Greetings IBEE Members

 

The 2009 IBEE and CCA COO Annual Convention in

Gatineau, Quebec was well attended, despite the poor economy

in the United States. The Hilton Lac Leamy provided a

beautiful venue to host our reception, Board meetings and

conferences while offering amenities our members enjoyed

such as wonderful dining, spa, indoor and outdoor swimming

pools, a casino and the city of Ottawa’s culture conveniently

located just across the river.

The IBEE Board met Wednesday, June 24 and again

Saturday, June 27 as our new Executive Director, Ed Walsh,

participated in his first official meetings. The Board’s primary

short-term goal was to assure a smooth transition of IBEE

property, assets and records from our San Antonio, TX office

to the new Woodbridge, CT offices. That has been successfully

completed thanks to the cooperation of our past

Director, Brenda Romano. Brenda was extremely helpful in

assisting Ed and the Board with the logistics of not only

changing Directors but the physical location of our offices,

records and assets.

The Annual Convention conference agenda included topics

which were relevant to the construction industry in both

Canada and the United States. Thursday’s agenda included a

full morning session of green building technology and LEED

education followed by a full afternoon session of Building

Information Modeling (BIM) presentations specific to what

roles construction associations might have and how BIM

technology is being utilized by general contractors, subcontractors

and suppliers.

Friday started with our historic Michigan Eye Opener,

with the beverages being prepared by IBEE members from

states other than Michigan! The morning session started

with “What’s New at My Association” which is always popular,

followed by brief topics which included What

Associations Are Doing in the Face of Economic Challenges,

Events that Drive Attendance and Education Training in

Associations. Friday afternoon was free to play golf or enjoy

the Eco-Odyssey.

Saturday morning’s annual general membership meeting

included an overview of current Board initiatives and activities,

followed by discussion regarding future meeting dates

and venues and a presentation by IBEE’s Executive Director

Ed Walsh. The new IBEE Officers and Board members were

introduced at this session. The joint sessions followed with

presentations on Best Practices for Managing your Existing

Database and the Basics of Membership and Marketing.

During our time in Gatineau, IBEE and COO attendees

enjoyed an evening at the Museum of Civilization which

included cocktails, dinner and special entertainment which

everyone enjoyed. The venue was spectacular as it was situated

in a room overlooking the Ottawa River and Parliament

Buildings.

At this event, the Dan Patrick

Award was presented to Linda Voster

from the Builders Exchange of

Wisconsin for her long-term loyalty

and commitment to her Builders

Exchange and in particular the IBEE.

The Management Award was presented

to Jim Lambert of the Sacramento

Builders Exchange for his work with

the ACE Mentoring Program.

During my incoming Presidential

speech to the members, I shared my great appreciation of the

rich history and tradition of the IBEE, and commented on

what the IBEE and the IBEE members have meant to my

father over the years. My objective as President is to maintain

the true core values of IBEE which is to serve as a catalyst

for the exchange of information and ideas among the

IBEE members, to advance and enhance the role and effectiveness

of Construction Association Executives, while

simultaneously providing valuable affinity programs which

Association Executives may bring back to their local

Associations for use by their member employers. It is my

goal to have all IBEE members recognize a tremendous

return on their investment either in hard or soft dollars.

Simply doing what has been done historically will only

yield similar results. Our new Executive Director and Board

have been challenged to increase members, affinity programs,

revenues and opportunities for our Association

Executives to exchange information and ideas among the

membership. In addition, the IBEE will become an industry

leader in BIM education, helping our diverse members identify

what role construction industry associations will have as

BIM technology starts to be used in local markets by project

owners. With increased affinity programs and members

come increased revenues, which the IBEE anticipates will be

used in 2010 to hire a full time administrative assistant.

Finally, the IBEE Board of Directors has already started conducting

due diligence specific to whether or not IBEE will

continue to be a shareholder in the BXNet, LLC On-Line

Plan Room.

Your Board of Directors is a diverse bunch, with each

bringing many strengths and unique ideas to the table. The

Board will aggressively address these issues with the advice

and leadership of Ed Walsh and feedback from our membership.

Our results will be measured by you, our members, at

the June 9-12, 2010 (tentative dates) Annual Convention at

The Coeur d’Alene Golf & Spa Resort, just 40 minutes from

the Spokane International Airport.

History has shown that success is often defined when

opportunity meets preparation. The opportunity for change

existed when Brenda Romano resigned from the IBEE and

the selection committee eagerly worked together on identifying

our new Executive Director. We chose the best candidate

from a pool of 250 applicants. Ed Walsh has prepared him-

self over the past decade to step into the leadership role at

IBEE to work with the Board in an effort to implement his

extraordinary vision and future ideas for IBEE members

to benefit from. I encourage all of our members to reach

out to Ed, introduce yourselves and provide Ed feedback

on what we, as a Board and organization, can do to provide

Association Executives a better return on your investment

with IBEE.

Finally, the Board is working on securing a quality

venue in Las Vegas for our February 3-6, 2010 (tentative

dates) mid-year meeting, which has purposefully been

selected to coincide with the World of Concrete.

Although the venue has not yet been secured, information

will be mailed in November advising of the mid-year

meetings and facility.

The IBEE is only as strong as our members and those

members who actively participate in organizational

events, activities, benefits and services. I thank those of

you who consistently support IBEE both financially and

by your attendance at meetings, and strongly encourage

all others to take the time to explore the many wonderful

benefits and professional opportunities the IBEE offers.

The IBEE is a great organization with unique and diverse

personalities, who all want to share their professional

experiences in an effort to support and help their fellow

Association Executives.

Wishing you good health and prosperity in 2009,

Earl R. Hall, President