Diane Koyich – leaves EXECO

July 28, 2015

Finding committed and talented people prepared to undertake voluntary work on the behalf of the the Industry is difficult.  Watercoolers Europe were lucky enough to enjoy the benefit of Diane Koyich’s considerable range of interpersonal and commercial skills for the past 20+ years and  on the EXECO for over ten years, from which now due to personal reasons she has, with regret, had to resign.

Diane says “Being part of the esteemed group steering WE into its future has been a great pleasure and responsibility. A highlight of every year was attending the WE Conference & Fair, meeting industry colleagues and discussing water and life issues until the wee hours. In recent years, presenting workshops on Stress Management to an enthusiastic WE audience were my favourite contribution.”

Diane started in 1996, attending the 2nd EBWA Conference & Fair in Genval, Belgium.  This was her first trip to Europe from her native Canada, and was followed by her greater involvement with Crystal Mountain and attendance at every WE event since that time.  In 2001 Diane joined EBWA’s Technical Committee, helping to create achievable and sensible cooler sanitisation standards.

Diane’s talent at keeping committee meetings moving forward was invaluable, as were excellent communication skills and writing of minutes and proposals. By 2002, she was Chair of the Technical Committee, a position she held until 2007. Accomplishments included bringing consensus to meetings amongst contributors with widely different language skills, perspectives and intentions, crowned by publication of the final Cooler Sanitisation Standards Testing Protocol for Bottled Watercoolers. She remained a member of the Committee until 2011.

Diane was a member of the Supplier Committee from 2002 – 2011, a founding member of the Environment Committee in 2007 and POU Committee 2010. Her questions and input often led to re-evaluations of financial and political priorities.  In 2012 she became Chair of the Communications Committee, improving communication by working with others in updating the website, sending regular newsletters and encouraging national association contributions.

An excellent facilitator of international co-operation, enthusiastic debater and contributor of opinions, ideas and a tireless promoter of  WE, Diane will be greatly missed from WE and the EXECO.  We wish her the very best and look forward to once again renewing our relationship with her, both professionally and personally at some future date.