Because he was no longer a state employee, Les was ineligible to run for chair. However, he still devoted many hours to support the association. He worked closely with the professionals in the west and southwest to foster the Arid Regions Committee and to hold the first Arid Regions Conference. He mentored the long time Co-chairs of that committee Jeanne Ruefer and Bob Davies who keep this committee very active. Les also served as the first ASFPM webmaster from 1998-2001.

Les was the project director for an early ASFPM project to help communities in Central America learn now to manage the severe impacts of flash flooding in order to save lives and homes. He was very effective in going there and working with the local leaders and residents despite not being fluent in Spanish.

As a consultant, Les spent much of his time in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Community Rating System. He also helped several rural communities in Honduras set up flash flood warning systems. He could have had more consulting jobs, but he preferred to donate a lot of his time to his professional associations.

Les helped organize the Arizona Floodplain Management Association, the second oldest chapter in ASFPM. When he moved to New Mexico, he became very active in the New Mexico Floodplain Managers Association. He served as unpaid executive director and was key author of “Floodplain Management in New Mexico ‒ A Call for Action,” 2003.

Les died unexpectantly in September 2013 from an aneurysm. The New Mexico Association’s newsletter noted “NMFMA would not exist today without those years that Les was the Executive Director. He laid the groundwork for what NMFMA is today.”