April 2007

President's Report

Derrick (Dick) Myers, P. Eng.

This is my first Newsletter as your President and I hope that in future newsletters I can keep you up to date and well-informed about the active and pending issues before Council.

I am honoured to be President of PEGNL for 2007-2008 for two reasons, first to serve our Association to the best of my ability, and second because my father Roy Myers (BAE Group, Myers & Terra Nova Engineering), was President in 1966-1967. (To keep the record straight, Roy Myers, retired from Ultramar, is my first cousin).

I look forward to the coming year and to working with our new Council. Our first meeting of the new Council will be held on May 10-11, at which time we will set our agenda for the coming year.

Steve has published a separate article in this edition of Dialogue to bring you up to date on some recent activities, including the recent Council elections and PEGNL awards.

For our Association to thrive and move forward into the future membership engagement is very important. At the recent Annual General Meeting, it was noted that there were not many young Engineers or Geoscientists in attendance. We need to change this for future AGMs and the health of our Association in general.

My thoughts on how members can help increase membership engagement are as follows:

Provide Membership Feedback to Council or Staff - Better Communications 

For your Council to perform efficiently, we need your feedback. Feedback is very important to Council and unless you inform us of your concerns, we cannot effectively reflect your needs in our decisions. If you have a particular issue that you would like addressed or would like to make a helpful point that will enhance our Association, I encourage you to please let us know.

I'm sure many members have discussed PEGNL issues with fellow members from time to time, but the issues mostly never move any further. It seems that Council or staff do not hear of many suggestions that can help make your Association more responsive to members concerns, sore points, and ideas.

So, please let us know of any issue, problem, or solution you may have so that we can act on it on your behalf. If for any reason you don't want to be identified, we will respect your privacy for any feedback you provide.

Become a member of one of our Volunteer Committees 

We have many volunteer committees in our Association and these committees need new members with fresh ideas to ensure committees remain effective in conducting their business. Why not consider volunteering your services to one of our committees? Young members especially are encouraged to volunteer, and out-of-town members can be accommodated for lunchtime meetings via teleconferencing.

Become Active in your local Chapter 

We have at least four Chapters across the province which are continually providing social and technical events for you to attend. From lobster boils, curling, wine tasting dinners, golf tournaments and ice hockey, to technical luncheons and National Engineering & Geoscience Week, there are many activities available to become involved with at a Chapter near you, and to meet and mingle with your colleagues and others. I encourage you to bring along a member in training or others to one of these events.

The Eastern Chapter has a continuing lunchtime speaking series that is always interesting and worth attending. They are always looking for speakers with topics of interest for younger and older members.

Seek Election to your Chapter Executive or Council 

If you are interested in personal development, such as speaking in public, participating in board meetings or planning social and technical events, I encourage you to offer yourself for election. Meeting colleagues and other professionals, both from a professional and social perspective, is very rewarding and interesting for all involved. Please take a minute and ask yourself if being a member of an executive interests you.

In discussion with my fellow Chapter representatives and Council members, most agree that being an Executive member is a positive experience.

We are always looking for members to run for Council and our Chapters are looking for executive members. So I would ask you to please step forward and offer yourself for election during the next Council and Chapter elections.

Have I missed anything? If so please let me know. I welcome your feedback on this article and how I can make future President's Newsletters more responsive to your interests and concerns. Please e-mail me at president@pegnl.ca at any time.

I look forward to meeting more of my fellow members during the coming year at various association and public events, and especially at upcoming Chapter events (I would certainly like to attend at least one event in each Chapter during my term as President).

© Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador