Pete Lawonn, a key figure in the wastewater industry, passed away in 2022. This week at the WWETT Show in Indianapolis, Lawonn was posthumously recognized for his contributions with the Ralph Macchio Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bob Kendall, co-founder of COLE Publishing and the trade show that eventually became the WWETT Show, presented the award to Lawonn’s widow Debbie during the annual meeting of the National Association of Wastewater Technicians.
“When you get to be my age, there are some things in life that you regret and wish you had done differently. This is one of them,” Kendall said. “I wish I had given this award to Pete three years ago. It would have meant a lot to him.”
“I know Pete would be very honored to receive this,” Debbie said.
Lawonn passed away Dec. 30, 2022, at age 70. He was instrumental in co-founding COLE Publishing, which started with Pumper magazine, and he was a key player in building the International Liquid Waste Haulers Equipment & Trade Show (later the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International, and now called the
WWETT Show).
Lawonn’s pivotal contributions started during a chance conversation in northern Wisconsin back in 1979 when he and Kendall were looking for a way to sell Lawonn’s spare vacuum tank. They had been talking to the late John DiVall, who then owned Jay’s Waste Equipment. After hearing about the tank for sale, DiVall suggested the industry needed a trade publication to buy and sell equipment.
Lawonn and Kendall thought this was a good idea and soon launched COLE Publishing and the Midwest Pumper, envisioning a trade journal that would serve as a classified advertising marketplace for pumping professionals, as well as a resource for shopping for new products and exchanging ideas.
Initially taking the form of an eight-page newspaper mailed to 2,500 contractors in eight states, the publication soon evolved into a full-fledged magazine as Lawonn pledged to provide small business and industry news, along with a question-and-answer column. As advertisers jumped on board and the subscription base grew, the publication added more and more editorial content.
Lawonn moved on to other ventures in 1986, though he intermittently remained involved with COLE, attending shows and interacting with longtime exhibitors and attending friends.
