The FWEA Big Bend Chapter serves the Florida Panhandle, from approximately I-75 in Live Oak to Pensacola. Our membership is diverse including operators, engineers, and administrators of several urban and rural municipalities and private and cooperative utility companies, as well as representatives of private-practice engineering firms and utility equipment sales and service companies.
Our foremost mission is to provide professional and technical educational opportunities to members in the Big Bend area through bi-monthly meetings and seminars. These events provide a forum for professional networking and shared interests.
In past years, the Big Bend Chapter operated out of the Tallahassee area. Due to availability of members in this area, FWEA is working to shift the meeting focus to the west of the Chapter boundary to better serve FWEA members in the Big Bend region.
FWEA is seeking individuals interested in serving on a Steering Committee for the Big Bend Chapter. The Steering Committee is charged with planning and executing Big Bend Chapter events. These may include luncheons for the water industry on a quarterly or monthly basis, or planning a technical seminar to provide PDH’s and CEU’s. Other activities could involve visiting schools, or arranging tours to water treatment facilities. If you would like to get involved with the Big Bend Chapter, please reach out to Sondra Lee.
Each year at the annual banquet, the Big Bend Chapter presents the Thomas P. Smith Award to an individual in recognition of individual leadership, contribution to the advancement of wastewater design, operations or regulations, and demonstrated willingness to help others solve problems. Past recipients of the Thomas P. Smith Award are provided below.
| 1998 John L. Dean | 2006 Maurice Barker | 2014 Sondra Lee |
| 1999 William "Billy" M. Bishop | 2007 Leon Hightower | 2015 Catalina Weaver |
| 2000 David W. York | 2008 Donna Nichols | 2016 Charlie Martin |
| 2001 G. Keith Turner | 2009 Tom Printy | 2017 Shanin Speas-Frost |
| 2002 Mike Murphy | 2010 Dave Stewart | 2018 Monica Autrey |
| 2003 Bill Leseman | 2011 Joseph Cheatham | 2019 Amir Zafar |
| 2004 Neal Gray | 2012 Lynne Putnam | |
| 2005 Ron Trygar | 2013 Jim Oskowis |
UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS
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Chair
Felicity Appel, P.E. Kimley-Horn
Vice Chair
Lina Polo, E.I. City of Tallahassee
Secretary
Vacant
Treasurer
Vacant
Past Chair (2017 & 2018)
James H. Peterson IV, P.E.
Jim Stidham and Associates Inc.
Past Chair (2015 & 2016)
Shanin Speas-Frost
FDEP
FAMU/FSU-FWEA Student Chapter Liaison
Shanin Speas-Frost, Acting
FDEP
FAMU/FSU Student Chapter Advisor
Dr. Youneng Tang
FAMU/FSU College of Engineering
Awards Chair
Shanin Speas-Frost
FDEP
Membership Coordinator
Sondra Lee, Acting
City of Tallahassee
Website Coordinator
Sondra Lee, Acting
City of Tallahassee
Interested in volunteering with FWEA?
Click the link below to fill out an interest form today!
