A Not So Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the AWBD Conference

All the WCID#89 Board members attended the summer Association of Water Board Directors (AWBD) conference in San Antonio last month. Travel expenses were reimbursed, but I decided to stay with my sister who lives in San Antonio rather than a hotel in order to save the District some money. Unfortunately, I had a minor fender bender on the way to the first day of the conference. It was in stop & go traffic and the guy in front of me stopped, but I just kept going.

I was in my little Hyundai Accent. The guy I hit was in a beer distributing super van. His bumper had a couple of little scratches but here's how my car looked.
Was over $3000 to repair because it busted the radiator, and I wound up with 2 broken ribs and a nasty little shoulder/neck "soft tissue" injury. OUCH!!!!!! I was shocked at the amount of damage done since I was only going about 10 mph.

Believe it or not, I did attend the conference despite missing the Key Note address and the party hosted by the water company on Friday night. Got a rental car to get back home on Saturday and left my car in San Antonio at a place called Miracle Body & Paint. They do something called discounting deductibles. They give you a discount on your insurance deductible equal to 15% of the labor charge for the repair. So, instead of paying $500 for the part that the insurance wouldn't cover, I only had to pay $265 as a deductible amount.

Well, once we returned to Houston, I requested that the Board approve my $265 deductible as an allowable travel expense for reimbursement. In my mind, it would have been about the same amount of money that a hotel bill would have been for the 2 nights, and I was traveling to the event center where the conference was held when it happened.

But the Board voted against allowing me reimbursement. I understood their reasons. Hotel bills and insurance deductibles simply aren't the same thing, regardless if they are in the same ballpark money-wise. I was at fault in the accident, and even though I was on my way to the conference, it was a stretch to claim the out-of-pocket expense for my wreck as a reimbursable travel expense.

So, even though it cost me, I was glad to have been at the conference. I attended a seminar called "Directors 101" that was an introduction for new directors and had excellent information about the legal aspects of MUDs, the role of consultants, duties of directors, etc. I also purchased a book called Water Board Director's Handbook, which is specifially designed for new directors. I'm still reading through it, but I've learned a LOT from it as well.

I also had a very educational experience walking around the exhibitor hall and talking with all the various vendors who contract with MUDs. Had a lengthy discussion with a guy about various chemicals that are used in purifying the groundwater supply and spoke with several waste collection companies about recyclying programs. I followed up with these contacts when I returned to Houston and got all kinds of information on implementing recycling in our district. At the District meeting on July 20th we had presentations from two of these contacts, and I'm still working with our current vendor, Waste Management, about what they have to offer. Hopefully we can get a recycling program started soon.