December 2008

Report of President Barry Thomson, P. Eng. and Executive Director Steve McLean, P. Eng.

Steve McLean, P. Eng.

Barry Thomson, P. Eng.

Seasons Greetings 

On behalf of Council Members and PEGNL staff, we offer season's greetings: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all PEGNL Members, families and friends. We hope the current global economic turmoil will not distract you from enjoyment of Christmas and that we will all enjoy a prosperous and happy New Year.

New PEGNL Act Goes Before the House of Assembly 

As has been regularly reported to PEGNL Members, Council has been working with the NL Government on planned changes to our Act for many years.

Recently, work on the revisions to the Act accelerated, with regular discussions being held between government representatives and Council's Legislative Task Force on drafts of the new Act. For more information, please refer to the separate PEGNL Act article in this Dialogue.

Significant Contribution to PEGNL's Endowment Fund 

A PEGNL Life Member, Alexander Madryga, P.Eng., who now resides in Manitoba has donated 5,000 shares of Bell Aliant Communications Income Fund to PEGNL's Endowment Fund. The total value of this gift was approximately $135,000 on the date of transfer September 4th, 2008.

Mr. Madryga has been very generous to the Endowment Fund as this is his second major contribution. The PEGNL Endowment Fund Board of Directors has written him a letter expressing our appreciation, assuring him that his contribution will serve to enhance the Endowment Fund's support for engineering and geoscience students at Memorial University.

Over the past few years, donations to the Endowment Fund have decreased and the Board of Directors wishes to remind Members that there is a continued need for contributions in order to obtain growth in the Fund. When the value of the fund permits, the Committee makes funds available for additional scholarships.

Members' PD Reporting can be Completed On-Line 

An enhanced PEGNL website now permits Members to prepare and present their annual Professional Development reports on-line. This is a significant improvement over the old paper method because it permits a paperless submission and allows Members to build their reports over the year and to submit them directly to PEGNL at reporting time.

In order to support the introduction of the new PD system, changes have been made to the Members Only section of PEGNL's website.

All Members must register a new account. Any pre-existing passwords are no longer valid. Please enter the Log-In section, select Register, and follow the steps to create your new account. You will be required to enter your 5 character Member #.

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