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January 6, 2018

Happy New Year!

My year as APWA-MN Chapter President has come to an end and I am extremely grateful for the experiences I had and how much I enjoyed serving in this role during 2017. It was a busy year as I attended or participated in over 70 events on behalf of the Chapter that ranged from PWX to committee meetings to volunteer events. It was at all of these events that I met and became friends with more individuals than I could’ve imagined. This experience truly affirmed the value of membership in our great APWA-MN Chapter.

The goals and initiatives we established for our Chapter in 2017 included:

• Advance Public Works Advocacy
• MN 2050 Initiatives
• Outreach and Education

I’m happy to report, that I think we made great strides towards these initiatives. In Advancing Public Works Advocacy, we attended Transportation Day at the Capitol for the first time, made connections with key stakeholders and formed the Government Affairs Committee. Our MN2050 group came under new leadership with a strategy for advancing their initiatives in the future that they unveiled at the Fall Conference. Lastly, our Chapter members continue to make advances in Outreach and Education. One of the more exciting advances on this front is the curriculum and program review currently underway for our Public Works Certificate Program to ensure this accredited program remains relevant and sustainable into the future.

When I wrote my first letter after becoming the APWA-MN Chapter President, I encouraged all of you to become more involved in our APWA-MN Chapter. To be an advocate for the public works profession, the strength of our Chapter lies with our members. After my year as President, I couldn’t agree with this more…get involved and give back to this awesome profession we know as Public Works!

Thank you all again for this opportunity to serve as the 2017 APWA-MN Chapter President!

With sincere appreciation,

Chris Petree