 1964-1965 The concept behind the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) was developed by Sandor Csallany, a refugee who had arrived in New York City after fleeing from Hungary when the revolution of 1956 was sup-pressed. Soon after reaching the United States, Csallany circulated his resume seeking a position in the field of hydrology. In September 1957, he was hired by the Illinois State Water Survey in Urbana, Illinois. By the early 1960’s, Csallany recognized the need for a multi-disciplinary organization devoted to water re-sources in the United States, and set out to form such an organization. In the summer of 1963, AWRA started to take shape. The first action by Csallany was to apply for a reservation of the name from the Illinois Secretary of State. The American Water Resources Association name was reserved for 60 days from August 14, 1963. At about the same time, Csallany contacted Robert W. Finfrock, an Urbana attorney, for legal advice on the formation of a nonprofit scientific association. Finfrock suggested that a not-for-profit corporation could be formed for scientific research and development. He noted that the State of Illinois required that Articles of In-corporation be submitted by three citizens stating the name, purposes, names of first board of directors, and the name of the registered agent in Illinois. In early 1964, Csallany formed a Board of Directors, and on March 17, 1964, filed The Articles of Incorpo-ration of the American Water Resources Association in the office of the Illinois Secretary of State. The Certifi-cate of Incorporation was issued on March 23, 1964 by the Secretary of State’s office. The three incorporators of record were Robert Finfrock, Icko Iben, and Sandor Csallany. Because of his role as an incorporator, his many contributions to the publications program, and his continuing service as Editor-in-Chief and Vice Presi-dent, many board members later viewed Iben as a co-founder. The purposes of AWRA as given in the Articles of Incorporation were as follows: I. Advancing the science and technology of water resources by: a. Encouraging water resources development and other original work. b. Encouraging the preparation of original papers on water resources. c. Holding meetings for the presentation and discussion of original papers and participating in international congresses. d. Compiling papers and reports and experiences of value to scientists. e. Developing and promulgating standards, codes, formulas, and recommended practices. f. Offering rewards and other honors to encourage contributions to the science and technology of water re-sources. g. Furthering the purposes of the association’s library, of which the library of this society forms a part. II. Enhancing the status of the association by: a. Maintaining high standards for entrance to the association. b. Cooperating with educational institutions in the maintenance of high standards of education. c. Requiring a high standard of ethical practice by members of the association. d. Encouraging the personal and professional development of young scientists. 1 The material for the years 1963-1989 was taken from a publication titled The AWRA Story on the Occasion of its 25th Anniversary by Mary H. Marsh, September 1989 with AWRA Presidents invited to provide selected highlights from 1988-2004. 2 Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-8200 (riley@mtwest.net) 3 Civil/Environ. Engineering, U. of Houston, Houston, TX 77204 (jerryrogers@houston.rr.com) The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 2 of 8 e. Supporting activities looking to the increased importance of water resources research. III. Cooperating with other engineering and technical societies. a. Encouraging a high standard of citizenship among members. b. Encouraging members to participate in public affairs. c. Cooperating with governmental agencies in water resources matters. d. Later these purposes were revised by the Board of Directors to read: 1. The advancement of water resources research, planning, development, management, and educa-tion. 2. The establishment of a common meeting ground for engineers and physical, biological, and so-cial scientists concerned with water resources. 3. The collection, organization, and dissemination of ideas and information in the field of water resources science and technology. Immediately after the issuance of the Articles of Incorporation, an announcement of the formation of the AWRA was widely distributed, both in the United States and abroad. The responses indicated a great deal of interest in this new organization. The Articles of Incorporation were to be the basis for the future Constitution of AWRA Meanwhile, a major effort was required to define AWRA’s operations and, in particular, to organize the pro-grams for publications and meetings. The first meeting of the Board of Directors was held on April 2, 1964. It was an organizational meeting, and matters requiring action were established and individual responsibilities outlined. At the second meeting of the Board on June 2, 1964, the by-laws were approved and officers elected. Fin-frock was named Acting President; Iben, Vice President; Csallany, Secretary; and Harold Esker, Treasurer. The first publication planned by AWRA was Hydata, which was to be a monthly index of the world’s scien-tific literature in the field of water resources. Csallany and Iben chose to have Hydata as the first publication because it would fulfill a need and it could be offered almost immediately. In the months after the incorpora-tion, a major effort was made to solicit the Table of Contents of all publications related to water resources, both domestic and foreign. Iben’s linguistic skills facilitated getting the indexes of foreign language publications. The first issue of Hydata was available in early 1965, with Iben as Editor. It ceased publication in 1978. The first issue of the Water Resources Bulletin, the Association’s journal, was published in March 1965. It was in the form of a 10-page newsletter. The Bulletin was dedicated primarily to the publication of original pa-pers which were characterized by their broad approach to scientific and technical water problems. It has also carried important information about national and regional aspects of water resources, book reviews, meetings, publications, and Association affairs. The Early Years - 1965-1974 From 1964-1967, first office space for AWRA was in the homes of several individuals. From 1968 to 1974, the Association rented offices in two different buildings in Urbana. The meeting program for AWRA was initi-ated in 1965 when AWRA’s first annual conference was held in December 1965 at the Center for Continuing Education at the University of Chicago. Nearly 200 members and guests attended the conference. The attendance was equal to about half the number of AWRA members in 1965. Thirty-three papers were presented in six general sessions. Those attending came from 40 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Greece, and Taiwan. Participants represented educational in-stitutions, local and federal government agencies, consulting firms, and other areas of the private sector. Disci-plines represented included hydrology, geology, economics, geography, hydraulic engineering, civil and sani-tary engineering, agriculture, forestry, meteorology, and law. The attendance at this first meeting was gratifying to those who had worked hard and diligently for the successful establishment of the American Water Resources The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 3 of 8 Association. Certainly, the wide representation of disciplines indicated that the association had a strong initial appeal to many concerned with water resources. It is of passing interest to note that the registration fee for this first conference was $5.00, $10.00 with the proceedings. The Ladies’ Program fee was $2.00, and student registration $1.00. The charge for the 389-page Conference Proceedings was $6.00. At the 1965 conference, it was announced that Robert Finfrock had resigned as Acting President of AWRA, and Richard Harza of Harza Engineering Company was chosen to succeed him. The officers of the Board then were Harza, President; Iben, First Vice President and Editor-in-Chief; Finfrock, Second Vice President; Csal-lany, Secretary; and Esker, Treasurer. Also chosen, as Directors were Kenneth Bowden and William R. (Randy) Boggess to replace Dorit Sandorfi and Laszlo Balogh who had been members of the Incorporating Board. Before the election of officers at the conference, Harza and Bowden discussed AWRA at great length with Csallany, in particular to discern his goals for the Association and to determine that, in fact, it would be differ-ent from existing organizations. After much discussion, they concluded that Csallany envisioned it as a truly multi-disciplinary organization, one that would provide a common forum for individuals with varying interests in water resources. The establishment of the (1) Federal water resources research centers, the formation of the (2) Water Resources Council and the related river basin commissions, the growing involvement in (3) water re-sources activities at all levels of government, and the beginning of the (4) International Hydrological Decade in 1965, were all indications that AWRA would meet with general approval as an organization which would pro-mote collaboration on water resources concerns at national and international levels. The Second Annual American Water Resources Conference also was held at the University of Chicago on November 20-22, 1966. There was a nine-member program committee, chaired by Bowden, for this confer-ence. There were more than 250 participants and 42 papers presented in five sessions. AWRA grew signifi-cantly in 1966 to nearly 1,000 members, more than double the 1965 membership. The Third Annual Conference of AWRA was held in San Francisco in early November 1967. AWRA’s first Symposium, on ground water hydrology, was held in conjunction with this conference. About 335 people at-tended the two meetings. A measure of how quickly AWRA was establishing itself as a major participant in water resources issues is the fact that contributed papers for the conference, symposium came in “like a flood,” and not all papers submitted could be accommodated. At the Board of Directors’ meeting in San Francisco, several actions were taken to refine AWRA’s govern-ance and to improve its service to the water resources community. The first was the establishment of an Execu-tive Committee as provided by the Constitution. The Board also established nine administrative and technical committees. These were Technical Program and Local Arrangement Committees for symposia or conferences; Finance and Audit Committees; Committee on National Cooperation; Committee on International Cooperation; Nominations Committee; Statutes and By-laws Committee; and Membership Committee. The Board also approved publication of Water Resources Ab-stracts. This journal was approved for publication beginning in 1968, and the guidelines for it were established. In 1969, a change in the Constitution provided that the Board of Directors could authorize the formation of sections and chapters. The purposes of sections and chapters were four-fold: to promote on a regional or local level the multi-disciplinary objectives of the Association; to encourage membership in the Association; to en-hance communication on regional and local problems by sponsoring local conferences and seminars; and to bring to the attention of the Board of Directors, local interests, problems, and concerns. The original constitution provided four membership categories: Members, Student Members, Corporate Members, and Honorary Members. In a 1969 revision of the Constitution added Fellow Members and Institu-tional Members. Honorary Members were to have attained acknowledged eminence in some branch of water The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 4 of 8 resources science and/or technology. Fellow Members must have belonged to AWRA for at least ten consecu-tive years and served at least one year on any one of its committees or have been an officer or director. Continuing efforts were made during this period to improve AWRA’s operations. One significant improve-ment involved streamlining the procedure for selecting its officers and directors. Another was the appointment of full-time Executive Director, Dana Rhoads in June 1974. At the same time, the decision was made to move the headquarters to the St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory at Minneapolis, MN, and this was done in Sep-tember 1974. The first State Sections and Student Chapters also were organized during this period of AWRA history. The second decade for AWRA started on a high note with its first full-time manager on board and a new home in an organization known internationally for its significant contributions to both education and research in the varying aspects of water resources management. The Minneapolis Years - 1975-1981 In general, the Minneapolis years were ones of growth. Membership increased by 31 percent and the Water Resources Bulletin circulation increased by 25 percent. There was an active publications program, with the Wa-ter Resources Bulletin being the principal publication. In this period, the average number of papers per volume was 110. Seven Annual Conferences and eight Symposia held in this same period. Conference attendance ranged from 281 (the Twelfth Conference, Chicago, 1976) to 950 (the Fourteenth Conference, Orlando, 1978). Attendance at Symposia averaged about 200. Among the significant changes in these years were: ? a revamping of the section and district boundaries, ? the positions of Canadian and International District Directors were abolished, ? early in 1976 Sandor Csallany announced that he would not seek or accept the nomination for another term in office as the General Secretary of AWRA, ? the publications Hydata and Water Resources Abstracts were discontinued in 1978 and 1980, respectively. ? in 1976 Randy Boggess was elected to succeed Sandor Csallany as General Secretary, ? in 1980 Dana Rhoads resigned as Executive Director of AWRA, and in 1981 was replaced by Kenneth D. Reid, CAE. AWRA Comes of Age - 1982-1988 At the direction of President Phillip Greeson Hydata was restarted on January 1, 1982. Based on his recom-mendation and subsequent Board approval, the AWRA Headquarters were moved on October 26, 1982, to the Center for the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) in Bethesda, Maryland. The agreement with the RNRF was for the purchase of 1,400 square feet of office space. The move to Bethesda signaled the start of a period of strong growth for AWRA. Eight annual conferences were held from 1981 through 1988, as well as seven Symposia. Average attendance at Conferences and Sym-posia was 340 and 210 respectively. The number of members increased by 35 percent from 1981 through 1988, and the Bulletin circulation was up 20 percent in the same period. During 1985, President J. Paul Riley presided over the Annual Conference in Tucson, AZ which also in-cluded a Ground Water Contamination/Reclamation Symposium. A Tropical Hydrology Symposium and the Second Caribbean Islands Water Resources Conference was held at San Juan, Puerto Rico. AWRA sponsored an October technical tour (48 attendees) to four major cities in China, namely Guangzhou (Canton), Beijing, Guilin, and Xi’an. Meetings with technical counterparts and presentations were conducted at each of the cities. Many historical sites were visited, including the China Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors, por-tions of the ancient Chinese canal system, and a ship tour on the River Li near Guilin was conducted. The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 5 of 8 In 1986, under President Albert Rango, AWRA commissioned a survey of members. Its purpose was to de-termine member attitudes regarding the activities of the organization and its services, and to provide a focus for its future efforts. This survey provided useful information for AWRA’s Long Range Planning Committee for its revised plan issued in January 1987. Some of the highlights of the survey are listed as follows: ? Almost two-thirds of the respondents were focused in six areas of professional activity. They were civil engineer-ing (14%), ground water hydrology (13%), surface water hydrology (12%), planning (8%), and water quality (6%). ? The Survey revealed that the Water Resources Bulletin was by far the most important service or product offered by AWRA. It is the major reason people join AWRA or renew their membership. Hydata--News and Views was the second rated service or product of AWRA. ? The major reason for attending a conference or symposium is “interesting topics on the program.” ? No consensus could be reached on whether AWRA should adopt advocacy positions on water resources issues. ? It was concluded that AWRA has a membership potential far beyond its current level. Further efforts to expand membership should be very carefully directed--concentrate on specific groups, maintain a consciousness of the in-terdisciplinary balance of AWRA, and ensure that appropriate services are in place to retain newly recruited members. Positioning AWRA in the Global/National Water Community: 1988-2004 During 1988, under President Raymond Herrmann, AWRA, joined with the Water Pollution Control Asso-ciation (now WEF) to sponsor the “Water Quality 2000” effort. This became the watermark for watershed planning. AWRA also established and first awarded the Caulfield and Ackermann Medals. AWRA began an Ad Hoc Committee of past presidents to refine and further define the roles of association officers, and suggested a past president’s council with a goal to reduce the AWRA mortgage. During 1989 with Jerry R. Rogers as President, highlights included record attendance at the two AWRA Conferences in Missoula, MT (with Headwaters Hydrology and Indian Water Rights as Symposia/Proceedings) and Tampa, FL (hosted by the AWRA Florida Section with a Wetlands Hydrology Symposium/Proceedings and the 25th Anniversary Celebration of AWRA). Most Past Presidents of AWRA formed a Presidential Procession entering the Tampa Hyatt Regency Ballroom for a memorable dinner with an AWRA birthday cake, an AWRA slide show, music and arrangements by Ken Reid and Mike Fink, and an address by the Florida Governor, Robert Martinez. The new AWRA Alabama Section held an educational conference at Gulf Shores, AL with a co-incidental eclipse of the moon. Other new AWRA Sections included Tennessee and the reactivated AWRA Texas Section with annual conferences and Proceedings (1990- 1994+) coordinated by T. Lynn Lovell, Marshall Jennings and Eve Kuniansky (USGS – Austin), and John Grounds/Jerry Rogers. During 1990, President Warren “Bud” Viessman, Jr. suggested and implemented several changes in AWRA Awards and focused on water policy issues. During Peter E. Black’s 1991 Presidential year, in order to get the Water Resources Bulletin on schedule and other activities, AWRA changed the first Board meeting to January (with headquarters personnel) rather than waiting for the first Symposium. A spring picnic on the lawn of the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) was held for the tenth anniversary of Kenneth Reid joining AWRA. AWRA meetings were held in Cleveland, San Diego, and New Orleans where local water resources operations and challenges were presented. During 1992, with David W. Moody as President, and despite troubling times for the Nation's economy, AWRA retained membership and remained in relatively good financial condition. Moody emphasized develop-ing partnerships with other professional organizations, expanding membership among nontraditional groups, such as state and local agencies and NGOs, fostering water education programs, and promoting cultural diver-sity within AWRA and the water resources profession. AWRA applied for affiliation with the American Asso-The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 6 of 8 ciation for the Advancement of Science (approved by AAAS in February 1993) and joined the Coalition for Earth Science Education. AWRA's Water Education Initiative, led by Steve Vandas, helped the U.S. Geologi-cal Survey distribute a series of water posters for use in secondary schools. These posters are still requested to-day. As a result of participating in the International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin, Ireland, a preparatory meeting that preceded the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, the International Affairs Committee, chaired by Past President A. Ivan Johnson, examined how best to expand AWRA’s cooperation with other international bodies and play a larger role in the global water resources community. Meetings during the year included a Symposium on "Future Availability of Ground Water Resources," chaired by William L. Lyke in Raleigh, NC; a "National Symposium on Water Management Policy" chaired by Martin Reuss in Washington, DC.; and the 28th AWRA Conference and Symposium on "Managing Water Re-sources during Global Change," chaired by Ray Herrmann. AWRA also organized the "First International Con-ference on Ground Water Ecology" in Tampa, FL with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Eco-logical Society of America. During 1993 and 1994, Presidents Charles “Chuck” D. Mosher and Nancy C. Lopez led AWRA Annual Conferences, Symposia and BOARD/EXCOM meetings. A few years later, Chuck Mosher was elected to his city council based on his knowledge of environmental, wetlands, and water issues. Later he was elected Mayor of Bellevue, Washington. Under President Lopez’s direction on August 1, 1994, the AWRA Headquarters were moved from the Re-newable Natural Resources Center to Herndon, Virginia. The reason for the move was that AWRA had out-grown its space at the Center and no additional affordable space was available at that location. In 1995 under President John R. Wehle, at the Annual Conference in Houston, TX, chaired by John Grounds, Ted Cleveland and Mark Loethan coordinated Symposia/Proceedings on Modeling and Flooding/Drainage and Jerry Rogers organized the North American Water Resources Symposia with speakers from Canada and Mex-ico. David Moody led a meeting of the International Hydrologic Program Committee of the Organization of American States. Two narrated boat tours were hosted by the Port of Houston. A reconvened AWRA Confer-ence (for 35 attendees) was held in Cancun, Mexico with President Wehle and President-elect Don Potts presid-ing over several more presentations on water issues in Mexico. The 1995 Board of Directors outlined Strategic Planning and charged the 1996 Board and 1996 President Donald F. Potts to implement the plan. Fundamental changes in AWRA included renaming the Water Re-sources Bulletin the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), and Executive Commit-tee and Board reorganizations. Meetings were held in New Orleans, LA, Syracuse, NY, Key West, FL, at the RNRF in Bethesda, MD, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The first joint AWRA/Universities Council on Water Re-sources (UCOWR) meeting was planned for Keystone, CO for 1997. The year 1997 with Stephan J. Nix as President was another turning point for AWRA. After many years of often-contentious discussion over making AWRA’s governance structure more effective, the Board of Directors was changed from a large geographically based group, to a smaller at-large group better structured to think and act strategically for the organization. In addition, the former “Working Groups” were reorganized into a smaller number of Technical Committees designed to meet specific, timely purposes. These changes required careful consideration and many modifications to the organizations bylaws. All in all, this was a difficult effort made possible only by the open-mindedness and dedication of the 1997 Board members (and previous Boards that helped set the stage for these changes), and AWRA owes them a great deal. In the end, nearly all involved felt that AWRA came out of 1997 better able to meet the challenges ahead. Many consider that much of the success AWRA has experienced over the last several years and its current health as an organization stemmed from those changes. The year had two highly successful meetings. The first was the joint symposium with UCOWR in Keystone, CO, focused on water resources education, training, and practice. The second was the Annual Con-The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 7 of 8 ference in Long Beach, California. During this conference, an important first meeting was held to discuss the formation of a California Section. The newly organized Southern California Section hosted the very successful 2003 Annual Conference in San Diego, CA. N. Earl Spangenberg was President in 1998 for the first year of the reduced-size AWRA Board. The AWRA Board authorized the Water Resources IMPACT to replace Hydata as AWRA’s “news magazine for profession-als.” Three AWRA Meetings were held in Reno, Nevada, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Point Clear, Alabama. President Spangenberg summarized his 1998 presidential year as part of, “continued growth and development of AWRA as an organization offering a variety of professional opportunities to a diverse audience.” John J. Warwick’s 1999 Presidency began with a letter to AWRA members explaining why membership dues needed to increase from $90 per year to $120 per year. The AWRA Board in 1998 took bold but necessary step to increase membership fees. Fortunately, AWRA lost very few members and the organization was able to return to financial stability. The concept of “Strategic Doing” was the focus after several AWRA years of de-veloping, revising, and otherwise fine-tuning strategic plans. The entire AWRA Board took an active leader-ship role in defining future conferences from both logistical and intellectual perspectives. President Warwick noted, “As specific memories fade, one enduring feeling is the respect for and admiration of the AWRA head-quarters staff led by Kenneth Reid.” Under President Warwick’s direction on July 24, 1999, the AWRA Headquarters were moved once again from Herndon, Virginia to Middleburg, Virginia. The reason for the move was that AWRA’s lease was expir-ing and the property management company nearly doubled its rent, making the space unaffordable. This was at the height of the dot com boom in Northern Virginia. In 2000, President Janet L. Bowers presided over "Water Resources in Extreme Environments," hosted in Anchorage by the Alaska Section, with a wonderful once-in-a-life-time opportunity to visit Prudhoe Bay and the North Slope. Pictures of AWRA members standing on the ice-covered Arctic Ocean document this out-standing event. The AWRA Annual Conference, held in Miami, FL, was hosted by the Florida State Section. The Board created and began presenting the new "Pyramid Award" to recognize achievements of outstanding young professionals. The first efforts to connect the AWRA technical committees via on-line communication were started to encourage and enhance member-to-member communication via the web. An outstanding event of the year was the presentation of the American Society of Association Executives "Key Award" to Executive Vice President Ken Reid for his career accomplishments. Janet also participated in AWRA meetings in Wash-ington DC., and Green Bay, WI, and presented an AWRA approval letter to the new Philadelphia, PA, Metro-politan Area Section. During 2001 with John S. Grounds III as President, Ken Reid celebrated his 20th Anniversary with the American Water Resources Association. AWRA initiated planning to facilitate a National Water Policy Dia-logue. The AWRA conference on “Globalization and Water Resources: The Changing Value of Water” at the University of Dundee, Scotland set AWRA as a world leader in water resources. With over 25 countries repre-sented and 115 delegates attending, AWRA built a legacy. President Grounds stated, “Our bequest was that of education. AWRA can improve the availability and quality of .water by overcoming limitations of geography, politics, and society with successful solutions developed, implemented, and conveyed by our membership. The AWRA heritage will be defined by the customs, such as the JAWRA, with one-in-seven articles authored out-side of the United States, entire editions of Impact dedicated to international affairs, special memberships to in-dividuals in developing nations, and conferences expertly executed in a foreign land.” Other AWRA meetings presided over by John Grounds included Water Quality Monitoring and Modeling in San Antonio, TX and Decision Support Systems for Water Resources Management in Snowbird, UT with Paul Riley as the General Chair. The Annual Conference was held in Albuquerque, NM, and the Board of Directors meeting in New Orleans, LA. Kenneth J. Lanfear, 2002 AWRA President, noted the important Water Resources Policy Dialogue convened by AWRA in Washington DC with the support of 10 federal agencies and 25 non-federal agencies involved in The American Water Resources Association: Past, Present, and Future Page 8 of 8 water-resources research, management, protection, and development. More than 260 water-resources experts, including senior representatives of the Administration, Congress, state and local officials, NGO officials, devel-opment groups, and concerned private citizens, met for two days to review challenges and discuss what Con-gress and the Administration could do from a policy perspective to address a looming water resources crisis. AWRA's reputation for objective, multi-disciplinary themes served well in attracting an outstanding array of important participants. AWRA made progress with involving citizens' watershed groups in its 2002 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA. 2002 also was the year AWRA inaugurated the International Electronic Mem-bership, a low-cost service for citizens and residents of developing nations. This service was made possible by JAWRA becoming fully available on line with the June 2002 issue. Jane Valentine was AWRA President in 2003. AWRA, in collaboration with UNESCO, the Water Web Consortium, the Foundation of River & Basin Integrated Communications (FRICS), and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), organized Water Information Day at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan. AWRA also launched a distance learning initiative by offering an introductory course in mod-eling hydrologic systems. The Annual Conference was held in San Diego, CA, and Specialty Conferences were held in Kansas City, KS, and New York, NY. AWRA’s Promising Future: 2004 and Beyond Since its organization in 1963, AWRA has sought to build a sound and viable institutional structure through which the aims stated in its Articles of Incorporation could be accomplished. That this was done is manifested in the publications, the conferences and symposia, and the state and student sections. These activities have been the forums which the steadily growing membership has shared, formally and informally, thereby advancing the role of multi-disciplinary communication as originally envisioned. AWRA is now a vigorous and expanding professional organization which is based on a strong and viable network of State Sections. With strong leader-ship by the Officers, Board of Directors, and the Headquarters Staff, and the active and dedicated commitment of volunteers from its general membership, AWRA is well positioned to continue fostering multi-disciplinary approaches to the management of water resources in the United States and throughout the world. AWRA in-tends to continue to provide the inter-disciplinary communications needed to address and solve the challenging water supply and management issues of the Twenty-First Century. AWRA: Community, Conversation, Connections