Arthur von Wiesenberger
Moderator and Water Master The International Water Tasting & Competition
Noted water expert and consultant

Well known for Nipper’s, his highly successful champagne and caviar club in California, von Wiesenberger added water tastings to his wine tasting business in the late 1970s. He is a past president of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association, the American Institute of Wine and Food and the Society of Wine Educators.  His books include Champagne & Caviar, A Pocket Guide to Bottled Water and The Taste of Water.  The original Water Master of the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, von Wiesenberger has served in all but three festivals through the 28 years.  Among his consulting clients are Anheiser-Busch and Perrier.

FEATURED SPEAKERS for 2018

TOPIC: A lively session of “AMA” (Ask Me Anything!).  Arthur Von Wiesenberger will moderate a fireside chat exploring the factors that led to a major beverage milestone, and the trends taking bottled water beyond the revolution.

Jane Lazgin-Former Communications Director, Nestlé Waters North America;
2018 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

Offering someone a sip of water can make them feel welcomed, refresh their thirst or give them comfort.  For 40 years Jane Lazgin has been committed to that mission, immersing herself in the work of providing bottled water to Americans.

Jane joined Nestlé Waters North America Inc. as employee number nine in 1977 when the company was an energetic start-up in New York City.  She loved the business from her first day and was part of a small team that launched Perrier® Mineral Water in America, positioning sparkling water as a healthy and chic alternative to alcohol and soda.  Perrier forever changed the consumer beverage landscape.  Beginning in relative obscurity, bottled water is today the number one consumed beverage in America.

Like a fish to water, Jane was proud to promote the benefits of bottled water.  Her communications responsibilities expanded as the company added almost 9,000 employees and 14 renowned brands, including S.Pellegrino®, Poland Spring®, Deer Park® and Arrowhead®.

Prior to October 2017 Jane spent 29 years as the company’s designated media spokesperson.  Most recently she was director of executive communications, identifying speaking opportunities, doing public speaking, and preparing the company’s executives to participate in leadership conversations on topics ranging from beverage trends to water conservation efforts to packaging innovation.

During her career at Nestle Waters, she managed special events, such as the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the New York City Marathon, initiated the company’s customer service function, and engaged with communities to help site new bottling facilities as consumer demand for bottled water grew.

A graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, Jane was also a one-year visiting student at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

Jane resides in Stamford, Connecticut, with her lifelong partner, Richard Lee, a business writer and retired journalist and their curious cat.  She volunteers as a teacher of English language skills to adults. She is also active in community, political, faith-based and women’s advancement organizations. She enjoys travel, fitness, languages, as well as the arts, dining and outdoor life of the nearby Hudson and Connecticut River Valleys.

TOPIC: Cost Effective Holistic Water and Sanitation Solution for Congested Communities that Lack Indoor Plumbing

Water is the foundation of life and people that lack indoor plumbing suffer from major inconveniences, most importantly sanitation. Without adequate sanitation, diseases remain in the immediate vicinity of people’s livelihood and can result in a vicious and, in many cases, a deadly cycle. It is estimated that 80% of diseases in developing countries are related to water and sanitation. Each year, 1.8 million children die due to lack of water and sanitation. This is a disgrace to human race. Furthermore, women suffer excessively when drinking water and sanitation are not available. Globally, women spend hundreds of millions of hours transporting water on a daily basis.

Ben Movahed, P.E., BCEE

With 32 years of engineering experience in study, evaluation, design and construction services for water facility projects, Mr. Movahed is specialized in membrane technologies and has hands-on experience with over 80 advanced treatment technology projects, such as Brackish and Seawater Desalination, Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, EDR, Microfiltration, MBR, Ultrafiltration and Ion Exchange treatment. He was the main author of the recently negotiated and published ten state standard policy for membrane filtration and Reverse Osmosis and has been in direct communication with EPA staff, as well as various state regulatory agencies through his activities as the chair of AMTA government affairs and publication committee. Mr. Movahed is specialized and has been involved in some of the world’s largest membrane plants ranging from small to 100 MGD in capacity.

Topic: Fountains of Healing, Transformation, and Clairvoyance in Ancient Greece and Italy. 

This presentation discusses the chemistry of several of the most venerated springs and wells in the Classical world, including the Castalian Spring at Delphi (Greece) and the Ascelpion Center at Agrigento (Sicily). The study uses advanced analytical hardware (Quadrupole ICP-MS) to unlock the trace elemental chemistry of ancient water sources and connects the water quality results to the ritual behaviors recorded by ancient authors.

Dr. Jonathan Flood –is an assistant professor in Geography at Frostburg State University, where he teaches hydrology, environmental analysis, along with soil and water engineering. Jonathan earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. His research on the relationship between past societies and their hydrologic resources has implored him to travel through the jungles of Central America to ancient temple springs in Greece, Italy, and Anatolia. His research investigates how societies–past & present–influence and manage elements of the hydrosphere, and goes further to reveal how hydrology and water quality influences humanity.

Topic: An overview of the state and federal environmental regulations that impact your water.  

This session will explore the state and federal environmental regulations to which organizations must comply.  While the focus will be primarily water quality and permitting regulations, other topics such as air quality and hazardous waste will be discussed. 

Topic: Group Discussion

Henry “Bob” Hidell–is the Founder, Chairman & Managing Director of Hidell International providing consulting services to the beverage, drinking water, food and nutrition industries since 1972. His professional expertise spans the spectrum of business, technical, and educational services with specific expertise in the formulation of business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and turnkey development of beverage bottling facilities. He is a recognized expert in international economic and business development, and is the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient.

 2018 Winners