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Greetings APWA-MN Chapter,

I feel extremely fortunate, honored and humbled being elected to serve as President of our APWA-MN Chapter in 2017.  So where do I start….

First, I want to thank everyone that I have gotten to know in this profession over the last 21 years, 18 of which have been spent as a member of APWA. I can truly say that if it wasn’t for the APWA education, training and networking opportunities that I have participated in over the years I don’t believe that I would be where I’m at today in my career, but more importantly, I would be without countless friendships that have been formed. When I became more involved in the Chapter years ago, Mike Eastling and Tom Montgomery always were willing to provide a helping hand to me and show me all the benefits our APWA-MN Chapter had to offer. At the time, I never would have imagined serving as the Chapter President, but here we are….

Our APWA-MN Chapter is incredibly blessed to have so many dedicated members. I’ve been to many APWA National Congresses (now PWX), but nobody and I mean nobody puts on a show like our Chapter did in Minnesota this past year. Thank you again to our 2016 Chapter President Sue Mason and PWX Co-Chairs Jeannine Clancy & Angela Popenhagen for creating something truly special. Not only was PWX a huge success, but we had many other great successes in 2016 and it is because of you, our Chapter members (officers, directors, committee chairs, committee members and volunteers), that we are the envy of so many other chapters. Thank you!

So what’s next….where is our Chapter headed in 2017 and beyond? In December of 2016, staff from APWA came to Minnesota and provided advocacy training. Following the training, we held our annual orientation/goal setting meeting for Executive Committee members and committee chairs. Thanks to our 2017 APWA-MN Chapter Vice President Kristin Asher for compiling the goals for 2017. Here they are:

• Advance Public Works Advocacy

• MN2050 Initiatives

• Outreach and Education

These goals have been provided to our Chapter committees to help focus their efforts and initiatives in 2017. The officers of our Chapter will also be looking for new opportunities to advance these goals.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to become more involved in our great APWA-MN Chapter. Be an advocate for the public works profession, the strength of our Chapter lies with our members.

Thank you again for this opportunity to serve as the APWA-MN Chapter President in 2017 and I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes from Steve Prefontaine, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I promise to give my best to our APWA-MN Chapter in 2017….see you at the Spring Conference.

With appreciation,

Chris Petree