494 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 2

A strong convention outcome starts before the first session and continues long after the exhibit hall closes. Association of Water Technologies Executive Director Matt Coffindaffer explains how deliberate preparation, wider professional relationships, and volunteer service can turn AWT 2026 into practical value for an industrial water treatment career or business.

Find the Right Place to Volunteer

AWT offers yearlong committee service, shorter task-force assignments, and opportunities across technical research, marketing, membership, regulatory affairs, business resources, young professionals, Women of Water, legislative work, and charity. Matt emphasizes that there is no single ideal volunteer: owners, technical directors, sales and service professionals, field technicians, suppliers, and newcomers can contribute according to their time, experience, and interests.

For business owners, committee work can strengthen peer relationships and provide access to practical operating resources. Newer professionals can also use the Young Professionals Committee to understand the organization, explore career paths, and learn about different specialties within industrial water treatment.

Turn Convention Attendance into Business Value

AWT 2026 in Oklahoma City brings together more than 1,000 industry peers and about 130 exhibitors. The program prioritizes technical content, while the September 15 Business Owners Meeting gives owners and management-team members a focused setting for business education, networking, and market insights from AWT's benchmarking survey.

Matt frames the convention's value in operational terms: practitioners share lessons shaped by field experience, suppliers can support the full water treatment service chain, and one useful insight or connection may help a company solve problems more efficiently. The strongest return comes from engaging beyond familiar contacts.

Prepare, Connect, and Divide the Learning

Before arriving, review the schedule, select sessions, read available papers, and prepare questions. Because several technical tracks run simultaneously, coordinate with peers, attend different presentations, and compare notes afterward. First-time attendees can use the first-timer ribbon—and the Scaling UP! H2O "magic button"—to begin conversations more naturally.

Trace adds a practical exhibit-hall strategy: review the exhibitor list and map, note vendors connected to specific questions, walk the full floor once for orie