WET Center

12/03/2025

10/29/2025

JOB OPPORTUNITY: We are looking to hire a full-time Clerk 3. For details see the job description below.

To apply go to: https://stateoftn-careers.ttcportals.com/jobs/16965945-clerk-3-10292025-72657

The deadline to apply is November 11, 2025.

10/06/2025

Just a couple more days to apply as the position closes on Wednesday, October 8th. Get your application in!

📢 We're hiring at the WET Center!
💼 Administrative Services Assistant 2 (a.k.a. our Business Manager Extraordinaire)

Are you organized, energetic, and excited to help launch something BIG for West Tennessee? The Water Education and Training (WET) Center is looking for someone to help manage the day-to-day business operations and support our mission to train professionals, protect water resources, and build resilient communities.

📍 Location: Middleton, TN
💰 Salary: $43,140 – $64,560 annually
🗓️ Apply by: October 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM
🔗 View job & apply here: https://stateoftn-careers.ttcportals.com/jobs/16835192-administrative-services-assistant-2-star-09252025-71594

✨ What you'll do:

Help manage budgets, grants, and purchasing

Coordinate training logistics, meals, and lodging with partners

Support event planning and curriculum delivery

Be the friendly face (and brain) behind the WET Center’s operations

Work alongside a passionate team making a statewide impact

Think of it as part administrator, part operations guru, part mission driver. This role is essential to getting the WET Center up and running—and we need someone ready to roll up their sleeves and make things happen.

👥 Know someone perfect for this role?
Tag them below or share this post!

🧭 Want to be part of a project that’s never been done before in Tennessee?
This is your chance.

Heads up: when you click on the link, it will say the postion is on Humboldt/Gibson County. The hiring agency is located there, but this position will be at Lones Oaks Farm in Hardeman County.

09/29/2025

📢 We're hiring at the WET Center!
💼 Administrative Services Assistant 2 (a.k.a. our Business Manager Extraordinaire)

Are you organized, energetic, and excited to help launch something BIG for West Tennessee? The Water Education and Training (WET) Center is looking for someone to help manage the day-to-day business operations and support our mission to train professionals, protect water resources, and build resilient communities.

📍 Location: Middleton, TN
💰 Salary: $43,140 – $64,560 annually
🗓️ Apply by: October 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM
🔗 View job & apply here: https://stateoftn-careers.ttcportals.com/jobs/16835192-administrative-services-assistant-2-star-09252025-71594

✨ What you'll do:

Help manage budgets, grants, and purchasing

Coordinate training logistics, meals, and lodging with partners

Support event planning and curriculum delivery

Be the friendly face (and brain) behind the WET Center’s operations

Work alongside a passionate team making a statewide impact

Think of it as part administrator, part operations guru, part mission driver. This role is essential to getting the WET Center up and running—and we need someone ready to roll up their sleeves and make things happen.

👥 Know someone perfect for this role?
Tag them below or share this post!

🧭 Want to be part of a project that’s never been done before in Tennessee?
This is your chance.

Heads up: when you click on the link, it will say the postion is on Humboldt/Gibson County. The hiring agency is located there, but this position will be at Lones Oaks Farm in Hardeman County.

09/10/2025

🚨💦 SWIFT in Progress!

Recently, we hosted the SWIFT SME Workshop—bringing together emergency responders, trainers, engineers, state and local agencies, and subject matter experts to help shape the future of SWIFT (Surface Water Incident Field Training) at the WET Center. 🚒🌊👷‍♂️

It was a powerhouse gathering of folks who know water doesn’t always behave—and who are passionate about saving lives, protecting communities, and training the next generation of responders to do the same.

We talked about:
🔹 Real-world training needs
🔹 Cross-agency coordination
🔹 Gaps in current certifications
🔹 Curriculum development
🔹 Demonstration models + simulation space
🔹 How to build something no one else in the country has

The energy was high. The ideas were flowing. And the momentum? Undeniable.

➡️ Want to be part of shaping the future of SWIFT?
We welcome input from first responders, utilities, engineers, trainers, and anyone passionate about surface water rescue, response, or infrastructure.

📩 Message us or drop a comment below to get looped in!

Let’s build something bold. Let’s build something that saves lives.
Let’s build SWIFT—together.

08/27/2025

08/27/2025

🚰🌱 Mud, Maintenance & Metro Magic!
David Blackwood and Alison Franklin recently had the pleasure of visiting Metro Water Services in Nashville—and let’s just say… we left impressed, inspired, and maybe just a little jealous of their rooftop garden. 😎🌼

We spent the day touring the state-of-the-art stormwater facility, learning from the one and only Michael Hunt—a longtime stormwater pro and friend of the WET Center.

💡 Smart design. Smart operations. Smarter water.

Why were we there?
Because when it comes to designing and running the WET Center, we’re not starting from scratch—we’re starting from collaboration.

We picked Mike’s brain about:
🔹 Building operations & maintenance
🔹 Visitor experience and interpretive signage
🔹 Equipment management
🔹 Indoor + outdoor learning integration

Metro Water’s approach to education, infrastructure, and innovation is exactly the kind of energy we’re building into the WET Center. Huge thanks to Michael and the Metro team for being open books and gracious hosts!

📸 Scroll through the pics to see the facility, the brains behind it, and a Vactor truck big enough to make any equipment operator swoon.

Here’s to strong partnerships and keeping water where it is intended to be!

08/12/2025

🌿🤝 “We are stronger together.”

That was the spirit at this year’s Governor’s 3rd Annual Conservation Summit at the stunning Montgomery Bell State Park—and the WET Center was proud to be part of it!

Our very own David Blackwood, Executive Director of the West Tennessee River Basin Authority and the visionary behind the WET Center, took the stage to deliver a powerful presentation titled:
“Leaving a Legacy: West Tennessee Conservation in Context.” 🌊🌳

David spoke about the past and the decisions that were made in West Tennessee and that we still live with today. He reminded us that the decisions we make today, just like in the past, will be our legacy. He also discussed the real work happening in West Tennessee—restoring rivers, reducing flood risk, planting native trees, protecting ecosystems, and educating the people who will carry this work forward for generations. But the central message was clear:

➡️ None of this happens alone.

Conservation is about partnerships—state, local, and federal agencies, educators, landowners, nonprofits, and volunteers—all pulling in the same direction to protect and restore our land and water.

Events like the Conservation Summit are a reminder of just how much we can learn from each other. We connected with leaders from across the state, traded ideas, explored challenges, and returned home with fresh energy and powerful new collaborations.

💬 One line that stuck with us:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Thank you to the Governor’s Office, TDEC, and all the inspiring speakers and attendees who made this event meaningful. We’re grateful to represent West Tennessee and the WET Center at the table—and we’re more committed than ever to leaving a legacy of resilience, knowledge, and conservation across our region.

📸 Check out a few photos from the Summit below!
And don’t forget to share this post to spread the message:
Together, we can build a stronger, greener Tennessee. 💪

08/10/2025

We were honored to be a part of this 3rd annual conference to discuss how different groups are tackling more conservation across the state. The WET Center will be an integral part of our state’s future. We are excited about how we can be part of collaborations across the state. Thank you Gov. Bill Lee for the invitation!

08/01/2025

08/01/2025

🧠💡 Meet David Blackwood: Engineer. Visionary. Collaborator. Mushroom Hunter. Snake Survivor. Family Man.

You may know him as the Executive Director of the West Tennessee River Basin Authority or the guy behind the creation of the WET Center. But we know him as a man of many ideas.

David Blackwood is the kind of person who sees a washed-out road and doesn’t just file a report—he starts dreaming up a statewide training facility to make sure it never washes out again. That idea? You’re standing in it (virtually): the WET Center. 💧

But let’s get real. David is way more than flood data and stream tables.
Here’s the real scoop:

🐍 There’s a snake loose in his house.
Yes, really. It disappeared about a year ago. No one’s seen it since. Everyone’s just quietly hoping for the best.

🌲 Thousands of trees are growing in his carport.
No, it's not a nursery. It’s a reforestation project… that got slightly out of hand. Imagine a Lowe’s garden center, but more chaotic and more noble.

🍄 He forages mushrooms.
Because when you spend your days managing stormwater, why not spend your weekends crawling through the woods on a mission for fungi?

🕹️ He plays Fortnite.
Mostly to stay relevant with his kids… but don’t challenge him unless you want to get owned by a guy who uses hydrology terms mid-battle.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 He’s a devoted family guy, with a knack for projects that start as weekend hobbies and end with permits, lumber, and new tools.

David is the reason the WET Center exists. He’s the one who saw a problem (or 1,000 road failures per year 😳), had a wild idea over sweet tea (beer), and worked for three years to make it happen—with spreadsheets, site plans, and a whole lot of heart.

So, when you visit the WET Center in 2027, know that you're walking through the vision of a guy who loves Tennessee, loves water, and really really hates fixing the same road twice.

👏 Cheers to David—the sweet-tea-fueled brain behind the blueprint and the visionary that is changing West Tennesse.