APWA NC Chapter – President’s Message

Hello APWA Family! I am so excited to welcome 2021 as many of us are glad to have 2020 behind us.  I am excited to serve you as President of our APWA North Carolina Chapter.  My theme for the coming year is CHALLENGE!  As I open this message, I want to challenge each of you to continue to be actively engaged in APWA and encourage others to become engaged.  APWA has so much to offer and one of the great things about more people joining is there are more people to offer their talents, successes, knowledge, and wisdom.  Our diversity makes us stronger!

We all faced many challenges in 2020. Among those challenges were public works response to national protests and riots amid a global pandemic, both preparatory and cleanup, and continuity of services throughout the pandemic. These challenges sparked emotion, were intense, and left psychological and physical marks on many individuals and the communities we serve. The greatest challenge we may face in 2021 is the responsibility of keeping our staff, our families, and ourselves mentally and physically healthy as we continue to develop a new normal.

Inequality and exclusion are centric to many of the problems we face, globally and locally, including environment, health, education, and community. Seemingly, we have little or no control over any of these issues, but we must challenge ourselves to take every opportunity to practice equality and inclusion in our families, our work, and our community. 

These challenges led to difficulties in developing budgets for your businesses, departments, APWA technical division, and maybe even your personal budgets.  These challenges led to growth, both personally and professionally, for many of us, but we must remember there are many in our communities who are still struggling.

I hope this finds each of you well with a renewed outlook on your future, and the future of APWA, and the challenges that lie before us.

Christopher W. McGee, PE

APWA-NC President