When Chad Ness heard the Des Moines Area Community College needed a place to hold its septic maintenance class for installers in 2022, he volunteered his property outside of Waukon, Iowa. Although he is about 200 miles from Des Moines in the rural northeast corner of the state, the college took him up on his offer. “They were having trouble finding a place because of COVID,” he explains.
The 12-acre property is the Ness family home and also serves as the headquarters for the business he, his wife Diana and their four adult children operate, Ness Pumping Service & Porta-Potty Rentals. They were ideally suited to sponsor the event as they had everything needed — the space, portable restrooms, tables and chairs.
Attendance at the six-hour class was limited to 30 installers. In addition, four county sanitarians were there. And about 20 vendors were on hand to exhibit their products and explain the maintenance requirements on them. Professionals were brought in to conduct the class and a catered lunch was provided. “We just did everything like they would if you were going to the class at the college,” Ness says.
The company provided the service for free but, in recognition and appreciation, the state waived the annual recertification fees for Ness and his sons. Everything went off quite well and they hosted the event again this year.
Ness says they also donate a lot of time and equipment for their local communities. They especially like to support fire departments.
“I’ve probably got 12 fire departments around us,” he says. “They’ll have a little get-together, like a 5K run, to raise money for something and I never charge them for it.” The fire departments also sponsor ATV/UTV trail rides for which the company provides trailer-mounted units. “Anything to do with fire departments, we donate — or the local hospitals — or if somebody has a benefit for someone.”
Read more about Ness Pumping Service & Porta-Potty Rentals in this month’s issue of Portable Restroom Operator magazine.
