AWRA Florida Annual Meeting - Key West 

August 6 and 7, 2026 

Harvey Governmental Center

1200 Truman Avenue, Key West, FL

REGISTRATION CLOSED ON JULY 19

Any Registrants after 7/19/26 will be placed on the waitlist 

Thursday, August 6, 2026

10:00 am - 12:00 am AWRA Florida Board Meeting  - All are welcome

12:30 pm Meeting Registration Opens

1:00 pm - 1:15 pm Welcome - Greg Stelmack, President, AWRA Florida 

1:15  pm  - 1:35 pm Key Note Presentation

Insights into the New Federal Directive, Build Infrastructure, Not Paperwork Major Cory Bell, USACE

1:40 pm – 2:50 pm  Latest Developments in Florida's Water Supply

Mark Bombard, Assistant Utility Director, City of Winter Haven

David Hackworth, Director of Engineering, Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority

Annie Brett, Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law 

Cory Evans, Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

2:50 pm – 3:05 pm  Break

3:10 pm – 3:35 pm  Innovative Solutions to Water Resource Challenges

Greg Knecht, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy in Florida

3:40pm – 4:00 pm 2026 Florida Legislative Update

Alexandria M. Kernan, Senior Advisor, Transportation & Natural Resources Policy Leader, Arrow Group

4:00 pm – 4:15 pm    Closing Remarks

5:30 pm – 8:30pm     Private Reception and Dinner at the Audubon House- For Registrants, Speakers, and Guests. 205 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040.  Includes Reception, dinner, and private tour of the Audubon House

Friday, August 7, 2026   

8:00 am – 8:45 am Networking Continental Breakfast

8:45 am  -9:00 am Meeting Begins - Greg Stelmack, President, AWRA Florida Board of Directors

9:00 am – 9:10 am  - Monroe County Welcome and Opening Remarks  

Commissioner Jim Scholl, District 3, Monroe County

9:10 am – 10:40 am  The Water Management District Update from the Five Executive Directors

Brian Armstrong – Executive Director, Southwest Florida WMD

Drew Bartlett – Executive Director, South Florida WMD

Mike Register – Executive Director, St. Johns River WMD

Lyle Siegler – Executive Director, North West Florida WMD

Hugh Thomas – Executive Director, Suwanee River WMD 

10:40 am – 10:55 am   Break

11:00 am – 12:15 pm   U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District Update 

Colonel Brandon L. Bowman, District Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District

Major Cory J. Bell, Deputy District Commander for South Florida, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District

Jason Engle, P.E., Chief, Engineering Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District

Howard Gonzales, Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District  

12:15 pm – 1:45pm  Lunch, on your own

1:50 pm – 2:10 pm –  DEP Update          

Adam Blalock, Deputy Secretary for Ecosystems Restoration, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2:15 pm – 2:35pm  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Update

Timothy Breen, Everglades Program Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2:35pm – 2:50pm  Break

2:55 pm – 4:00pm   

Student Technical Presentations – Student Winners  

Scholarship Awards – Gordon Brown, Education Committee chair  

Special Recognition and Annual Awards – Luna Phillips, 2025 Past President

Raffle of Cooler of Cheer   - Logan Whitehouse, Secretary, AWRA Florida  

4:00 pm Closing Remarks – Greg Stelmack, President  

5:30 – 7:30 pm  Private Happy Hour Reception on Duval Street,  For Registrants, Speakers, and Guests. Point 5 Tapas & Wine Bar,  915 Duval St #5, Key West, FL 33040

Annual Meeting Chairs

 

Lynette Cardoch, PhD, Moffatt & Nichol

Luna Phillips, Esq., Gunster Law Firm 

Registration  Fees

• 2026 Member: $375 ( Includes Thursday night reception and dinner and Friday networking reception)
• 2026 Non-Member: $425 for 2026  (Includes AWRA Florida membership, Thursday night reception and dinner, and Friday networking event)
• Students (Meeting only): $25 Thursday and Friday technical meetings
• Students (Full Registration): $100 Thursday and Friday technical meeting, Thursday night networking and dinner, and Friday night networking reception
• Guests of a paying registrant or speaker: $150 Thursday reception and dinner and Friday networking event  
• Annual Sponsors and Life Members - Free Registration - Contact awra@awraflorida.org for Free Registration Code 

• Organizations interested in sponsoring the meeting should contact Sam Palermo at 561-351-5278 or pay online here. 

• There is no reserved hotel block. Lodging fills quickly—book early!

• Registrants will be able to obtain PE and PG continuing credits and Florida Bar CLE credits.

Saturday August 8, 2026 - Snorkeling Trip 

Click Below for Key West Adventures + Discount Pricing to book directly with the company. This Snorkeling Trip is an additional cost and is not included in the Registration Fee.  AWRA Florida is not responsible for this excursion.

Click Here

Join AWRA Florida on October 16, 2026 in Jacksonville for a Technical Meeting with the theme of Shaping the Future of Water in Florida.

LOCATION:

JEA H2.0™ Purification Center

7599 Southside Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32256

NOTES:

• Organizations interested in sponsoring the meeting may pay online here or contact Sam Palermo at 561-351-5278.
• Continuing Education credits will be available for Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Attorneys (pending final approval).
• Thank you to our Sponsors!

AGENDA: (Updated 4-14-26)

9:30 Florida AWRA Board Meeting – All Meeting Registrants Can Attend and are Welcome

11:15 Registration Opens – Make tour part of registration – (Tour 1 11:15 am – 11:45 am)

11:45 Lunch and Networking (included with registration)

12:20 Welcome and Introduction of Keynote Speaker – Ryan Popko, JEA and Greg Stelmack, FL AWRA

12:30 Keynote Address – Mike Register, St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director

1:00 JEA’s H2.0 Purified Water Demonstration Facility – Ryan Popko, JEA

1:30 Fortifying the Nation’s Oldest City: Nature, Engineering, and the Future of St. Augustine’s Back Bay – Jessica Beach, PE, City of St. Augustine and Jason Harrah, Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

2:00 FDOT Resiliency Action Plan (RAP) – TBD

2:30 Water Utility AI Panel TBD – Back up plan is a JEA Topic.

3:00 Break & Refreshments (included with registration) – also, can have some folks go on a tour (Tour 2, 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm)

3:30 SJRWMD Panel TBD

4:15 Facility Tour 3 – These tours are loaded with technical content so they can count toward CEHs. hrs. – (Tour 3 4:15pm – 4:45pm)

5:00 Networking Happy Hour – TBD (Might be Off-Site near Tinseltown – 3 minutes away) – Mello Mushroom off Southside Blvd.

Thank you to our October 2026 Technical Meeting Sponsors!

AWRA National 2026 Annual Conference

November 9 - 11, 2026 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Click here for more information