During the first week of February, Ohio Rural Water Association and some of it's members attended the National Rural Water Association's Rural Water Rally in Washington D.C. to advocate on behalf of Ohio's rural water & wastewater systems. Our objective was to meet with Ohio's national legislators on Capitol Hill and encourage them to support funding for infrastructure, training, and technical assistance in rural Ohio. Ohio Rural Water Association's contingent included, Tom Reese (President), Lowell Allen (Vice President), Bill Neal (Board Member & Ross County Water Co. General manager), John Simpson (Legislative Committee Chairman & Le-Ax Water General manager), Larry Foster (Jackson County Water Company General Manager & Ohio's Water Tasting Contest Winner), Shawn Tappel (Northern Ohio Rural Water General Manager), and Joseph Pheil (ORWA's Executive Director).

During the event, we met with over a dozen of Ohio's national legislators or their assistants. We had coffee with both of Ohio's U.S. Senators, and below you can see our meeting with Senator Rob Portman and Lowell Allen's presentation of eagle photographs on behalf of Brown County Rural Water Association.