Underground Infrastructure - January 2023 - 28

REHABTECHNOLOGY
Pete Kurz
EDITOR'S NOTE:
NASSCO continues to set standards for
the assessment and rehabilitation of
underground infrastructure. A vast array of
individuals has contributed to the success
of the association, both in the past and
present, that has driven NASSCO's industry
mission. This series of articles recognizes
those who have not only been critical to the
success of NASSCO, but the industry as well.
This month, we profi le Pete Kurz who
embraced the ideals of NASSCO to become
one of its staunchest supporters and
eff ective memorable leaders.
I grew up in Bethesda, Md., a suburb of
Washington, D.C. Th at is where, in high
school, I met my wife, Eileen. I att ended
the University of Maryland where I studied
business administration.
During the fi rst semester of my senior
year, I suff ered a ruptured appendix and
would need to repeat the semester. Aſt er
fi ve years of dating Eileen, I had two
choices aſt er my recovery - go back to
school or marry Eileen. I chose the latt er
and it was the best decision of my life. We
were married in 1978 and now, 44 years
later, we have fi ve children, four grandchildren
and are happier than ever.
Early in my career I was a private
contractor doing intellectual property
research work. In 1986, with three children
at the time, Eileen suggested that
health insurance might be a good idea,
so she encouraged me to fi nd a job with
bett er benefi ts to support our growing
family. A mutual friend introduced
me to Trevor Gardner with Atlantic
Machinery, a company that sells sewer
cleaners and other municipal equipment.
Th at was my fi rst entrance into the
world of trenchless technology and the
beginning of my very long career.
While sales was never something that
28 JANUARY 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
particularly interested me, my education
in business administration primed me for
this new role and I worked in technical
sales for Atlantic Machinery until 1990.
Around that time, it became clear that
my family needed to move to an area with
a lower cost of living than Washington,
D.C. Eileen worked at home raising our
children, and a single income for a family
like ours was not something easy to
maintain in our nation's capital, so we
moved to Richmond, Va.
In 1990 I went to work for Virginia
Public Works Equipment, now ISG,
where I sold Vactor equipment. Aſt er
working there for 10 years, I moved on
to Tri-State Utilities, a lining contractor.
I took a short detour when I went to
work with Envirosight in 2012 to get
back into the equipment side of things,
but returned to ISG in 2015 as sales manager.
I love the opportunity to coach and
train people by passing along my past experiences
and knowledge of the industry,
and I remain in this role today.
Discovering NASSCO
During my time at Tri-State is when I
fi rst learned of NASSCO. Tri-State was
just gett ing into the lining business and
had connections with former NASSCO
Presidents Jack Conte III [1997-1999]
and Steve Gearhart [2000-2001]. So
off I went to NASSCO's 2002 Annual
Conference at Sanibel Harbor Resort &
Spa in Fort Myers, Fla. I walked in and
felt completely lost; I had no clue what
was going on. Th en I met Irv Gemora,
who served as NASSCO's executive director
from 2002-2010. With his easy, approachable
style, quick wit and welcoming
manner, Irv made me feel right at home.
Aſt er my introduction to NASSCO at
that annual conference I jumped right in
and got involved as much as I could with
committ ee work. Th e ability to network
and contribute was a perfect platform to
help me meet new people, understand
emerging technologies, and contribute
to NASSCO's mission to set standards
for the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation
of underground infrastructure
in a personal and meaningful way.
Irv always made a huge impression
on me because of his ability to get things
done. He identifi ed issues, took charge,
and really knew how to delegate. In fact,
this is what impressed me then, and continues
to impress me today. NASSCO accomplishments
are never because of one
person - everything is a team eff ort by
individuals who truly care about the industry
and do what is right, even when it
means rolling up your sleeves and working
side-by-side with your competitors.
At the 2010 Annual Conference at
Don Shula's Hotel and Golf Club in
Miami Lakes, Fla., I ran into Irv taking
a break outside, smoking one of his
trademark cigars. Irv knew his time at
NASSCO would soon be coming to
an end and he was really putt ing on
the pressure for me and others to get
more involved. Litt le did I know how
much that prodding to get involved in
NASSCO would change my life both
professionally and personally. I owe so
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Underground Infrastructure - January 2023

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