Blog While I Wait

I'm sitting in the Halifax airport right now.
I left Fredericton about 5 o'clock and got here around 45 minutes later in our little Beech 1900D.
It was certainly a noisy flight with the propellers and the high winds shook the plane around pretty well.
Regardless, I was still hungry when we landed. I didn't eat very much today.
Now I'm going to have to hang around here for almost 3 hours until my flight to St. Johns, Newfoundland leaves. I'm on my way to the 40th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the Association of Engineering Technicians and Technologists of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc.
I was invited to attend as I am president of the New Brunswick Society of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists.
Geez that's a LOT of typing! Small names don't exist in the world of engineering.
There are 2 big reasons why I feel very strongly about attending other associations' AGMs if invited.
First, this is AETTNL's (that's much better!) 40th anniversary and as far as I am concerned everyone should attend from everywhere to congratulate others on milestones.
It's a show of unity and feeling of family.
The second reason is a little more sinister.
The national arena of our associations is regulated by the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists which consists of an Executive Director and run by representatives from each provincial group.
Every member of every represented association pays the same amount to be a member of CCTT which is collected while paying our provincial annual dues.
This may get a little fuzzy here. It has been to many others.
If every member pays exactly the same should every province be considered equal at the national table?
The big guys, Ontario, Alberta and BC have the opinion that since they have far more members than the other provinces that they should control what goes on.
To try and put it in perspective consider this.
When I lived in Ontario I was the Chair of the Peel Chapter of the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT if it's okay with you).
The Peel chapter was one of numerous chapters in Ontario. Granted, it is the biggest.
In the Peel Chapter there were more members than the entire province of New Brunswick.
I accept that the big boys pay more into CCTT than us little guys.
But, how do you tell a member in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island that all of his decisions are being made by Ontario when this member pays the exact same as the member in Ontario?
We have a problem here and there is no easy answer is there?
At this very moment the big guys are meeting and strategizing how to take over.
The only chance the rest of us have is to group and add our numbers together.
A few months ago the "big 3" leaned on the rest of us to have a "neutral" third party consultant analyze and recommend changes, if any, to the way the national body was run.
Initially I was naïve and didn't realize what the biggies were in cahoots.
I can't be so good looking and smart together all of the time. Sorry.
NBSCETT's executive director received a letter from the big 3 EDs talking about how they were meeting and talking and suggested that other associations may want to do the same.
This was pure stupidity but good luck on our part. I have no idea what they were thinking by sending that.
Our ED, named Ed funny enough, was mad and made me proud by sending a letter back copying everyone in the world.
Ed slammed them for conspiring to control the national direction. He was right.
I immediately withdrew my support of the "third party" review process.
I haven't heard anything back from anyone.
In a few weeks I will be attending the CCTT AGM in Vancouver. Everyone will be there.
Can you tell that I'm looking forward to it?
Where was I? Oh yes.
By going to Newfoundland and strengthening relationships I think this should help in Vancouver.
Perhaps I'm mistaken.
Doesn't matter though. I get to go to Newfoundland for the weekend on someone else's dime.

That's all for now. I'm going to call my mother in Ontario now to see how she is.

Tim

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