We are so Grateful to Our Sponsors, Part 2!

Earlier I told you about our higher ed partners, who are valuable not just because they allow Doug and Randy and I to work on this project, but also because they are preparing young professionals like this year's and last year's Team USA members to go out into the world and make a difference.

Today I would like to share a little more about how Team USA is working with our Legacy Sponsors even before we get to South Africa.  We are so lucky to have the opportunity to work with each of you.

At the most fundamental level, our sponsoring organizations have a long history of support for the plumbing and plumbing engineering profession.  MCAA, MCERF, PHCC and ASPE all have established relationships with educational institutions to get students excited about the profession and ensure a future supply of high quality graduates.

At MSOE, Doug works closely with the student chapter of MCAA.   MSOE students have traditionally excelled at the MCAA annual design competition.  The approach Team USA uses to prepare for events like CPC India and this year's competition in Diepsloot is similar to the preparation students have used for the MCAA events and MSOE's senior design project.  Jill Vane Boom, one of last year's team members, was instrumental is starting MSOE's student chapter and was involved in the design competition for three years.

And look where all that got her!

Team USA has really learned and benefited from this experience, as you can see below, at the design presentation event in Nashik!

On a professional and personal level, both Doug and Randy are directly involved with our sponsors.
Doug is a member of ASPE and is active in the local chapter in Southeastern Wisconsin.  He has spoken at the ASPE national conference and well and also presents their Green Plumbing Design workshop.  He is also a member of the ASPE research foundation board of directors.

Randy is a current member of IAPMO, ASPE and PHCC-WI, and he works directly with MCAA-WI as it relates to plumbing apprenticeship training at both Local 400 Plumbers and Steamfitters--Kaukauna, WI.  He has a application pending as "member at large" for the board of directors for PHCC-WI and is currently working with them to establish and education committee and eventually become involved as a provider of continuing education classes on behalf of PHCC-WI for plumbers across the state.

As Randy says, "Our sponsors truly speak volumes to the importance of safe plumbing systems throughout not only the United States, but countries abroad.  Their support of Team USA and the Community Plumbing Challenges gives us hope for our goal that everyone should be able to be provided with safe operating sanitation systems.  They also champion regulations to protect our water supplies and environment by developing standards and products that only use the minimum quantities of water to effectively serve the users and yet safeguard the wasting of valuable resources."


None of us would have been able to imagine wild ride of the past three years without IAPMO, who have supported this project and committed themselves to changing communities and lives.  On a very practical level, they have supported Team USA in too many ways to document here, so the best way to say thank you may be with pictures, which really do say a thousand words!
                                                                                                                                                                                        We had the time of our lives!       We promise to write home from Diepsloot!