b'FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRAEME AITKENI industrypartnersandgovernment,of Directors and other members with us atPlan (JEPP). In this edition of the magazine If busy is good, the last few months have been outstanding. We at ECAO have been meetingvarious political functions. thereisafulldescriptionofthelineupof withOne area in which we have been expandingspeakers,educationalsessionsandsocial attending conferences and seminars, workingour activities is the various opportunities foractivities. Topics range from building social on the Annual Conference and the Annuallearning and collaborating with our industrymediatolearninghowtosucceedina General Meeting, visiting other jurisdictionspartnersintheUnitedStates:theNationalmulti-generationalworkplaceandbuilding tolearnaboutbestpractices,contributingElectricalContractorsAssociation(NECA).capacity for soft skills. We also have a legal toindustry-relatedcommittees,planningExpansion in this regard has included NECA,panel featuring Ted Dreyer, Dan Leduc and improvements to ECAO to provide greaterNECA local chapters and Electri International,GlennAckerleytoaddresshowthenew benefit to our members and Affiliate Partners,the research arm of NECA. Knowledge, as weConstructionActwillimpactcontractors.I bolsteringoursocialmediaandwebsite,allknow,iscriticaltoadvancinginterests,want to remind our members that the JEPP continuing to build our community and ourimprovingcompetitivenessandefficiency,AGM is being opened to everyone interested relationshipwithmanyinandaroundouraswellaskeepingabreastofdevelopingin attending, and I highly recommend that industry,andattendingtotheday-to-daytechnologiesandprocessesintheelectricalyou do so, while the ECAO AGM is limited operation of our association. Fortunately, allcontracting industry. Attendance at meetings,to ECAO members in accordance with our of this has been even more rewarding than itconsultation with NECA entities and frequentgoverning documents.has been busy. communications also help us to learn about best practices throughout the United States.Yes,weareaimingtocreateasocial/I am particularly proud of the strides we havenetworking event to build/improve upon last taken in the political arena, as I am sure youAnd, as is recognized by most people who haveyears 70s Night. In Niagara Falls, between haveseenonTwitter,LinkedIn,Facebookhad dealings with NECA, our colleagues souththe two AGMs, we will be hosting a Great oronourwebsite.ECAOhasbeenveryof the border are years ahead in many respects;GatsbyEveningonOctober23.Overthe active around the issue of apprenticeship, awhetherthatbelabourrelations,projectnextfewweeksyouwillbehearingfrom mechanismtoreplacetheOntarioCollegemanagement,ortechnologicalintegration, tomentionafewareas.CollaborationECAO all about the activities we have lined ofTrades(OCOT),andmaintainingtheupfortheGatsbyreception.Ialsowant integrityoftheelectricianconstructionwithlabourandindustrypartners,pre-fabrication as a means to increase efficiencytothankthetremendousresponsewehave andmaintenance(309A)trade.WehavereceivedfromourAffiliatePartners,Local met, alone and with industry partners, withandcompetitiveness(aswellasincreasing hoursworkedundercollectiveagreements),ECAs,IBEWCCOandIndustryPartners thepastandcurrentMinistersofLabourinprovidingsponsorshipforthishighly andTraining,CollegesandUniversities;andtheintroductiontonewtechnologies andintegrationstrategieshaveseenNECAanticipated event.theAttorneyGeneral(past),Ministerof Infrastructure (past), and the Premiers Office.Chapters and their members make tremendousNot surprisingly, our Annual Conference in Mostimportantly,andwiththevaluableadvances for signatory contractors and theirNashville is nearly sold out! At the time of assistanceofRubicon(specificallyAaronIBEW local unions. We are excited about thethismagazine,theremaynotbeanyopen Gairdner), ECAO is recognized and respectedpotentialresultsfromfuturecollaborationspots, but you can always try by contacting by the Provincial Government. I assure youwith NECA and its sister organizations. theECAOoffice.Iampleasedthatonce that we will continue to represent the interestsExcitement also properly captures our feelingsagain we have a record number of registrants of ECAO and the industry at Queens Park.regardingourupcoming,andfirstever,and I look forward to seeing so many of you, Ithasalsobeenveryadvantageoushavingback-to-backAnnualGeneralMeetingsofmembers and partners, at these two annual members of our Executive Committee, BoardECAOandtheJointElectricalPromotionget-togethers.www.ecao.org6'