Walter “Buzz” Pishkur has a work history which includes 33 years of Executive Management experience. He is an accomplished visionary and is recognized for his ability to turn around and re-define organizations. He has been successful in optimizing and streamlining organizations to provide improved services while delivering superior financial results. He is a champion at building and maintaining strong relations at all levels of an organization.
Currently he is employed as Director of Water Utilities for the City of Arlington, Texas. He is responsible for the overall operation of a municipal water and wastewater system covering 99.7 square miles and serving 400,000 customers. This responsibility includes capital and operating budget development, strategic planning, rate design, and employee development.
Buzz was previously employed as an Adjunct Professor in the Schools of Business and Communication at Butler County Community College. His class instruction included Advertising, Marketing, Customer Service, Public Relations, Management and Leadership courses.
From 2010 through 2012, Buzz served as Director of Business Development for the United Water Company, a leader in the water services industry. During his tenure he established a referral network with affiliated companies to market their services and engaged a network of regulatory leaders to increase brand awareness and built business relationships that ultimately increased revenue.
As President and Chief Executive Officer of Forum Health, an $800 million multidisciplinary healthcare system, Buzz was charged with overseeing an organization with 4,000 employees and three unions. During his time as CEO he built strong working relationships with organized labor and successfully negotiated necessary concessions. He instituted performance planning for senior management, significantly reduced operating costs, improved clinical outcomes, customer satisfaction and public image and achieved the goal of keeping the hospitals in operation while improving cash flow.
Aqua Ohio, Inc., the largest water company in the state of Ohio, named Buzz as President in 1992. He also had responsibility for similar western Pennsylvania operations of Aqua Pennsylvania. He had full operating responsibility of the companies and their six operating divisions which provided service to nearly 500,000 residents in 16 counties. During this time Buzz spearheaded passage of two precedent-setting Legislative Bills in Ohio which reduced cost to customers and enhanced the Company’s ability to provide quality service.
Prior to the previous appointments, Buzz spent six years as Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Inter-State Water Company in Danville, Illinois; four years as Division Manager of the Marysville Division of Aqua Ohio and two years as Business Manager for the Struthers Division of Aqua Ohio. He began his career in the water industry as a 10-year employee of the City of Hubbard, Ohio a municipal water utility.
Pishkur is a cum laude graduate of The Ohio State University School of Business (1986) and following graduation was inducted into the prestigious College of Business Pacesetters’ organization, recognizing his outstanding academic and leadership achievements. In 1992 he completed his Executive MBA degree, with honors, from the University of Illinois. He holds a Class III Water Operator License in the State of Ohio, a Class A Operator License in the State of Illinois and a Class A Operator License in the State of Texas.
Walter J. “Buzz” Pishkur Page 2
Pishkur has served as Vice President of the Mahoning Valley Community Corporation and was a Board member of both the Youngstown YMCA and the Youngstown Symphony Society. He has served as a Trustee and President for the Youngstown State University Penguin Club. He is a past member of the
National City Bank (PNC) Northeast Advisory Board of Directors, former Director for the Youngstown Country Club, Board member and Finance Committee Chairman of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, Trustee for the Industrial Information Institute for Education, and a past Community Advisor for the Junior League of Youngstown. Buzz was Chairman of the 2000 and 2008 Mahoning Valley United Way Campaigns, and chaired the 2004 and 2005 American Heart Association Heart Walks. Buzz is currently a member of the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Civil Engineering Advisory Committee.
Buzz is an American Water Works Association Silver Water Drop recipient, a two-time past chair of the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Water Companies and has had several articles published in national trade periodicals. He was a presenter at the 1994 National Regulatory Research Institute Biennial Conference, the 1997 and 2006 AWWA National Conference, the 1998 Ohio AWWA State Conference, the 1998 and 2000 NAWC Eastern Customer Service Conference, the 2000 National Rural Water Association Conference, 2002 California Water Association Conference, the 2004 National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Conference in Washington DC and the 2002 and 2005 National Association of Investors Corporation’s Ohio Investors Fair.
A registered lobbyist in the State of Ohio from 1995 - 2007, Pishkur has successfully presented testimony on several bills before the Ohio Legislature. His efforts include Senate Bill 65, which is precedent setting tort reform for water and wastewater utility companies, and Senate Bill 44 (System Improvement Charge–SIC), which provides funds for the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure that is crucial to service reliability and water quality. He has also presented expert testimony on numerous cases before the Illinois Commerce Commission and the Ohio and Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commissions. He is an active member of the Ohio State University Advocates Organization, which is the legislative advocacy arm of the University.
In 2009, Buzz was honored by the United Way of Youngstown and Mahoning County with its highest award, “Champions Among US” in recognition of his unselfish efforts and commitment to the community. He was presented the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s William G. Lyden, Jr. Spirit of the Valley Award in 2005 as acknowledgment of his exemplary leadership and commitment to the community, economic development and to the overall progress of the Valley. In 2003, he was named Alumnus of the Year by the Hubbard High School Alumni Association and in 2001 he was inducted into the Greater Youngstown Baseball Old-timers Association Hall of Fame for founding and operating a baseball training school and his performance as a player and umpire in Class B and AA baseball leagues.
In his spare time, Buzz enjoys golfing, college sports and has been a registered high school basketball official for over 41 years, including serving as a rules interpreter in both Ohio and Illinois.
He and his wife, Joyce, both natives of Hubbard, Ohio, currently reside in Arlington, TX.