From Dennis Nelson accepts the 2012 U.S. Water Prize · · Project WET Foundation
“Our model has been based on bringing the scientific management community together with educators.”
On , Dennis Nelson, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director at BUCKLE INC, spoke about collaboration during Dennis Nelson accepts the 2012 U.S. Water Prize on Project WET Foundation.
On December 5, 2012, Dennis Nelson accepted the U.S. Water Prize at the Clean Water America Alliance Award Ceremony. In his remarks, Nelson thanked the sponsors and the organization, and acknowledged the chair of the Project W Foundation board, Heidi Paul, Nicole Ritter Lo from the international program, and his wife, Cindy Nelson. He described Project W as a program that began in North Dakota and expanded to every U.S. state and 66 countries, working with various organizations. Nelson stated that the program's core belief is that water resources management is essential for future economic and social stability in a healthy environment, a belief he said the foundation has held for 30 years. He described the program's model as bringing the scientific management community together with educators, and said the challenge is to make complicated water topics understandable for educators to use in classrooms, businesses, and with others. Nelson emphasized that the program treats all children as water users with respect, and highlighted an activity called "841" that represents one source of water, eight water users, and four needs: the right amount, right time, right quality, and right cost. He thanked federal agencies, noting that the origins of Project W came from those agencies.