ceo letter T he summer edition of Rural Matters is known to be our trashiest. Kidding aside, the focus is on an essential and often forgotten service: solid waste management in rural and tribal areas across the country. You will read stories from across the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) network that use creativity and persistence to solve communities’ solid waste issues such as recycling, illegal dumping, new landfills, and management practices. In my past life, I was a county executive and had the responsibility of overseeing the management of a large landfill. It turned out we had illegal hazardous waste being dumped at night, and our water table was being affected. These illegal activities are real, and they are nationwide. We must all be vigilant. Solid waste management is more than your weekly trash collection; it is an environmental protection and public health issue. If taken for granted in your community, you will face economic stagnation or decline in rural and tribal communities. Creating safe, healthy, and prosperous communities requires holistic water, wastewater, and solid waste management approaches. The dedicated technical assistance providers of RCAP’s regional partners share this belief and are committed to helping the smallest, most vulnerable communities. As I reflect on my last six months as Interim CEO, I am celebrating all the victories from these stories and countless others. Every person in the RCAP network is changing people’s daily lives in our smallest communities. Thank you for your dedication and grace as we transitioned to new leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your leader and hand the baton over with pride to our new CEO, Olga Morales-Pate, whose commitment to our rural and tribal communities is undeniable.
PUBLISHED BY RCAP Inc. rcap.org MANAGING EDITORS Coye Gerald Seth Johnson Arianne Shipley EXECUTIVE EDITORS Glenn Barnes Sarah Buck Bobby Cochran Owen Griffith Ami Keiffer Nicole Manapol Maranda Saling
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Debbie Hackman LeAnn Kerzman Jacqueline D. Shirley Edwin Vazquez-Asencio Michelle Viney Patrick T. Walker
DESIGN
PUBLISHER Nikki Bowman Mills, nikki@newsouthmediainc.com DESIGNER Hayley Richard, hayley@newsouthmediainc.com
RCAP is powered by a dedicated national staff, board, and network of regional partners across the country. Learn more about our people.
RCAP is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
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Keith Ashby Interim CEO, RCAP
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