National Rural Water Association (NRWA) is pleased to announce that Russ Donoghue, recently retired from Rural Water Association of Utah (RWAU), received a Distinguished Service Award.  This award is presented to individuals who have spent a career of dedication, commitment and loyalty to Rural Water nationwide and their association’s goals.
     Donoghue exemplifies what rural water stands for, by a lifelong career in rural water.  Donoghue has served RWAU as executive director as well as having served on the NRWA for many years.  Through his progressive leadership and his recognition of the challenges of changing times, Donoghue’s vision helped to offer a wide range of quality programs and services to meet the needs of RWAU members and their state.  Donoghue was recently honored at the NRWA National Conference in Philadelphia, PA. He has always given above and beyond and is a living example of the commitment and determination that makes Team Rural Water so special.
     The NRWA Awards of Excellence program was established to recognize the outstanding efforts of the Member State Affiliates, their staff, and special members of the rural water industry.
     The National Rural Water Association is a non-profit federation of State Rural Water Associations.  Its mission: to provide state associations with support services to meet the needs of their membership.  NRWA is America’s largest utility association with over 26,292 members.   NRWA’s state associations have train over 55,000 water and wastewater system personnel each year.  They also provide over 100,000 on-site technical assistance visits a year.