Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1037945
WEEKLY EDITION OCTOBER 10, 2018 We Have Met the Enemy – Now What Do We Do? KOS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 At the beginning, of course, no one knew if they'd win or lose. That wasn't even the point. Until Perry showed up, made the best use of the imperfect resources at his disposal, and fought the battle, defeat was assured because the British already commanded the lake. It was the trying that mattered. It was the trying that actually made the difference. Winning was a bonus. You may be thinking, "What does any of this have to do with portable sanitation?" As I write these words, the portable sanitation industry has been the subject of several very disheartening news stories. An operator in Wyoming has been fined $50,000 for illegal disposal over a period of years. A company in the Carolinas is pumping truckloads of blue-tinted portable sanitation waste out of a ditch where unknown persons have dumped it. An angry neighbor tipped a portable restroom onto the driveway of the person he blamed for its abandonment. These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. We know there's a lot of chatter among end users about our industry and its services. What they are saying doesn't usually include a lot of compliments. So often I talk with hardworking people who lament the lack of respect our industry commands. Most of the time they are grateful for what the PSAI is doing to address these issues, but they feel too busy, too under-equipped, and sometimes too discouraged to make a difference personally. Most are quite sure they know who the bad actors are; no one thinks it is them. This, of course, isn't possible. The best companies sometimes wind up in a negative news story – just as Admiral Perry got hit with a few cannon balls – and the worst companies are, in effect, lighting the fuses for the ongoing barrage that hits everyone. Deserved or not, negative stories further the narrative of the "icky" portable restroom. Bad action, inaction, busy- ness, and handwringing on the part of industry members all allow the enemy fleet of bad feelings to prevail. As Walt Kelly said in his famous Pogo cartoon, "W e h a ve m e t th e e n e m y, a n d h e i s u s ." PAGE 6 The reconstructed U.S. Brig Niagara tall ship docked in the port of Toledo Ohio. The ship fought in the Battle of Lake Erie in the war of 1812 commanded by Commodore Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry.