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Information and History
NASTT Northwest Chapter
By: Dan Willems, P.Eng.


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NASTT
• North American Society for Trenchless Technology.
• Established in 1990.
• NASTT is “dedicated to promoting the benefits of
trenchless technology for public awareness through
education, training and research.”
• Currently seven regional chapters across North America.
• Presents annual North American No-Dig Conference.


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NASTT Chapters (2008)


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Northwest Chapter History –
Roots
• Development of the Northwest Chapter started in 1995.
• Founders were Rick Prentice and Ken Chua.

Rick Prentice

Ken Chua

• Due to a long history of trenchless construction, the City
of Edmonton’s support was essential in successfully
initiating the chapter.


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Northwest Chapter History –
Roots
• Edmonton-area industry representatives were gathered to
expand support for a new chapter.
• With Edmonton support secured, Rick traveled to
Vancouver and Seattle in early-1996 and secured
additional support in those regions for the new chapter.


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Northwest Chapter History –
Roots
• A number of meetings were held over the course of 1996.
• The Northwest Chapter was officially chartered in early
1997 at the NASTT No-Dig Conference in Seattle.
• The Chapter originally included Alberta, British Columbia,
and Washington State.

NASTT Chapters (1997)


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Northwest Chapter History –
Roots
The first Board of Directors:
Chair
Ken Silvester (BC)
Vice Chair
Ken Chua (AB)

Secretary
Sam Ariaratnam (AB)

Treasurer
Dave Otto (BC)
Directors:
Dave Krywiak (AB)
Ken Fender (WA)
John Jurgens (WA)

Dave O’Sullivan (BC)
Michael Kirby (WA)


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Northwest Chapter History –
Past Chairs
Ken Silvester (BC) – 1998-2000
Ken Chua (AB) – 2000-2001
Ken Fender (WA) – 2001-2002
Chris Skowronski (AB) – 2002-2003
Dave Krywiak (AB) – 2003-2005
Kim Staheli (WA) – 2005-2008
Albert Kwan (AB) – 2008-present


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Northwest Chapter History –
Activities
• The Chapter’s first symposium was held in Edmonton in
Fall 1997.
• An annual event since 1997 which has grown into a twoday event including a short course, conference, and
trade show.
• Today, the annual “Alberta Trenchless Conference”
rotates host cities between Calgary and Edmonton.


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Northwest Chapter History –
Activities
• The Edmonton Section of the Chapter has hosted
monthly technical lunches (September through April)
since 1998.
• The Calgary Section has hosted 2 to 3 technical lunches
per year since 2004. Local support is still growing.


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Northwest Chapter History –
Activities
• From 1997 until 2007, the Chapter issued a semi-annual
newsletter summarizing trenchless activity in the region.
• Replaced by the NASTT-NW Chapter Journal in 2007,
currently issued annually in September/October.


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Northwest Chapter History –
British Columbia Separation
• B.C. officially split from the Northwest Chapter and
started NASTT-BC in 2005.
• Separated due to difficulty in coordinating chapter-wide
activities and local membership was high enough to
establish an independent chapter.
• Washington remained with the Northwest Chapter.

NASTT Chapters (2008)


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Northwest Chapter –
Current Board of Directors
Chair
Albert Kwan (AB)

Past Chair
Kim Staheli (WA)

Vice Chair
Michelle Ramos (WA)

Secretary
Vacant

Treasurer
Neil Kucharski (AB)
Directors:
Duane Strayer (AB)
Jack Burnham (WA)


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Northwest Chapter –
Recent Bylaw Revisions
• In January 2009, the Chapter membership voted on, and
accepted, a number of proposed changes to the Bylaws.
• The most important change was the revision of the
Chapter’s geographic area to include Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Washington state is
currently working towards establishing its own chapter.


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Northwest Chapter –
Recent Bylaw Revisions

Potential Layout of NASTT Chapters – 2009 (Unconfirmed)


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Northwest Chapter –
Involvement Opportunities
Chapter involvement opportunities:
– Editorial Committee
– Project of the Year Committee
– Conference Organizing Committee (Calgary - 2009)

Contact [email protected] for more information.


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