Highlights of the Executive Meetings held November 7, 2003 & March 5, 2004

The 2004 Conference in Nelson is well into the planning stage and it promises to be an excellent venue.

The Penticton Conference was a wonderful experience and the joint effort with Washington State Chapter renewed acquaintances and exchanges ideas. The MSA Trade Show was a popular spot and our thanks goes out to all the participating suppliers. The Conference Committee put on an excellent event and generated $50,320.13 which will be used for future conferences, Scholarships and membership development.

MSA does an excellent job in supporting our association and they also provided $12,000 as an Education donation for 2003. We thank the MSA members for another year of support and cooperation.

The Audited Financial Statement shows there is a Budget surplus of $5,535.19 for the 2003 year. Our association has $8,156.42 in our Chequing, Education Fund and Savings accounts plus $75,000 in investment certificates for a total of $83,156.42 in assets.

The Executive has adopted the 2004 budget with $22,542.50 coming from prior years surplus.

Your Executive passed a motion to hold the 2005 Conference in Salmon Arm. We are all looking forward to visiting this Shuswap Lake city and its’ growing community.

PWABC has donated a Memorial Bench in recognition of all Public Works First Responders in BC who came to the aid of those affected by the BC Wild Fires.

The APWA “Info How” Program has become very popular with members. The ability to exchange information directly with others is providing many benefits in a very timely manner.

Membership recruiting will be very high on the list of activities for this years executive. Our Strategic Plan will be reviewed and updated as part of President Don’s initiatives. A special effort will be made to show the benefits of membership to non member agencies.

Greg Cross as Chairman of the Education Committee would like volunteers or those interested in helping with the Education Committee to call him.

Greg Cross, Superintendent of Roads & Drainage
City of Abbotsford
Abbotsford, BC V2T 5Z2
Office: 604 853-5485 Fax: 604 850-6418
Email: gcross@city.abbotsford..bc.ca

Elected to MSA Executive for 2004:

President	Don Blanchard		Terminal City Ironworks (ACS) Inc.
Vice-President	Peter Turgoose		PSI Pipeline Supply
Secretary	Ed Fujii		Aplin & Martin Consultants Ltd.
Treasurer	Chuck Baynham		Armtec Limited		
1st Director	Grant McAuley		Rollins Machinery
2nd Director	Bob Keefe		Hetek Solutions Inc.
Past President	Mike Dickens		Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd.

MSA Presidents Message

We wish to extend an invitation to all existing and perspective MSA Member companies to attend the Public Works Association Conference, to be held in Nelson B.C. this September. This being a non-tradeshow year we encourage you to show your support to those from Public Works by attending, through our attendance we demonstrate that there is value to belonging to such a long- standing organization.

MSA Executive is looking forward to working with Bob Adams, Conference Local Arrangements Chair, for the Nelson Conference this year. Carefully selected Technical Sessions and popular events such as the MSA Golf Tournament, Ladies Bowling, Equipment Rodeo and an exciting partners programme promise to make this a memorable time for all in this beautiful Kootenay location.

An MSA membership renewal package will be forwarded in the next month or so. For further information, contact either Don Blanchard, MSA President at don@terminalcity-acs.com or Peter B. Turgoose, MSA Vice President at gooseworks@pinc.com

In all ways this conference promises to be a success, don’t miss out, be a part of a worthwhile venture. See you in Nelson!

Sincerely, Don Blanchard, MSA President.