Underground Construction - November 2021 - 6

EDITOR'S LOG
Robert Carpenter | Editor-in-Chief
HDD Reunion Returns in 2022
overbooked, " which got another round of
laughter. I gave up.
Back by popular demand! The Horizontal
Directional Drilling (HDD) Reunion returns
to UCT in 2022. The Reunion will be held on
Wednesday, Jan 26, 4:45 p.m., at the Fort
Worth Convention Center.
In conjunction with the Reunion, the
annual HDD 2022 Hall of Fame Class will
be honored. Inductees are legendary mud
man Frank Canon and trailblazing HDD
design engineer John Hair.
The first reunion, held in 2020, far
exceeded all expectations. As we prepared
to open the doors to the event, I surveyed
the long trail of people wrapping around
the hallways. I immediately proceeded to
the main bar and grew concerned about the
supply of beer.
" I assume you can get plenty more
quickly? " I asked one of the bartenders.
He calmly smiled, being a veteran of many
parties and receptions. " Sure, and if we
run a little short, I'll just run downstairs to
storage and bring up a little extra, " he said,
attempting to placate my concerns
As people continued to pack the room,
I nervously stood by a bar and finally got
the attention of the long line of attendees
waiting to be served and bellowed out to
the packed audience, " If I yell 'fire marshal'
I need everybody on this side of the room
to get out the back door - fast! " Everyone
laughed, not realizing I was serious. I
yelled emphatically " no, I'm serious - we've
6 NOVEMBER 2021 | UCONonline.com
About hour later when the crowded sea
of people continued to roll around the HDD
Reunion room like a tsunami, I found myself
back over by the main bar. I smiled smugly
as I saw that same bartender coming in the
back door with more cases of beverage as he
had been forced to do since the beginning of
the Reunion. Watching him sweat, I couldn't
help but perversely reflect that he should
have listened; I know the HDD audience. It
was just that kind of an event.
This year, we'll have a better-sized
room to be sure. Like the first reunion,
this event is an opportunity to bring all
the seasoned, current and future drillers
together for a look back - and forward -
at the amazing HDD industry. Whether
your company operates smaller rigs
installing fiber or large rigs putting in steel
pipe, whether you are long-since retired or
a recent entry into the market, this is an
event that honors the HDD industry
Infrastructure Bill
At press time, the Great Infrastructure
Bill of '22 was still being held in limbo
by Congress as liberal versus moderate
Democrats continued to battle over how
best to advance their agenda past entrenched
Republicans. The Infrastructure
Bill was essentially a pawn over the battle
for the fabled Reconciliation Bill, the latest
version of a " great society " plan being
advanced by President Biden.
Still, most pundits and experts predicted
the Infrastructure Bill would finally advance
this fall - perhaps already has. I sincerely
hope so, as I believe we all grow weary of
Washington power struggles with little
benefit for the country.
Regardless, increased federal funding
is coming to underground infrastructure
markets and at UCT 2022 in Fort Worth,
we'll have two panels specifically spelling
out funding plans and impacts. One panel
will cover sewer/water funding ( " Landmark
Year for Water/Sewer Infrastructure " ),
and another will provide the fiber and 5G
construction outlook ( " Fiber Construction
Forecast: FTTP, 5G " ). Both should provide
key insights into those important market
plans for the next several years.
MVP announced
For anyone familiar with the first, billiondollar-plus
EPA consent decree, the name
Gary Oradat will stand out. When the city
of Houston Wastewater Program kicked off
in the '90s, a direct result of the consent decree,
it set the stage for the way many cities
would approach their mandated programs.
An essential cog in that benchmark
program was Gary N. Oradat. He became
extremely well-respected for his problem-solving
focus, engineering expertise,
ability to roll with the punches, and foresight
to help keep the program progressing
on-time and -budget.
Gary retired from the city of Houston
in 2004 as deputy director. He joined the
Coastal Water Authority as chief engineer
and advanced to executive director. One of
his key accomplishments was launching and
serving as project manager for the $300-million
Luce Bayou Interbasin Transfer Project.
After a stint in private engineering consulting,
Gary joined the Trinity River Authority
in 2019 to serve as executive manager of
the newly developed Planning, Design and
Construction Administration team.
Gary's integrity and dedication to
improving the infrastructure industry,
through his active participation and
leadership in various industry groups and
associations, is renowned. He epitomizes
the definition of the Most Valuable
Professional Award.
The 2022 MVP ceremony will be part of
the special luncheon on Jan. 25, in conjunction
with the annual UCT Conference &
Exhibition, in Fort Worth, Texas. To attend
or sponsor the MVP Award Luncheon,
details are available on the UCTA website:
uctaonline.org. *
http://www.uctaonline.org http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - November 2021

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