Chuck Stolberg was one of the first people I met in the pump industry. We immediately connected. We were both former sportswriters who made the transition from newspapers to the world of pumps. “The pump industry can be a sport,” he told me when I joined him and his wife, Carol, for a lovely dinner in St. Louis in the spring of 2008. “The good news . . . we are all on the same team.”

It is with great sadness that the entire Pumps & Systems family says goodbye to Stolberg, long-time executive director of the Submersible Wastewater Pump Association (SWPA) and a loyal member of the P&S Editorial Advisory Board. He was an engaging man with a passionate dedication to work and family. It was my pleasure to know him.

He was 61.

Stolberg led the development of SWPA engineering guides such as The Submersible Pump Handbook and The Submersible Grinder Pump Handbook, as well as educational PowerPoint-based programs focused on promotion of submersible pump technology.

“He has been the backbone of the Association for decades,” says Bob Domkowski, business development manager for ITT Water & Wastewater and a SWPA Executive Board Member. “Through his tireless efforts, the Association membership grew, serving the needs of the member submersible pump manufacturers. Under his leadership, membership statistical reporting programs were expanded and the annual Submersible Pump Industry Outlook and SWPA college scholarship programs were initiated.”

Stolberg was involved in SWPA for about 25 years and served as executive director most of that time.

“He has always been the driving force behind the organization, and has used his extensive industry knowledge and contacts to develop and improve the SWPA organization to the point it is today,” says Chris Caldwell, director of engineering for ABS USA and president of SWPA. “Chuck was a very kind and gentle man, with a friendly easygoing nature. He cared deeply about the SWPA organization and its members. I will miss his knowledge and leadership, but the organization will continue, and we are determined to recover from this loss.”

Stolberg is survived by his wife, three children and seven grandchildren. Please leave your comments to this post, and I will be sure to send your condolences to his family.