I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members for the opportunity to represent them for this coming year.

APWA is gearing up for a National Membership Recruitment Campaign.  Their objective is to increase the APWA’s membership by 6% before the end of the year.  This coincides with one of our strategies for reaching our goal of representing Public Works professionals and being an advocate for the profession in all regions of the province.  In 2002 our membership decreased by 3 (1 ½%).  The goal of 6% can be easily reached by converting cities with populations of 25,000 or more, from individual to group memberships and by recapturing cities that have dropped membership or have never been members.  Increasing membership in our chapter will be one of my main goals for this year and I challenge everyone to take an active part in helping to attain this goal.

2003 will be a very challenging year with all the uncertainty in the world today.  With increased budget reductions and funding cuts we can expect to be challenged on being more creative on how we can “do more for less”.  APWA offers its members access to their InfoNow communities.  InfoNow Communities are a valuable place for APWA Members to exchange information, share experiences and learn how others in the Public Works profession have resolved obstacles that you may be facing.

National Public Works Week is being held May 18 – 24.  This year’s theme is "The Strength of Public Works."  As a public works professional, you need to communicate how your local efforts are affected by other jurisdictions. Our local communities are merely parts of the global community utilizing public works for the benefit of the world's citizens. Government officials, business leaders, and citizens will learn about the positive impact of your public works projects.  To view how others have celebrated National Public Works Week in previous years, visit the American Public Works Association website www@apwa.net.

In closing, I want to wish Len Robson and his conference committee all the best in organizing this year’s joint conference and tradeshow to be held in Penticton in conjunction with Washington State Chapter, September 16 – 19.  I hope to see everyone there.

Dale Beaudry

President PWABC