Portable Sanitation Association International

ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION APRIL 28, 2021 Page 7 The Chartering Congress and First Annual Meeting of the PSA By Jeff Wigley, Past PSAI President O n Friday, April 30, 1971 at 12:30 pm, a group of eager industry volunteers held the chartering ceremony of the Portable Sanitation Association Incorporated (then abbreviated as the PSA) in Washington, DC. On the following day, they convened the first annual business session, and installed the inaugural Board of Directors. Though the new group was just "incorporated" and not yet "international," with these actions, our beloved PSAI was born. Fifty years later, it is the oldest, the largest, and the most respected association in our industry. Background As our first article in the 50th Anniversary Celebration Series described, on January 28–29, 1971, dozens of portable sanitation leaders held an "Industry Exploratory Conference" in Washington, DC to investigate the possibility of forming a nationwide association of portable restroom operators and suppliers for this new, growing, and rapidly evolving industry. They selected Executives Consultants, Inc. (ECI), a multiple association consulting and management company, to organize and initiate these proceedings. Founded in 1965 in our nation's capital, ECI monitored and stayed apprised of all pertinent laws, rules, and regulations that would impact their new clients. The ECI office location even affirmed the company's desire to monitor relevant governmental policies that would impact their clients' organizations and associations. Minutes of the proceedings tell us ECI could be found "west of the White House, just off Pennsylvania Avenue at 20th Street." Now located in the Lubbock, Texas area, ECI remains a highly respected company in their field. News Release—First Organizational Meeting ECI summarized the results of this January conference in a press release dated February 3, 1971 entitled "Portable Units Organize." The release stated: "Representatives from fifteen states and thirty-five US cities have just concluded a two-day Exploratory Conference in Washington, DC to determine the feasibility of organizing a nation-wide group. Out of the Conference, attended by over fifty dealers and manufacturers in the fast-growing field of Portable Sanitation facilities, came a directive to a specially selected Organizing Committee to begin putting together a Portable Sanitation Association on a national basis. "Chairman of the Organizing Committee is Irvin Juster of Schenectady, New York, who stated that the principle needs and aims of the PSA will be to keep members abreast of news, new techniques, and programs that will assist them in performing intelligently and successfully in the expanding sanitation field, and in better ways to provide and service sanitation rental equipment in the public interest. Continued on page 8 The luncheon held at the Chartering Congress.

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