PWX 2025: Spotlight on Chapter Leader Sessions
Check out the below sessions that are specific to chapter leaders:
Saturday, August 16, 2025
7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Council of Chapters Meeting and Regional Meetings
(Your chapter delegate attends this pre-PWX meeting; invitations have already gone out.)
Sunday, August 17, 2025
3–4:30 p.m.
Chapter Leader Forum
Convention Center, Room E253ABC
This session will share ideas and strategies related to chapter best practices. APWA Technical Directors will also be participating this year, highlighting resources available to chapters and discussing strategies for effective communication and collaboration between committees and chapter leaders. This is also the time to network with other chapter leaders and ask questions you may have and receive feedback on chapter-related issues from other chapter leaders.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
2–4 p.m.
The Chapter Concierge Experience—How Can We Help?
Convention Center, Room E253ABC
This session will be a deep dive into the chapter services that APWA provides, while also touching on resources from each area that affect each chapter such as membership, chapter technology, marketing and communications, education, meetings and events, and finance.
APWA Accreditation Announcements
Accreditation is the mark of professionalism, indicating a public works agency has made the commitment to continuous improvement in the delivery of public works operations and services in the community it serves. Accreditation recognizes an agency’s policies, procedures, and practices that have been evaluated against nationally recognized management practices determined to be appropriate for that specific agency.
The American Public Works Association is thrilled to announce the accreditation of the following public works agencies for July 2025:
Region 4
- Pasco County, Florida Public Works Department—1st accreditation
Region 6
- LaVista, Nebraska Public Works Department—1st accreditation
- Springfield, Missouri Public Works Department—4th accreditation
- Springfield, Missouri Environmental Services Department—4th accreditation
Region 9
- Aurora, Colorado Public Works Department—5th accreditation
- Shoreline, Washington Public Works Department—3rd accreditation
Region 8
- Coconino County, Arizona Public Works—7th accreditation
Please help us recognize their hard work and dedication to providing excellent public services. Potential ways to recognize them may be a mention in your newsletter or your website, asking them to present at your chapter conference, posting on social media, or other ideas specific to your chapter.
For further information on the APWA accreditation program, please feel free to contact Jeanette Klamm, Associate Director of Accreditation, at accreditation@apwa.org.
Chapter Leader Resources
The APWA Chapter Leader Resources site includes documents, forms, templates, PowerPoint presentations, webcasts, and videos to assist in managing an APWA chapter or branch. Services, resources, and tools to aid your chapter’s capacity-building efforts cover subjects such as:
- Accounting/Financial Management
- Advocacy
- Chapter Support Services
- Marketing and Branding
- Membership Information
Access chapter leader resources here. Note: You must be signed into your APWA account to access these resources.
Questions can be directed to chapterservices@apwa.org.
Inspire the next generation with the Girls in Public Works Toolbox
This new toolbox is designed to help inspire girls, a traditionally underrepresented group, to pursue public works positions. But many of the resources provided can be used to recruit all students! Whether you’re planning a classroom visit, career fair, or a hands-on event, this toolbox offers some practical tips and tools to make outreach impactful.
Questions can be directed to Corinne Watts at cwatts@apwa.org.
Insurance 101
As you begin to plan for your 2026 events, please review the APWA insurance infographic located in Chapter Leader Resources – Finance.
There were several questions raised around insurance during the February Chapter Leader Training and Council of Chapters meeting. The feedback was shared with both APWA’s legal counsel and insurance company. Below should clarify all outstanding questions:
- Restaurants: For chapter monthly luncheons at restaurants, APWA does NOT need contracts. In fact, it is better if the chapters do not have contracts with a restaurant as it allows for more flexibility. The restaurant will have insurance if someone is injured at the restaurant. As for alcohol, the restaurant will already have a license to serve alcohol and should have insurance for this as well. We do not need to see a contract for meetings held at restaurants.
- Golf Outings and Alcohol: As long as the golf facility allows people to bring their own alcohol and give it out to others for free, that is permitted. So, for those chapters with sponsors who want to give out alcohol at the individual holes, that is permissible as long as the golf course allows it.
- If event space is being used (other than restaurants), chapters will need to send APWA a contract to ensure they will be insured.
- If a license is required to serve alcohol at an event, the chapter must have a contract in place for the event space (even a parking lot) to serve alcohol or hire a third party that is insured to serve the alcohol. Requirements vary by state, but typically a liquor license or permit is required to sell alcohol at private or public events. APWA’s insurance will not provide coverage if the chapter serves/sells alcohol to guests at such events regardless of whether or not the chapter actually obtains a liquor license or permit to do so.
- Alcohol can be given out in a hospitality suite assuming the hotel allows it.
If you have specific questions, please contact chapterservices@apwa.org.
APWA Monthly Chapter Leader Training
The next APWA Chapter Leader Training will be held on September 8, 2025 at noon CT.
The training topic is WordPress Updates.
Past Chapter Leader Training calls can be viewed by clicking here.
Invitations are sent to all chapter leaders approximately two weeks prior to the call. Questions can be sent to Jill Wilbeck.
