www.ecao.org 10 T ECAO’s 2018 Annual Industry Conference – Building our Community This year’s conference in Barcelona broke all the records. With a record number of over 150 delegates, record number of Affiliate Partners attending, record-setting number of tourist activities, record attendance at business sessions and record number of industry partners sponsoring this unique event, it will be hard to beat next year. This six-day event was held at the Hotel Arts Ritz-Carlton, set along the boardwalk overlooking the beach along the Mediterranean Sea and only minutes from Barcelona’s city centre. As an Arts Hotel it features the Frank Gehry fish sculpture which is a 52m-long golden fish, El Peix.The structure is one of the most striking landmarks on Barcelona’s seafront. Its gold-coloured stainless steel surface shines against the Mediterranean Sea and changes appearance depending on the angle of the sun and the weather conditions. “Attending in my new role of executive director for the ECAO, I was pleased with the unique mixture of networking, education, touring and building our ECAO community with members, labour partners, industry partners and Affiliate Partners,” says Graeme Aitken. Major mention and appreciation goes to ECAO sponsors, who provided an unprecedented contribution to the success of the conference this year. These sponsors include: Matthews & Dinsdale LLP, IBEW/CCO, Federated Insurance, Gerrie Electric, Norton Rose Fulbright, Teksmed, EPSCA, Milwaukee Tools, Anixter, HealthSource Plus, Black & MacDonald, IHSA, and IRC. With the backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea, there was a comfortable balance of exploring Barcelona’s old town, shopping a great half-day in Sitges, visiting Gaudi’s Familia, and making lasting relationships with industry stakeholder groups. “I thought this year brought together our industry partners, IBEW-CCO and our sponsors in a way which we could actually discuss mutual industry issues in a comfortable and relaxed environment. While it may seem like a vacation, we actually made progress on building and strengthening relationships we hope will last,” says ECAO’s president, Mark Lloyd. The week started with a Sunday reception on the hotel terrace overlooking the sea. Delegates were welcomed with a feast of local fish and meats; it was a terrific start to the conference. On Monday attendees were provided with a City OrientationTour to help them explore some of the key sites of Barcelona, including the restaurants of the Old City.This helped greatly in allowing our attendees to get comfortable with all that Barcelona has to offer its visitors. A major factor in the success of the program was due to our roster of keynote speakers. OnTuesday Mark Bowden presented information on how to translate body language in his presentation, Winning Body Language to Stand Out, WinTrust and Gain Creditability. Norm Keith of Fasken & Marten followed by providing guidance to employers on what to expect when Cannabis becomes legal in October 2018.TheTuesday activities ended with a group reception at the Cangrejo Loco, which featured a traditional Spanish barbeque. The Thursday business sessions featured ECAO’s perennial favourites Mark Casaletto and Dan Leduc addressing economic trends and the new Construction Lien Act. This was followed by our feature speaker, Paul Radkowski of the Life Recovery Program, addressing the growing challenges of dealing with mental illness in the workplace. “As a public speaker I'm invited to speak at/attend many events, and this one was by far the most enjoyable in terms of location, the staff, attendees, etcetera,” says Paul Radkowski. Following the business session, attendees gathered at Can Travi Nou for a traditional Catalan style meal which is popular in this part of Spain. The site and ambience were absolutely ideal for the formal closing of our 2018 conference. One of the highlights of the conference for delegates was the complimentary trip to Sitges. A quaint artist’s retreat by the sea located outside of Barcelona – ideal for shopping, touring and enjoying the numerous cafes – surpassed all expectations. There were a myriad of optional tours and activities: tapas tours, local wine tours, a trip to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, flamenco classes, the Picasso Museum, and an ocean catamaran tour. “ECAO conference organizers, Cubed Inc., should be proud of the outstanding job they did for this conference in all the logistics, and it will be hard to beat for next year. Nonetheless, we are looking forward to the challenge for Nashville, September 2019,” says Aitken. INDUSTRY CONFERENCE BREAKING ALL THE RECORDS