Say hello to Mark Rude. He is a lifelong Kansan who has worked on water management, water rights, interstate compact and water supply issues for 35 years. Mark is past president and board member of the national Groundwater Management Districts Association and serves on the National Water Resources Association board and numerous other water and government boards, including the Groundwater Management Districts Association, Kansas Water Congress, Kansas Aqueduct Coalition, and several local election boards. Mark is in his 17th year as Executive Director of the Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District Number 3, officed in Garden City, where he works for a 15-member board of local water supply interests. Mark and his wife Melany of 28 years have three children.