Washington Certification Services' Barton and Neville earn national recognition
By Vivette Beuster, Associate Dean of Extended Learning, February 12, 2019
Peggy Barton and Rachel Neville, both from Washington Certification Services (WCS) at Green River College, received national awards during the Innovation in Certification event at the Association of Boards of Certification (ABC) Annual Conference and Trainers Workshop in Savannah, Georgia on Jan. 10. ABC is an international membership organization and testing service for environmental certifying authorities.
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Peggy Barton (left), Rachel Neville (right) receive their awards from Chris McCord, Deputy Director, Office of Drinking Water at Washington State Department of Health, and Chair-elect for the Association of Boards of Certification
Barton, director of WCS, received the Jess Jones Excellence in Service Award in recognition of her outstanding service to the Association through time and effort, innovative and successful approaches, and leadership. She has worked at Green River for 38 years, administering programs through the college’s interagency agreements with Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (DOH).
During that time Barton has been committed to supporting certification’s role in the protection of public health on a national, regional and state-wide level. She served as President of ABC in 2000, and in 2005 she also received the Association's highest honor, the Harris F. Seidel Award. Harris is a certification icon and Barton's dear friend and mentor.
Neville, certification program administrator, received the Robert P. McAnespie Certification Program Officer Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution toward advancing certification. During her seven years at WCS, Rachel has been responsible for implementing innovative online processes that have lasting value in improved performance for her department at GRC and for her program at GRC and DOH.
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WCS and DOH have been partners in administering drinking water certification program activities since 1976. WCS administers important parts of the state Waterworks Operator Certification Program through GRC’s interagency agreements with DOH. Once certified, drinking water operators must complete specific types of technical training to be eligible to renew their certificates. WCS provides evaluation and accreditation services for drinking water-related training in Washington and monitors certified operator compliance with the state’s mandatory continuing education requirement. WCS also administers the state’s Backflow Assembly Tester certification program and examinations.
For over 35 years, Washington Certification Services has supported Green River College’s strategic initiatives through its partnerships and collaboration with local and state government, industry organizations, and the citizens of the state of Washington. The interagency agreements with Department of Health continue to provide a diverse revenue stream that contributes to the fiscal stability of the College.
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