Andy Smith, our Quality Assurance Manager, helped jump start WETLAB’s involvement with local non-profit organization the Veterans Guest House.  Last year, we explored several staff members stories about why they support Veterans Guest House, which you can find here.  

Hello, as many of you remember WETLAB decided to “adopt” the Veterans Guest House (VGH) as a company-wide fundraising event in 2015. You may also remember how incredibly successful that was thanks to the incredible donations that came in from our friends, families, and of course our clients. We did so well that it put us on the VGH radar and I was recently appointed to the board of directors of the VGH. That is something I’m very proud of, but I know it wouldn’t have happened without a lot of support from all of you. A big part of the duties of a VGH board member is to actively participate in the yearly VGH Radiothon, the biggest fundraising event of the year for the house. At the radiothon this year I was able to spend a few hours at the event meeting some great people, donors and veterans alike, while getting an insider’s view of a really big event. It was a long day but quite frankly one heck of a lot more fun than I expected. We were fortunate to have some other WETLAB staffers work the phone bank for a couple hours and I pretty sure they had a great time as well.

 

Overall the VGH raised over $65,000!!!

What a great event, I urge you to join us next year.

Visit www.VeteransGuestHouse.org for more information

Thank you,

Andy Smith

At WETLAB, we are often approached by members of the community who are interested in having one of talented scientists come talk to students about chemistry.  We try to oblige as much as we can, and this year, we were able to do two completely different presentations for different classes.

First up was Andy Smith, our esteemed Quality Assurance Manager, who performed four “chemistry magic” experiments for 2-5 year old students at the Goddard School.  The first experiment was a re-appearing ink sign.  The ink was phenolphthalein indicator on paper, and once the paper was sprayed with Windex (making it basic) the message “Chemistry Magic” appeared.  Next, he created a blueberry Kool-Aid drink that, due to an oxidation- reduction reaction, would turn from blue to colorless.  With a quick shake of the bottle, it would return to blue for a few minutes before the reaction completed again. Third, he changed the color of a Bunsen burner flame to blue (with copper sulfate), orange (with sodium chloride), green (barium chloride), and  brilliant red (with lithium sulfate).  Last, Andy crushed aluminum cans by boiling a small amount of water in them to create steam.  Once the steaming can is turned over in ice water, the instant cooling causes the cans to crush themselves!

The next was Ellen Messinger-Patton, Kat Langford, and Andrew Tobey, who showed a presentation on water purity to sixth graders.  In order to show that tap water is just as safe to drink as bottled water, the kids compared and contrasted three samples, including bottled water, tap water, and an untreated sample from the Truckee River.  They used odor, color, pH, metals concentration, and turbidity to determine which water sample was the cleanest.  At the end of the hour, bottled water and tap water were a tie, and many of the kids agreed to try to drink tap water now.  The WETLAB presenters also spent a small amount of time relaying the importance of conservation, and what our hydrologic system looks like in the Truckee Meadows.

At WETLAB, we think that science education is incredibly important.  We are happy to foster the next generation of scientists, and show them that science is not only useful, but also really fun.

Participating in events that benefit our community is important to all of us at WETLAB.  Below, one of our lab techs tells us about an event she participated in earlier this year benefiting the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. 

CANstruction – March 5, 2015

Maiya Greenwood

CANstruction is a charity competition where participants design and build giant structures made completely from canned food. At the conclusion of the competition, all of the food is donated to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. The participants range from engineers and architects to boy scout troops and school students. This year’s event was impressive, exciting and charitable! There were five categories: best meal, best use of labels, structural ingenuity, juror’s favorite, and an honorable mention.

 

Three WETLAB staffers spent their day volunteering at U.C. Davis’s Tahoe Environmental Research Center’s Children’s Environmental Science Day on August 2, 2015.  This wonderful event presented many different environmental topics to kids of all ages, and each booth was hosted by a different interested organization.  WETLAB hosted a booth on turbidity and water clarity, which simultaneously exposed children to modern science and helped them understand a specific aspect of Lake Tahoe conservation.

 

 

 

 

WETLAB has been participating in Snapshot Day for several years now.  We’re proud of our commitment to education, and we hope to inspire ecological stewardship in students of all ages, while also showcasing various career paths they might not have considered previously.  WETLAB directed three monitoring stations this year, meaning we were given the chance to inspire over one hundred students.  Below is a guest blog written by Mary Kay Wagner, the coordinator for Snapshot Day. 

 

Education on the River: Truckee River Snapshot Day

Mary Kay Wagner, Lower Truckee River Snapshot Day Coordinator

The ultimate learning experience occurs when students perform their own investigations and discovery.  That opportunity was provided for Washoe County School District students during the 15^th Annual Truckee River Snapshot Day on May 15, 2015. Under the guidance of resource professionals, students take a picture of one-moment in time of the Truckee River by collecting water quality data and studying the riparian habitat.  They also learn about watershed concerns and stewardship practices.

For the lower Truckee River segment, nine schools sent 239 students ranging from 4^th grade to high school to participate in the event. The student monitoring teams are pre-assigned to various monitoring sites to perform a stream walk (visual assessment), collect field data and water quality samples, and take photos. Streams are field tested for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, and temperature. Water samples are taken to the Nevada State Health Lab and analyzed for turbidity, nutrients, and fecal coliform bacteria. Monitoring teams also collect debris and trash – things that don’t belong in the river.

One added value of Snapshot Day is the opportunity for students to learn and work alongside natural resource professionals, exposing the students to exciting careers and transferring ecological stewardship principles to a new batch of field recruits.

The success of this hands-on educational event is attributed to the dedicated Team Leaders from WETLAB, Great Basin Institute, Sierra Nevada Journeys, City of Sparks, City of Reno, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada Department of Transportation, The Nature Conservancy and Pyramid Lake Environmental staff, who helped students understand watershed concepts and hydrology, as well as the importance of environmental stewardship.  Participating schools included Mt. View Montessori, Natchez Elementary School, High Desert Montessori, Sage Ridge Middle School, Excel Christian School, Spanish Springs High School, Washoe Innovation High School, a home-school group and the Washoe County On-Line School.

 

We here at WETLAB are proud of our continued involvement in the community.  That involvement takes many different forms, recently including helping to inspire young minds to be interested in science.  Below, four WETLABbers share their experience presenting at a local high school’s career day. 

Career Day at Galena High School:  April 23, 2015

-Jennifer Delaney, AJ Lewis, Maiya Greenwood and Cory Baker-

Each year, Galena High School hosts a Career Fair for its sophomore students.  The career fair exposes students to the possibilities and realities of a successful career path.  Sophomores are invited because 10^th grade is often the point at which they begin looking into colleges and potential career interests. Professionals from various backgrounds participate as speakers, teaching kids about their careers, their educations, how they got to where they are, volunteer services, the importance of networking and more.

WETLAB is now a veteran of this event, as this was our second year participating.  We met early at Galena High School to set up the displays at our booth. We had pamphlets with pictures of the lab, Erlenmeyer flasks with concentrated and dilute green slime, yellow and red acid vials to represent Nitric and Sulfuric Acid, a specimen cup with pink solution to simulate the presence of CN (properly labeled on the cup), and a tiny volumetric flask dyed blue to simulate the presence of MBAS.  Most importantly, we had the WETLAB mascot, the Labrador, wearing its personal protective gear to demonstrate proper PPE and to show that science can be fun.  These visuals helped to engage the students by prompting questions that led to discussions about their own interests and the breadth of scientific study and career paths.

We presented to six groups of students for 20 minutes each.  First we introduced what WETLAB does and the importance of our business.  Most students seemed knowledgeable about the importance of water quality and the need for environmental testing in Nevada, as well as locally here in the Truckee Basin.  Next, we each described our educational backgrounds, work experiences, and the importance of networking and volunteering.  With different backgrounds and career paths, students were able to hear our individual perspectives and learn about our unique experiences that led us to our current careers.  This helped to emphasize that there is more than one way to find an interesting and fulfilling career if you follow your passion.  While we all had varying messages, the resonating theme was to work hard, build a professional network, ask for help along the way, and keep your doors open to different opportunities.

It will be a few years before these kids enter the workforce, but their desire for a career in science and their level of interest is encouraging. Our industry has a promising future if we continue to feed and encourage young minds, teach them how to overcome challenges, and pursue what is important to them. Hopefully, networking in a more intimate setting plants the seed that will inspire our future workforce to grow and work towards their goals, prepare for higher education, and gain crucial career experience.

 

 

For many years WETLAB has committed to giving back to our community.  We believe it’s our responsibility to leave a mark and make a difference in the communities where we live. 

Hello!  My name is Nick Ross and I am the Operations Manager at Western Environmental Testing Laboratory.  As part of our 2015 Volunteer Program we tasked ourselves to work together as a group for one large event.  Ideas for the event were submitted by our staff in January and the company would vote on a cause to pursue before the end of February.  As the ideas came rolling in, one in particular caught my attention.

The newest member of our team (Kat) nominated the Veterans Guest House.  This is a special organization because of my family members that have served and sacrificed for this great country.  My grandfather and uncle both served in the U.S. Navy.  During World War II my grandfather was in the south Pacific for over 4 years spending the end of his time on or around the island of Kwajalein.  I wish I knew more…but an already quiet man was even more subdued and didn’t like to talk about those moments in his life.  This just proves the quote, “all gave some, some gave all.”  And finally, my younger brother is a pilot currently aboard the USS Carl Vinson.  Carl Vinson is deployed as part of the Carl Vinson Strike Group supporting maritime security operations, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.  His sacrifice will be to miss the birth of his first child.

Those are some of the reasons why I personally felt connected to the Veterans Guest House.  And why I wanted to help support the men and women that give so much.  If you haven’t donated yet, please do and WETLAB will match your donation dollar-for-dollar before March 6, 2015.  Visit www.VeteransGuestHouse.org/donate and enter WETLAB on the “Donation Note or Organization” line

Hello Gracious Readers,

My name is Lance Bell, and I am the Business Development Manager for Western Environmental Laboratory. I am writing today to share with you why support for the Veteran’s Guest House is important to me. Men in 3 of the last 4 generations of my family tree have faithfully served our nation in the armed services in some capacity. Both of my grandfathers served in WW II, including one who was shot down over Europe during an air mission and subsequently spent 3 years as a POW in a German Stalag camp. My Uncle was stationed in Europe during the Korean War, and now my oldest son serves as an Airmen First Class in the US Air Force Air National Guard.

I had the privilege to attend my son’s graduation ceremony from Basic Training at Lackland AF Base in San Antonio, TX in October of 2013. Every week some 300-500 airmen successfully advance, and it was inspirational to witness the dedication and commitment demonstrated by the men and women who have chosen to make as part of their dream and ambition the desire to protect this nation, and defend the values and principals upon which it stands.

As I think of the Veteran’s Guest House, I am reminded not only of my own family’s service, but also that of all those veterans and their families, and the sacrifices that they have had to make and endure because of their commitment to the rest of us. Here in Reno we have an opportunity to show our gratitude in support of something not only unique in concept, but noble in cause.

Visit www.VeteransGuestHouse.org/donate and be sure to enter WETLAB on the “Donation Note or Organization” line. Remember, if  you donate before March 6th, 2015, WETLAB will MATCH your donation

I’m Cassie and I’m the HR/Admin manager for WETLAB.  My reasons for wanting to support our areas only veteran’s guest house is because my daughter was in the military and has utilized the VA hospital here in Reno and raves about the wonderful quality of service and care she has received there.  After all the horrible things that have been brought to light around the nation about other VA hospitals I’m very thankful that we have such a gift locally.  Unfortunately a lot of veterans have to travel a great distance to get here and then have to deal with the stress and financial burden of a place to stay on top of their medical issues.  The Veterans guest house not only provides a safe, welcoming place to stay for the vet, but also the vet’s family regardless of their ability to pay.   I am very proud of my daughter for taking on the challenges of the military and am glad for this opportunity to support her fellow soldiers.

Visit www.VeteransGuestHouse.org/donate and be sure to enter WETLAB on the “Donation Note or Organization” line. Remember, if  you donate before March 6^th, 2015, WETLAB will MATCH your donation

My name is Danny Tile and I am in Business Development at WETLAB. I wanted  to share a  few of the reasons why I support the Vererans Guest House (VGH). First and foremost I’m a Vietnam Veteran. As a war veteran if I needed to have any medical procedure done, I believe that the VA Hospital in Reno is one of the best on the West Coast.  If veterans don’t live close by, it can be expensive for them and their families while they are receiving treatment; they would need to pay for a hotel room, spend money on food and gas and logistics in general. The VGH can provide temporary overnight housing (including use of the kitchen) to those veterans and their families receiving medical treatment from out of town. They ask people pay what they can afford and don’t turn anyone away regardless of their  ability to pay. Additionally,  the house is located right across the street from the VA hospital which makes getting to the hospital very easy. And finally, to have the support of the wonderful  people who run the VGH is of great comfort to these families.Veterans have kept this country free from the time of the Revolutionary War. In my opinion, this the least we can do for them.

Visit www.VeteransGuestHouse.org/donate and be sure to enter WETLAB on the “Donation Note or Organization” line. Remember, if  you donate before March 6^th, 2015, WETLAB will MATCH your donation