This is going to be pretty busy year for me as relates to travel.  My work requires me to travel a fair bit as it is, but when I add my responsibilities as CAAMP Chair, well, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport will become a second home to me.  I’m not complaining in the least bit.  I signed up for this gig; therefore, I have to accept the responsibilities.  It would be tempting to only visit cities where I have a personal interest (i.e. Merix volumes) but if that was my motivation I should have never campaigned and ran for Chair.  The Chair has to separate his/her personal interests from that of the associations, and so it begins for me.

 The CAAMP road show begins today with the first symposium of the year in Kelowna, B.C.  It will eventually move across the country and I’m looking forward to talking to members in all regions of the country.  My only regret is that I will not be able to attend the symposium in Montreal due to a family commitment.  I’ll be completely candid; I’m putting the association ahead of many of my personal interests and responsibilities this year.  The one thing I will never put the association ahead of is my family.  If there’s anyone who will be offended by my absence because of a family commitment, I won’t lose any sleep over that.  What I would lose sleep over is if our attendance at the symposiums was down or if our members perceived there wasn’t any value in attending.  I’m happy to say that my sleeping patters will not be disrupted.   Registrations are buoyant, exhibitors are many and the overall content will provide many takeaways.  It appears we’ll be off to a great start.

My message at the conference will emphasize CAAMP’s government relations efforts.  Besides it being one of my priorities as Chair, recent events have demonstrated the importance of government relations.  CAAMP has to have a presence in Ottawa and we need to be seen as the “go to entity” for regulators.  The way to accomplish this is to ensure that our membership is strong, and that it serves many interests.  The varying interests which CAAMP represents garner greater credibility for us as an association.   For those who believe that separation or fragmentation of the association is a path to follow, this would accomplish one thing – having our collective voices muted.  There’s strength in numbers, and we should never lose sight of that.

Until next time,

Cheers.