Dale H. Ohnmeiss
Executive Director
Email Contact: dale.ohnmeiss@asua.org

Dale joined the staff of Arizona Small Utilities Association in March of 2000. He started with the Association as a Groundwater Specialist and was awarded the National Rural Water Association Peer Leadership Award for Groundwater Protection in 2005.

Dale has over 20 years experience working in the environmental industry. He started off as a microbiologist and analytical chemist working in a licensed environmental testing laboratory. From there he attended the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy in Tucson and graduated second in his class. He then went to work for ADEQ as one of their first environmental enforcement officers working in the drinking water section. He quickly moved up and became a manager in the Drinking Water Program creating helpful guidance documents, conducting workshops, supervising the operator certification program, developing capacity development, managing wellhead protection, maintaining primacy and negotiating with EPA on behalf of the state and for water utilities. After working 11 years with ADEQ Dale chose to use his experience helping utilities in Arizona by joining the Arizona Small Utilities Association which is the state affiliate of the National Rural Water Association.

Dale has a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Arizona and holds numerous training certificates relating to protection of utilities, emergency management, environmental crimes investigations, emergency operations, and risk assessments and holds a license to teach utilities Risk Assessment Methodologies. Dale helped create the information training cds for ASUA membership and continues to incorporate new ideas to help utilities and certified operators in Arizona . In his spare time Dale is an actor in Films and TV. Some of his credits include, Revenge of the Nerds, Aftermath, CBS Movie of the Week, Good Morning Arizona, The Perfect Cut and Desert Manbeast, He is currently working a project in which13 action adventure TV cable episodes are being filmed in the Phoenix Valley and will air sometime in 2008.

Susan Saddler
Office Manager / Membership Services
Email Contact: ssaddler@asua.org

Susan has been with the Association since January 1994. She is the Office Manager insuring everything runs smoothly at our Tucson Office located at 1955 W. Grant Rd, #190 , Tucson .

As membership services representative Susan can help direct questions or concerns to the appropriate staff based on the needs of the utility or of the needs of the certified operator. She is the webmaster coordinator and helps insure information going onto the ASUA website is up to date and correct. If you have a question or concern she will know who to assign the issue to in order to help expedite a solution for the utilities or certified operators in Arizona.

Lorra Lytle
Training Coordinator / Conference Planner
Email Contact: training@asua.org

Lorra is one of the original employees of the Association since its inception back in 1990. Her husband Mike Lytle was the first Executive Director of ASUA and she put in some long hours to help create and form what is today's Arizona Small Utilities Association.

Lorra currently helps out at the Tucson Office by coordinating and planning training throughout Arizona and is the Associations Conference Planner for both our Leadership Conference and for our Technical Conference. If you have a topic you would like to see as a workshop or at one of the Association conferences, let Lorra know. Lorra also helps out with Operator Certification exams requests and processing. If you need to take an exam but can't drive to Phoenix or Tucson to take it, Lorra is the person to help you to plan an exam so you can take it at your utility or somewhere in your local community. Lorra is also assisting ASUA to help improve our e-training series on the website. (training at home via computer).

Joan Peters
Source Water Protection Specialist
Email Contact: joan.peters@asua.org

Joan joined the staff of Arizona Small Utilities Association in May of 2006. She assists water systems throughout the state of Arizona with the development of Source Water Protection Plans as well as Vulnerability, Emergency Response, and Drought Plans. The Source Water Protection Plan consists of processes that include local planning, delineation of source water protection areas, identification of potential water contamination sources, appropriate current and ongoing management strategies, and a Contingency Plan. The Contingency Plan outlines steps to be taken in case the water supply is lost.

Joan has over 15 years experience working in the water/wastewater field. Her experience with the City of Phoenix, Water Services Department, and the City of Chandler, include water and wastewater treatment plant operation; water and wastewater sampling; permitting and regulation of industrial dischargers including significant industrial users; pollution prevention assessments and outreach; and commercial regulation of pretreatment devices including traps and interceptors.

Joan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Management from Grand Canyon University; and Grades III in Water Treatment Plant Operation and IV in Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation.

Frank Soto
Circuit Rider
Email Contact frank.soto@asua.org

Frank has been with the Association since January 2001 and has years of experience working with the rural water community; assisting operators and decision makers deal with the continually changing industry environment. Help

develop avenues of communications between the Association and these entities while building team concepts and confidence levels. Assist with the development of strategies that will enable the rural water community

through out the state achieve their professional goals and improve their legislative skills.

Frank has roots in Arizona and graduated from Seligman High School . He has numerous college classes in Business and Business Administration and holds a Grade 2 Water Distribution Certification and is a certified Backflow Tester. He has conducted many hours of Drinking Water Improvement District training and currently helps the Special Districts sub-committee with their meetings and training.

Neal Whittle
Circuit Rider
Email Contact: neal.whittle@asua.org

Neal has been with the Association since February 1997 and once held a position on the ASUA Board of Directors. Neal is a nominee for the 2006 National Rural Water Peer Leadership Award for Circuit Rider of the Year.

Neal holds the following certifications: Water Distribution Operator Grade 4 Waste Water Collection Operator Grade 4, Water Treatment Operator Grade 4, and Waste Water Treatment Operator Grade 2

Professional Qualifications include: Risk Assessment Methodology for Water ( RAM -Wsm) Certification NWTC 12/2002, VA/ VSAT Train the Trainer Certification ASSET/ADEQ 1/2003, National Rural Water Registered Circuit Rider Water #251 NRWA

National Safety Council Train the Trainer Flagger Certification , NSC 11/2002 Federal Aviation Administration Airframe/Power plant License, Facilitator of the Arizona Rural Water Infrastructure Committee, First Responder Training Chlorine Gas, California State University Sacramento, completed twelve courses in Water/Waste Water

Neal has held the following positions and responsibilities:

Tribal Technician 2 years Arizona Small Utilities Association

Technical Assistance Supervisor 2 years Arizona Small Utilities Association

Technical Assistance Specialist 4 years Arizona Small Utilities Association

Duties involved included Onsite Technical Assistance training of Water/Waste Water Operators, and Management on Tribal, State and private lands within Arizona 6/98 to present.

NRWA Registered Circuit Rider for 5 years.

Previous Employment experience:

General Manager, Utility Authority White Mountain Apache Tribe 6/92-6/98.

Duties included management of “day to day” operations of water/waste water systems in 5 small towns on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in rural Northern Arizona .

Vernon Camp
Tribal Circuit Rider / Trainer
Email Contact: vern.camp@asua.org

Vernon Camp has been with the Association since January 2001. He is the Associations tribal circuit rider. Although his focus is to assist all tribes in Arizona he also helps non-tribal utilities and certified operators in Arizona .

Vernon has over 18 years experience as a supervisor of facilities and systems in water and waste water maintenance and construction. Over the past few years, Vernon has used his experience and knowledge to provide technical assistance to water wastewater issues. Vernon holds operator certification in Grade 2 Wastewater Treatment, Grade 2 Wastewater Collection, Grade 2 Water Distribution, Grade 1 Water Treatment, and is a certified backflow Prevention Assembly tester and holds a teaching certificate. Vernon has been recognized as a leader in Arizona when it comes time to provide one-on-one technical assistance.

Vonn Jones
Wastewater Circuit Rider
Email Contact: vjones@asua.org

Vonn Jones has been the wastewater technician for the Arizona Small Utilities Association (ASUA) for more than thirteen years. Asua helps lots of water and wastewater systems. Vonn loves helping water and wastewater systems to solve their problems. He draws on his over 30 years of experience in every facet of the industry, including 21 as a grade 4 operator. Vonn has worked in a laboratory (7yrs). Spent 3years setting up an Industrial waste program. Vonn has operated very small plants and very large plants, lagoon systems, and most types of activated sludge plants. Activated sludge process control is his favorite thing. Every plant is different and every problem is different. But they are also the same. He has worked with activated sludge for 30 years, and it is still fascinating to him.

Some of the best knowledge he has been able to put into use to help other is his extensive experience with App, and Azpdes permits, and the related sampling and reporting requirements involved with reporting to state and federal agencies.

Vonn also will answer many questions about water systems, as he is a grade 3 water operator, and has worked at water systems most of his career as well. Since much of the knowledge and activities are similar in the water and wastewater industry.

Vonn also loves to do training; he does lots of math classes. He will also go to your system and put on a class to teach your staff to do smoke testing on your collections system. The class has a couple hours of class work, and then we work in the field doing smoke testing the collection system for a few hours, or a couple days sometimes.

Vonn would be glad to come out to your system and help you with any problems you might have. Another thing that many operators appreciate is that Vonn will come out and work with them and the board or council that regulates then to get the tools, vehicles, lab equipment, or help them justify more staff, or something else they need to get their job done better. Often the only thing the board or council will need is someone else to verify what the operator is saying. I also act as a liaison between the water or wastewater system to help them to resolve problems with the state and federal primacy agencies.

If Vonn can come out to your system or wastewater treatment plant give him a call. That is what he gets paid for, he enjoys it, it makes him a happy camper.