September has been a busy time for the CAA … meetings, welcoming a new board, saying goodbye to some, the award presentation and more …

CAA AGM NEWS

In addition to the ongoing discussions about contracts and procurement issues, the CAA Board was also preparing for the 8th Annual General Meeting, which was held on September 21, 2017.

In keeping with our goal to support our sponsors where possible, we held the AGM at the Edmonton Construction Association’s building in Edmonton.

This year’s meeting was another banner event with a great turnout of both members, invited guests and sponsors. To name a few, Neil McFarlane represented Alberta Infrastructure and brought greetings from Minister Brian Mason, Elizabeth Songer, the new AAA President attended with AAA Executive Director Barbara Bruce, Nicola Huppertz represented AHS, Jason Meliefste and Carol Belanger represented the City of Edmonton.  We had strong representation from our sponsors and can proudly say that we have continued to lengthen our sponsor list.  We even had a student from the City of Calgary enthusiastically helping at the front desk and thanked us for the opportunity. I think we will be seeing him again very soon.

One new feature of the AGM was the presentation of the inaugural CAA Business Award, which was made possible by the CAA Awards Committee (comprised of Paul Byrne and Terry Hartwig (co-chairs), Erin Jess, Amy Wowk and me).

This year’s AGM also put an end to Linus Murphy’s reign as CAA Chair after an unheralded three years in that position.  He will now serve as the Past Chair.

Two long-standing board members also stepped down, namely Ron Nemeth (CAA treasurer) and Terry Hartwig. Michael Cojocar left the board earlier this year as a result of a firm change. Two board members continued for another year – Heather Bretz (Stantec) and Paul Byrne (ONPA.)

As well, the following five new board members were voted in:

Allan Partridge (Next Architecture)  is an exceptionally talented leader, and as  CAA’s new Chair,  his visionary approach will enable the CAA to continue building on the success of our first generation leaders.  Allan has been practicing architecture for close to 30 years. He is particularly interested in design planning and technology.

As the CAA’s new Treasurer, Cameron Veres (Dialog) is charged with ensuring that the finances of the CAA  are on solid ground.  In his 12 years with DIALOG, he has played a meaningful role.  He is passionate about collaboration with all groups and has generated proven results through leadership, commitment to projects, technical excellence, quality, and an ability to build and motivate teams. Leading by example, Cameron immerses himself in all aspects of project work.

Eddo Cancian (ACI Architects) Eddo has been involved in architecture for 30 years. For the last seven years, he has been an integral leader in the  development of sports and recreation, K-12 schools, industrial core facilities and protective services. As design and project architect, he acts as the subject matter expert for ACI during site selection and analysis, feasibility studies, programming, concept and final design as well as providing input on the contract documentation and procedures required for construction.

Jan Steingahs (HOK) is the architectural practice leader in HOK’s Calgary office. His experience covers a variety of project scales from individual buildings to large-scale mixed-use developments or master plans. Throughout his career Jan has continued to build on a combination of design and technical experience whilst always balancing expectations of client stakeholders with budgetary constraints. His main areas of expertise are large-scale leisure complexes, mixed-use developments, hotels and resorts, commercial buildings and laboratories in North America, Europe and the Middle East. By having worked and lived in various locations for projects, he is acutely aware of cultural diversities and thrives in delivering projects suited to each unique environment.

Liam Woofter (Kasian)  As a recently registered architect, Liam is looking to expand his knowledge of foundational aspects of the profession and assist in contributing to its growth and public perception. He hopes to bring his experience in private practice to the CAA while simultaneously using what he learns from the CAA in his day-to-day work as a registered architect.

Now that the board has grown in size, we look forward to continuing to be the voice of architects in Alberta, and to enhance our relationships with our municipal, county, federal and provincial government clients.

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The AGM also yielded a few revisions to the CAA Bylaws:

  • the position of Ex Officio is now a voting position
  • the Board of Director positions are now two-year terms.
  •     in addition to the positions of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Past Chair, there is now also the position of Vice-Chair.
  • the Past Chair position will be an ex-officio member of all CAA liaison committees.

SPEAKER PROGRAM

As always, there was a speaker program prior to the AGM. This year’s speakers were:

Jason Meliefste, Branch Manager, Integrated Infrastructure Services with the City of Edmonton. His presentation focused on Transforming how the city delivers quality infrastructure.

Doug McConnell, Co-Chair of the CAA’s Procurement and Contracts Committee spoke about RAIC 6, 2017 – An important milestone in industry relationships.

Their presentations can be viewed by clicking here.

CAA BUSINESS AWARD PRESENTATION

The first CAA Business Award was presented at the 8th CAA AGM.  The winning submission was ElevateDIALOG INITIATIVE.  Doug McConnell accepted the award on behalf of DIALOG.  To see the award presented and learn more about the winning submission, click here. 

FEDERAL TAX REFORM

The CAA also drafted and submitted a letter to the Government of Canada about the proposed tax reform initiative. To read a copy of the letter click here.

GET INVOLVED

There are many ways to get involved with the CAA, such as:

  • becoming a member of one or more of our committees
  • contacting a board member if you have questions, comments or ideas
  • approaching or encourage a company to be a CAA sponsor
  • telling your colleagues about the CAA and the work that we do
  • encouraging non-firms to join the CAA
  • completing and submitting CAA surveys
  • suggest new ideas
  • notify us with contract issues that you come across

As the business voice of architects in Alberta, we need to hear from you so that we can continue to work on your behalf.

Contact a board or committee member, or me, so that we can help all architects in Alberta with issues that arise.

The list of CAA Board Members is listed on the CAA website click here.