ECAA 50th Anniversary magazine

Publications mail agreement #40934510

Honouring the past, celebrating the present, preparing for the future.

Let Us Bring Power To Your Neighborhood.

While maintaining focus on safety, cost and the importance of continuously delivering on schedule, Fisher Powerline Construction Ltd. offers construction and maintenance services on overhead and underground transmission and distribution systems utilizing both cold and hot line methods.

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Published by: DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L 0G5 www.delcommunications.com President David Langstaff

Contents 4

Message from the Prime Minister of Canada – the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.

6

Message from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta – Donald S. Ethell, OC, OMM, AOE, MSC, CD, LLD

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Message from the Premier of Alberta – the Honourable Alison M. Redford, QC

Publisher Jason Stefanik Managing Editor Shayna Wiwierski shayna@delcommunications.com Sales Manager Dayna Oulion

10 Message from the president of the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association (CECA) –

Colin Campbell

Advertising Account Executives Gary Barrington Michelle Raike Anthony Romeo Colin James Trakalo

11 Message from the president of the ECAA – Kelly Wilde 12 Message from the past president of the ECAA – Clem Gratton, PEC

Production services provided by: S.G. Bennett Marketing Services www.sgbennett.com

12 Message from the Calgary chapter president – Scott White, PEC 14 Message from the Edmonton chapter past president – Bob Maslanko, PEC

Art Director Kathy Cable

14 Message from the Central chapter president – Darcy Teichroeb, PEC 16 Message from the Fort McMurray chapter president – Gordon Stuve

Layout / Design Dana Jensen

16 Message from the Lethbridge chapter president – Rob Coleman, PEC 18 Message from the Medicine Hat past president – Glenn Pocsik

Advertising Art Reanne Dawson Julie Weaver

18 Message from the Northeast chapter president – Terry Barnett 20 Message from the Northwest chapter president – Tim Tarita

© Copyright 2012 DEL Communications Inc. All rights reserved.The contents of this pub­lica­tion may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher­.

22 2002-2012: The last 10 years 24 The leaders: a selection of past ECAA presidents reflect on their time with the association 38 The advantage of choosing a Professional Electrical Contractor (PEC)

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in and the reliability of the source, the publisher­in no way guarantees nor warrants the information and is not responsible for errors, omissions or statements made by advertisers. Opinions and recommendations made by contributors or advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher, its directors, officers­or employees.

40 A history of the Electrical Trust Funds 42 Trials and tribulations 44 Here’s to the next 50! ECAA 50th anniversary gala recap 48 Plugged in and working hard: Labour Relations Committee chair continues to lead by example 50 ECAA special award recipients 52 Balancing work and family: the ECAA’s Sheri McLean 53 Congratulations from the Merit Contractors Association 54 Bright lights, big savings: NAIT IC TR EC

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55 Congratulations on 50 years from IBEW Local 424

SS O CIATION OF

56 SAIT Polytechnic blends the best of both worlds 58 Recollections on a great relationship: Federated Insurance TA ER

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60 Index to advertisers

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A Celebration of 50 Years

honouring the past, celebrating the present, preparing for the future.

Publications mail agreement #40934510 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: DEL Communications Inc. Suite 300, 6 Roslyn Road Canada R3L 0G5 Email: david@delcommunications.com

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Communications Inc.

PRINTED IN CANADA | 09/2012

Message from the Prime Minister of Canada

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P. I am pleased to extend my warmest greetings to the members of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Over the past five decades, the ECAA has represented the best interests of electrical contractors in the province of Alberta, promoted pride and excellence in the profession, and worked to advance the industry as a whole.

As members of the ECAA, you can take satisfaction in belonging to an organization that ensures that you merit the confidence and trust of your clients and that you carry out your responsibilities with integrity, skill, and professionalism.

Please accept my best wishes for continued success.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Message from the Lieutenant Governor

Donald S. Ethell, OC, OMM, AOE, MSC, CD, LLD Lieutenant Governor of Alberta As Her Majesty, the Queen’s representative in Alberta, I am very pleased to congratulate members of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta as you celebrate your 50th anniversary in our province.

Collectively, over the past five decades you have strived to ensure professionalism among your members through educational opportunities, the building of strong stakeholder relationships and by developing an industry information centre. You can be proud of what you have accomplished as an organization and Albertans appreciate the many contributions you have made to the building of our great province.

Again, congratulations and best wishes to all.

Edmonton Electric has been serving the Edmonton area since 1956 in the Construction, Design Build, and Service industry. Safety and customer satisfaction is our goal for every project. Congratulations ECAA on 50 years.

8023 Argyll Road, Edmonton, Alberta, T6C 4A9 T : 780-463-4911 F : 780-463-8233

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Brent Connell, Principal, PEC, CME, General Manager bconnell@edmonton-electric.com Steve Smith, Principal, CME, Service Manager ssmith@edmonton-electric.com

Siemens electrical distribution products: Made in Canada, for Canada.

Proud supplier of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta Siemens Canada congratulates the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta for 50 years of providing answers to the industry.

siemens.ca

Message from the Premier of Alberta

The Honourable Alison M. Redford, QC On behalf of the Government of Alberta, it is my pleasure to congratulate the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) on its 50th anniversary.

From its beginnings a half century ago, the ECAA has established itself as a strong voice for electrical contractors in Alberta. The ECAA has earned a positive reputation for its ongoing commitment to education and safety, and its strong ties with industry.

Congratulations to the ECAA and its members on the last 50 years and best wishes for another 50 years of success.

Congratulations on 50 years!

• COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL • HEALTHCARE • BRIDGES • HIGHWAYS • LEED PROJECTS …AND MORE!

IC TR EC

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www.alliedprojects.com

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A Celebration of 50 Years

honouring the past, celebrating the present, preparing for the future.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Mechanical contractors

association of alberta The Mechanical Contractors Association of Alberta represents the interests of all mechanical contractors and their suppliers through business support, educational resources, and industry advocacy.

Congratulations to the ECAA on their 50th Anniversary!

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North Vancouver 901 - West 3rd Street North Vancouver, B.C. V7P 3P9 Phone: (604) 986-7822 Fax: (604) 986-7821

50th Anniversary

9 AM 3/6/12 9:22

Message from the President of the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association (CECA)

Colin Campbell On behalf of the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association (CECA), I would like to congratulate the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) on its 50th anniversary. This half-century milestone could only have been achieved with vision and dedication.

The ECAA is a stellar example of a trade association that is committed to furthering the excellence of its member companies and helping them succeed in today’s extremely competitive marketplace, strengthening the province of Alberta’s economic growth.

ECAA’s longevity is a real tribute to the value placed in its organization by its members. It is also an indicator of strong and steady leadership and superior service as the ECAA continues to be a proactive advocate seeking to better the interests of this ever-growing industry.

On this, its 50th anniversary, CECA salutes its fellow association, the ECAA, and looks to the future with anticipation and certainty for continued cooperation, friendship, and success. We are proud of our relationship with the ECAA and thank you for your support and leadership in the electrical industry.

Please accept our best wishes for another 50 years of continued success.

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Message From the President of the ECAA

Kelly Wilde It was an honour to be voted in as the president of the ECAA during the past AGM at the River Cree Resort in Edmonton. After 50 years, this association is still going strong and to be its president is indeed humbling, and at the same time exciting to be given the task of upholding the standard of those before me.

I would like to thank Clem Gratton for all his hard work and dedication over the past years he has been on the board, and especially this last year with all the extra load put on him with the 50th anniversary. Clem, to you and the staff of the ECAA, congratulations on a job well done. I would also like to acknowledge all of the past presidents and board members for all of their hard work to get our association to the level of importance that it is today. It is because of you that we are what we are.

Times have changed over those 50 years and we find ourselves at a point where there seems to be a lot of people who would like to take part of our scope of work away from us. This association has prided itself in making sure we sit on every board or committee we can to prevent the erosion of our trade. People have tried to take away such things as data cabling, fire alarm, controls, cathodic protection, and our Masters Program in Alberta, and we have fought hard to make sure that they remained part of what we do.

We have battled through the stigma of the ECAA being union only and have put those issues behind us and now work side by side as union and non-union companies working on behalf of the electrical industry. We are as vibrant an association as ever and the dedicated members of the ECAA can be proud of what they have accomplished.

As in any company or association, the world around us is changing and we have to change with it. The upcoming year will prove to be as challenging as any as we fight to remain a prominent voice in the industry and we will need to reinvent ourselves to make sure that we deliver what we do best in the best way we can.

As I go forward into the challenges of the upcoming year as the president of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta, I wish all of the members and industry partners the very best. And I look forward to working alongside all of you to continue the work of our predecessors and to make sure our industry remains strong as ever.

Congratulations to the ECAA for 50 Years as the Voice of the Electrical Industry Kelly Wilde, Kels Electric Ltd. 505 Sioux Road, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada T8A 4H2 Ph 780-449-1433 • Fax 780-449-5344 www.kelselectric.com

50th Anniversary

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Messages from the Past President

Clem Gratton, PEC Our 50th year is now officially upon us. I reflect on the work and dedication our founding fathers put forward to achieve our incorporation, and registration under the Societies Act of Alberta on November 29th, 1962.

I am completely impressed with their foresight in developing a constitution and bylaws, which have held up through the test of time, half a century, and only a few “changing of the times� tweaks along the way. I am amazed at all that has been achieved with the ups and downs experienced through 50 years of history, all of the changes of governments, policies, and of course the economic roller coaster. When I find time to thumb through our 40th anniversary edition of the ECAA history book, it is fascinating to see the comments and reflect as to what was going on at that particular snapshot in time. Much of the issues that have been dealt with over time within the framework of the ECAA have been reactions to those changes that have presented themselves.

As our province started becoming a world stage player, so did the issues that the ECAA dealt with. Our involvement by having representation on committees, provincial, and national boards assures us that the voice of our membership is heard. That tradition continues on with our representatives working on current issues such as provincial trade barriers coming down, movement of workers nationally and internationally, the evolution of our electrical codes becoming standardized with the rest of the world, and along with that, training methods and standards.

All of these things cannot be done without the countless hours of volunteer time by an incredible amount of people. The electrical industry in our province is highly regarded throughout the world because of this dedicated and traditional involvement.

With 50 years of such amazing involvement, it truly is a fantastic accomplishment of our association and all the people that came together with their own knowledge and passion.

To the founding fathers – thank you for having the foresight to set the framework that carries us through the process today. Thank you to all of our preceding presidents and all their committees and boards who governed our association through 50 years.

Finally, thanks to all the volunteers that are currently working on all these committees and boards today, as well as Sheri McLean and our current staff who work very hard for us.

Congratulations to 50 years, ECAA. I am very proud to be associated and even prouder to be your past president.

from the Calgary chapter president

Scott White, PEC On behalf of the Calgary chapter, I would like to congratulate the ECAA on its 50th anniversary.

The ECAA is an important part of the electrical industry in Alberta; it has continually improved industry standards and voiced the concerns of electrical contractors since November 29, 1962.

The ECAA has developed educational programs, networking opportunities, and has fought to protect the interests of electrical contractors. Through such leadership, the level of professionalism has flourished in our industry.

If the first 50 years are any indication of how the ECAA can benefit electrical contractors, I cannot wait to see what the future has in store.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Messages from the Edmonton chapter past president

Bob Maslanko, PEC The Edmonton chapter would like to offer its congratulations to the Provincial Board of Directors of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta in reaching its 50th anniversary as a registered association in the province of Alberta. We acknowledge and congratulate all of its past presidents, executive directors, and its members for your accomplishments over the past 50 years. Your dedication, determination and leadership have led to this crowning milestone which has made this association stand out in the province as “the voice of the electrical industry in Alberta.�

The Edmonton chapter of the ECAA has held monthly meetings during the fall and winter months. The current Edmonton executive decided to try a new location nearer to downtown to make the event more central to our members. We certainly are seeing some positive response to this decision as we are starting to see more and more members and associates attending each and every month.

The other thing the executive is trying this year is to get our associate members presenting more at our chapter meetings; we have had interesting presentations from the City of Edmonton on the electrical permitting process, photovoltaic systems, LED lighting, and an update on contractor takeovers in the province, as well as contractor insurance and bonding issues.

Once again ECAA, congratulations on achieving your 50th anniversary as an association.

from the Central chapter president

Darcy Teichroeb, PEC The Central chapter holds two to four meetings throughout the year with intentions to keep the 13 contractor members and five associate members up to date with current industry and association events/affairs. These meetings also provide the opportunity to present new technology or industry trends by specific industry experts.

2011 brought presentations such as utilities high-voltage safety and leading-edge technology within the LED lighting sector. The 2011 meetings were well attended and provided productive networking opportunities for the contractors and associates. I would like to explore the possibility of merging our meetings, providing more networking opportunities with our fellow association members in Calgary and Edmonton in the coming year which will be a topic of discussion at the next Central chapter meeting. Central chapter presidents of the past 10 years include myself, Jeff Light, PEC; Brian Elam, and Charlie Bagshaw.

Thank you to the current Central chapter members for their continued participation and contributions to the ECAA.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

CONGRATULATIONS ON FIFTY YEARS OF SUCCESS

Local Union 424

IBEW www.ibew424.net

Proud to be Industry Partners servicing the needs of our valued customers

Messages from the Fort McMurray chapter president

Gordon Stuve Congratulations to the ECAA on its 50th anniversary! The ECCA is very important to the province of Alberta as it helps electricians in a variety of ways. The association supports those who are in our industry through the Masters program, and promotes safety and support for electrical contractors around Fort McMurray and the province as a whole.

I have been a member of the ECAA for a number of years and found that it is an excellent way to network with your peers as it presents multiple people to bounce ideas off; it’s a support group of sorts.

I hope the association keeps growing, and I encourage electricians young and old to become or stay involved with the ECAA and the different communities around the province.

Here’s to the next 50!

from the Lethbridge chapter president

Rob Coleman, PEC The Lethbridge market is currently experiencing moderately busy activity of a very competitive nature. We’ve experienced a pleasantly unseasonable winter in the Lethbridge area, and with the cooperation of the weather, are looking forward to a mild spring with an increase in construction activity.

The Lethbridge chapter is currently in somewhat of a rebuilding phase after a few years of minimal activity. I am pleased to report that the membership drive has realized some possible results. The chapter now has eight contractor members, four associate members, four PECs, and two PEC students.

Our current goals, aside from increasing our membership, include raising awareness and supporting the ECAA with their CME and PEC programs, along with any of their other initiatives. While we have had a few successful fall chapter meetings in the last two years, we are trying to increase the frequency of those chapter meetings with the focus on supporting local construction businesses, the ECAA, and building a cooperative and healthy market for the electrical contractors and suppliers in our region. Over the next couple of months, we will continue with our membership drive and plan to hold a chapter meeting later this spring.

The Lethbridge chapter would like to take this time to extend our sincere congratulations to Clem Gratton, the executive, the board of directors, and the staff of the ECAA on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. We thank you for your support and efforts over the years and going forward, for the beneficial impact the ECAA provides for all the electrical contractors in the province of Alberta.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

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Messages

from the past president of the Medicine Hat chapter

Glenn Pocsik I got involved with the ECAA about 12 years ago and I can happily say I am still a proud member of the association today. I served as president of the Medicine Hat chapter in the mid-2000s and found the position rewarding, challenging, and eventful.

The ECAA is important to the industry because of the volume of information available to us. There is also an abundance of networking opportunities, and we always have an access to answers if any questions arise.

The most prominent memory I have while I was president was at the convention in Cuba in 2004. It was the first convention out of the country and we all had a great time. Another memory I hold dear is the attempt to standardize journeymen wages here in Medicine Hat, and I’m happy to say that I believe that we accomplished that.

Fifty years is a big deal. We survived all the years that were good and not so good. I would also like to congratulate Sheri McLean, the executive director of the association.

She is the backbone of the office; the glue that holds everything together.

From the North east chapter President

Terry Barnett Greetings from the Northeast chapter and congratulations to the ECAA on its 50th anniversary!

All is well and everyone is very busy. 2011 was insane for everyone and 2012 looks even worse, but we aren’t complaining…okay, we are, but it’s because we all need employees. With a new RCMP office and new school, new retail stores, and trucking offices, as well as the housing market going crazy, there is a lot to do.

The oil patch also needs workers as well. The mild winter has helped construction, as there have been no snow or cold weather delays.

That’s all from the northeast, so from all of us at our board, as well as myself, congratulations on a great 50 years. Keep up the great work! artwork.pdf 1 2012-08-29 14:20:31

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It provides information on how to analyze these electrical hazards and follow up on preventive and protective control measures.

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Message from the Northwest chapter president

Tim Tarita Greetings from the northwest!

It is with every respect that I take the time to honour the gentlemen that have, in the past, sat on the board of directors for the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta.

I feel that without these people, the electrical trade and its morals, values, and ethics, would not be what it is today.

I am privileged to have a place on this board because I know that our discussions and decisions impact the future of this trade, not only in a political sense, but also in a practical sense, helping young apprentices strive to meet their goals.

Past presidents of the Northwest chapter are:

1964 - Norm Bakken, Joe’s Electric 1965 - N.A.(Norm) Cookshaw, Cookshaw Electric 1966 - C.E.(Gene) Murrant, B&G Electric & Plumbing 1967 - N.A.(Norm) Cookshaw, Cookshaw Electric 1968 - A.T. Wigelsworth, Midwest Electric Co. 1969-1970 - George Kreuger, Peace River Electric 1971 - C.E.(Gene) Murrant, B&G Electric & Plumbing 1972 - N.A.(Norm) Cookshaw, Cookshaw Electric 1973 - C.E.(Gene) Murrant, B&G Electric & Plumbing 1974-1976 - Frank Biegel, Midwest Electric Co. 1977-1978 - L. Dechant, Dechant Electrical Contractors 1979 - N.A.(Norm) Cookshaw, Cookshaw Electric 1980-1981 - R. Falkner, Falkner Electric 1982-1983 - Dave Grokowski, Hey-Wire Electric (Fairview) 1984-1985 - Jack Wearmouth, Titan Electric & Controls 1986-1992 - Harm Gerrits, PEC, Cookshaw Electric 1993-1998 - Frank Biegel, Magnum Electric 1999-2002 - William Shumard, PEC, First Choice Electric Supply 2003-2010 - Les Dzwonkiewicz, PEC, Builders Electric Company

2010-present - Tim Tarita, Magnum Electric

I sincerely bless all of these men for sacrificing their time to make our trade what it is today.

Happy 50th, and I am looking forward to a bright future.

P.G. (Pete) Vohr CME., PEC.

Electrical Contractor

PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR

P 780.417.1487 F 780.417.2158

Residential, Farm, Commercial, Maintenance Telephone (780) 968-1055 Cell (780) 995-7383 Fax (780) 968-9116 Email: aaaentelectrical@canadasurfs.net Box 20 Site 104, RR1

Stony Plain, AB T7Z 1X1

20

Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

When Quality And Service Count FIBRE OPTIC CABLE INSTALLATION ▪ STRUCTURED CABLING ▪ FIRESTOPPING ONSITE TESTING ▪ MOBILE FIBER OPTIC SPLICING ▪ CERTIFICATION & WARRANTY

Committed to Safety and Performance since 1963!

Congratulations to the ECAA on your 50th Anniversary!

Chemco is proud to be a member of the ECAA for over 40 years. l Electrical

Construction l Electrical & Mechanical Instrumentation l High Voltage Testing & Commissioning l High Voltage Distribution l Construction Management l EHT Installations & Commissioning l Electrical Maintenance l Fibre Optics & Data Communications l CSA Assembly Shop l Constructability

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2002 – 2012

the last 10 years

Chapter Presidents Calgary

Cal Riedel Ron Mackenzie Brian Phelps, PEC Doug Fraser, PEC Tim Lang Scott White, PEC

Central

Jeff Light, PEC Brian Elam Charlie Bagshaw Darcy Teichroeb, PEC

Edmonton Peter Rasmussen Terry Emmerson Terry Milot Kelly Wilde DJ Coppens Bob Maslanko, PEC Scott Hutton Tom Morin, PEC

2002-2004 2004-2006 2006-2007 2007-2009 2009-2011 2011-2012

2002-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2012

2002-2004 2004-2006 2006-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

Fort McMurray Roger Richard Gord Stuve, PEC

2002-2004 2004-2012

Lethbridge Ken Rogalsky, PEC Todd McKay Rob Coleman, PEC

Medicine Hat Glenn Pocsik Larry Elhart

NorthEast Brian Harris Keith Youngblood Jonny Nielsen, PEC Terry Barnett

NorthWest

Bill Shumard, PEC Les Dzwonkiewicz, PEC Tim Tarita

2002-2004 2004-2010 2010-2012

2002-2009 2009-2012

2002-2004 2004-2006 2006-2010 2010-2012

2002-2004 2004-2011 2011-2012

Bob Wagler General Manager Bay 1, 109 Stockton Pt. Box 447 Okotoks, Alberta T1S 1A6 www.westridgeelectric.com

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Cell: 403.369.4124 Office: 403.938.6862 Fax: 403.938.6898 bob@westridgeelectric.com

Labour Relations

Union Sector – Brian Halina 2002-2011 Open Shop – DJ Coppens 2003-2011

PEC Chairs Kelly Morris, PEC Lou Hiemer, PEC Tom Morin, PEC

Kelly Morris, PEC

2005-2012

Presidents 2002-2005 2005-2010 2010-2013

Award of Merit Recipients Louis Galick Terry Sawatzky Kelly Morris, PEC Willard Kondro Brian Halina Abe Reimer, PEC Reg Morris, PEC Dave Hagen John Robinson Keven Lefebvre, PEC

masters

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Kelly Morris, PEC Abe Reimer, PEC Roger Richard Terry Milot Mike Brunner DJ Coppens Todd McKay Ron Mackenzie Bob Maslanko, PEC Clem Gratton, PEC Kelly Wilde

Congratulations ECAA on your 50 t h anniversary.

From your group benefits provider

Cathy Whyte 780-930-4272 Tasha Bunner 780-757-3633

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

Phone: 780.435.1258

"Training for the Future" John Gullion Wirtanen electric training Foundation 5735 Gateway Blvd.

Edmonton, AB T6H 2H3

E-mail: projects@wirtanenelectric.ca 50th Anniversary

23

The leaders

A selection of past ECAA presidents reflect on their time with the association

By Carly Peters

“The president’s position is one of guidance and neutrality. His leadership qualities are largely utilized to organize, and to assure equal opportunity to express views. A good leader does not impose his prejudices, but encourages others to make their viewpoints known, so that all decisions will have had the maximum input.”

– Arthur Thormann, president, 1979-1980.

Through the ECAA’s 50 years, on a yearly basis, one man stepped into the role of leader. While some took the reins in times of triumph, some walked into times of trials. But, no matter what the industry environment, each one took that role of “guidance and neutrality” in order to better the association, and in turn, the industry as a whole.

R.O. (Bob) Klassen President, 1974-1975 Bob Klassen states he started in the electrical field like most – as an apprentice.

But what his training, which began in 1955 at Canadian International Comstock Inc., didn’t fully prepare him for was being at the forefront of a labour dispute some 20 years later.

After five years with Comstock Inc., the company asked him to be a representative with the Calgary Electrical Contractors Association. Klassen began getting involved just before the formation of the ECAA, and just as the association was in its infancy, Comstock Inc. transferred the budding manager to Ottawa.

When Klassen returned to Alberta in 1971, the rumblings of construction labour issues had just begun. The ECAA, on behalf of its unionized members, joined the Alberta Construction Labour Relations Association (the name later changed to Construction Labour Relations – an Alberta Association, or CLRa) and paid dues to the group without an ECAA membership payment increase.

But, within a short time, the ACLRA increased their dues and demanded the exclusive bargaining rights of ECAA’s unionized members. Klassen’s term

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

as president in 1974 began just as the concern over this issue mounted. In response, he and the board appointed a special committee to investigate and deal with the problem. As a result, the ECAA promptly discontinued their membership with ACLRA, causing an uproar across the construction industry.

Eventually, in what would be considered Klassen’s greatest achievement during his term, the ECAA came to a compromise with the ACLRA. The association would actively support ACLRA’s concepts, but keep ECAA’s unionized membership autonomy.

Klassen, after 30-some years of working in electrical contracting, decided to leave the industry, but believes there is always a place for the ECAA in today’s industry.

Arthur O.R. Thormann President, 1979-1980 In 1953 Arthur Thormann was working for Eldorado Mining as a mill mechanic working in the uranium processing plant. With radiation posing a daily threat to his health, Thormann saw a saving grace in the electrical field.

“I applied to be an electrical apprentice in three Edmonton shops. I was hired by all three, but my friend, who also wanted to become an electrician got zero. So I took the job I liked with Progress Electric, cancelled the application at the second job, and told my friend to pretend he was me at the third one,” he laughs.

Thormann completed his apprenticeship in 1957 and became a manager with the company. A year later, the owner of

Progress asked him to attend Edmonton chapter meetings on behalf of the company, which soon turned into a position as a director at the local level.

He served as a director for 10 years before becoming president of the Edmonton chapter, and again, patiently waited another 10 years for the top provincial position in 1979.

The ECAA and CLR-a issue was still a hot-button one, with strained labour relations.

“When my term started I said ‘enough is enough. Let’s have a better relationship’,” states Thormann. “This back and forth was unhealthy for the industry and I felt we shouldn’t be separated from the other trades in the construction industry like we had been because of this animosity.”

To make labour relations even harder, the ECAA chairman of the labour relations committee quit mid-term, so Thormann took the role on top of his presidential duties.

“It was a tough year for that reason. I was more involved than I should have been,” he states. “The ‘70s were tough years. They were very much the forming years for the ECAA because all the by-laws and committees were just being created.”

By the end of his term, Thormann felt confident in the committees and plans put forth by the association, as well as the relationship between the ECAA and CLR-a.

Just after his presidential term ended, he also ended his position with Progress and finally in 1996, his career as an electrical contractor. Yet, he still sits as a trustee on the Health and Welfare Trust

Fund, and the Pension Trust Fund with good friend, and past ECAA president Elver Olsen.

Elver Olsen President, 1980-1981 Considering himself as one of the “older” members of the ECAA, Elver Olsen fondly remembers his term as president of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta as a time when everyone served the industry together for the greater good.

Olsen and his wife were married and living in Denmark when the young couple decided to set off and see the world.

They came to Canada in 1957, and hadn’t really planned on staying, but Olsen decided to put his skills as an electrician to work in Calgary. He became a journeyman, and in 1961 started his own business.

He was also at the start of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta, attending the very first convention of the provincial group.

“A good majority of contractors were a part of this and they were very happy to now have a group to speak for them,” he says.

After serving on the board for numerous years, Olsen followed good friend Art Thormann as president of the provincial association in 1980. The theme he chose for his term was “Service Through Unity.” Olsen brought the association together through a very busy construction season, and served the industry well.

Since his time as president, Olsen continues to serve through unity, working together with Thormann as trustees on the Health and Welfare Trust Fund, along with the Pension Trust Fund.

“Art and I are not as involved as we once were. We used to be the youngest, but now we’re the oldest,” he laughs.

“The association has a great group of people. And, when we work together, we are stronger. We can deal with anything if we stand together.”

Willard Kondro President, 1985-1987 Willard Kondro may well be able to claim one of the toughest terms as presi-

dent of the ECAA simply because it was the longest. Serving almost two years in the top spot, Kondro took the association out of the red and put it in a better position for the next leader and the industry as a whole.

Kondro began his apprenticeship with Radio Electric Centre in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1960, working his way up to journeyman and then business owner in 1967. Two years after opening up his own shop he was introduced to the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta, and knew that it was the right fit for his business and industry ideals.

“As an electrical contractor I wanted to put something back into the industry,” he states, highlighting that he served as a long-time board member and vice-president before becoming provincial president in 1985.

When Kondro took the role as president, the ECAA was well in the red, over $110,000 to be exact. The first task at hand was to stop the bleed and re-build the association – not a small feat.

“We had numerous board meetings and it was decided that I was given the authority to do what I had to do to get the ECAA back on its feet,” recalls Kondro.

He began the upward swing by restructuring the main office in Edmonton, physically and personally. The asso-

ciation relocated the office three times in one year in order to downsize space and find cheaper rent.

“We owed $12,000 in rent, but we renegotiated and ended up paying $10,000,” he says. “We ended up not only downsizing the building, but the staff as well.”

This included letting go two of the three office girls, as well as the ECAA CEO, along with capping any spending to stop the debt. But, Kondro also had to find a way to bring money in.

“It was decided at a meeting in order to raise more money we needed to increase the membership cost by $25, and everyone agreed,” he says. “To make the ECAA survive I had to make a lot of moves that weren’t pretty, and were not always favoured, but we had a great board and a lot of positive thinkers.”

With the ECAA on the road to recovery, Kondro handed over the reins as president in 1987, but stayed on the board. He also served as the Alberta representative on the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association (CECA) board for 15 years (he just resigned last year), as well as sitting on the Masters Program committee and numerous others.

“You have to put something back into the industry for it to survive,” states Kondro. “If the people didn’t do it before us, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Peo-

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Harm Gerrits President, 1990-1991 Harm Gerrits’ term as president for the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta could be the greatest lesson in turning a negative into a positive thanks to hard work and good support.

Gerrits was given the opportunity to apprentice during his time at the Great

Canadian Oil Sands in Fort McMurray in 1967. He moved to Grande Prairie in 1974 and joined Cookshaw Electric in 1975, where he became a member of the local chapter.

“I really saw the benefit of association networking, that they addressed the common concerns of the industry and were involved in apprenticeship and training, everything that benefits the industry,” he says.

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Prairie market as president from 1987 to 1991, until he stepped into the provincial role that year.

At the time, the association, he says, was in “turmoil” both financially and with their membership. The union versus non-union tension was mounting, and Gerrits travelled across the province to try and defuse the friction and obtain new members.

“I stayed connected to all the local chapters, as they are our grassroots, visiting them and participating in a number of functions. I was just trying to get everyone back together because what we were trying to achieve as an association shouldn’t have been affected by union versus non-union,” he states. “Eventually, common sense prevailed and everyone realized we’re all in it together. Being a united group was the best option for making the industry better. Not to say all was resolved, but enough to keep the ship afloat and get things moving again.”

He adds it was through a lot of hard work by a lot of supportive people that this was achieved.

“The ECAA is a group of people motivated in what they are doing and have opinions on how things should operate. While things can be interesting at times with individual personalities, it’s also what makes the association strong,” states Gerrits.

He feels that the ECAA strong social programs and conventions/annual meetings allow everyone to get together on more recreational terms.

“It is a great chance to liaise with people in your industry and it helps a lot to discuss things on a casual basis,” explains Gerrits, who adds that he organized the first annual out of the country convention in Phoenix, a tradition that’s been kept for every other year.

He says he still sees a lot of optimism in the association as it heads into the future.

“The industry is pretty fast changing.

New technology brings in new people with different interests but it always starts with the base of electrical,” states Gerrits.

“The growth in membership is positive, I see a lot of positives coming out of the ECAA and I hope it continues.”

Perry Schmaltz President, 1995-1996 Perry Schmaltz began his electrical career as a way out of heavy, manual labour, but it turned into something much more meaningful for himself, and the entire Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta.

Schmaltz had quit high school, and was tired of literally working in the trenches. He went back to finish Grade 12 and began an electrical apprenticeship with his father’s company in 1964.

He continued to gain experience working for various other companies until he decided to found his own company, Carl’s Electric, in 1981.

He was first introduced to the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta a year into running his own shop by a well-established ECAA member.

“I was a union contractor and at the time we weren’t obligated to belong to the association,” he states. “But, Elver Olsen introduced me to the association and I felt it was right to become a member.”

The good feeling continued as Schmaltz held all the positions of the Calgary chapter, until he became president in 1990. He then took the helm of the provincial association in 1995.

When Schmaltz stepped into the role, the Masters Program was still being run

by Alberta Labour, but they were looking for a group or organization to take over the program. In what Schmaltz calls a “major feather in their cap”, the ECAA was handed the reins to the essential program.

“We upgraded the program by introducing new exams and courses. All of the testing was to be administered by the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta at the local chapters,” he explains.

He states during that year they also achieved the approval of the Professional Electrical Contractor (PEC) status which required six various courses to gain the rank.

“It took 17 months of meetings to ramp up the application, and we got the approval just after my presidency,” states Schmaltz. “The ECAA was the first organization in North America to receive a professional status.”

With so much groundwork laid down during his year as president, Schmaltz

says he leaned on his great staff and brothers to prop up the business end of his life. Yet, even after his term was up, Schmaltz continued to serve his association. He sat on the Safety Codes Council for 14 years, as well as representing journeymen at the Local Apprenticeship Committee (LAC) in Calgary.

Even today, Schmaltz is a code advisor for the ECAA, along with sitting on the Canadian Electrical Code Part I Section 12 sub-committee.

“I see a united electrical industry in the

future for the ECAA. We’re already getting there,” he says. “We can all play a role in making this true. Past and present.”

Pat Barnes President, 1999-2000 Even though he is now retired from the electrical field, Pat Barnes remembers his time as ECAA president as a term of trials and triumphs. And, the world did not come to an end.

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Canada Pipeline, Pat Barnes embarked on an apprenticeship in the trade. Working his way through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, he ended up finally settling with Edmonton Electric Inc. It was there he began to see the benefit of meeting with other contractors in the industry, and saw that the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta was the ideal organization in which to do so.

Barnes worked with the Edmonton chapter and quickly became the group’s

president from 1994 to 1996. He then took the lead on the provincial board in 1999 just before the “dreaded” Y2K. What was even more worrisome was, once again, the relationship between union and non-union members of the ECAA. “I really wanted to try to get unionized contractors and non-union thinking along the same lines,” he states. “I attended chapter meetings to encourage communication between the two groups

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

and to try and get them to understand each other. They needed to know that the ECAA could represent both groups in an unbiased fashion in regards to the issues that affected all electrical contractors.”

Working alongside the board, Barnes helped modify budget preparation, and rationalize union company contributions and non-union fees which allowed the ECAA to revise the membership fee schedule so that it was fairer to membership. He states this helped them be more successful in that term’s membership drive.

Moving the ECAA’s head office to its current location was also helpful in increasing the association’s profile in the industry, another one of Barnes’ memorable moments from his term.

“There’s always going to be challenges,” he states. “But it’s good to celebrate the accomplishments. The ECAA is a strong base that will address the industry issues that arise, and they will continue to do to so in the future.”

Daniel Kuderewko President, 2000-2001 Daniel Kuderewko jokingly refers to his term as ECAA president as “The Fun Year.” All laughs aside, he states as a newly joined member thrust into the head position, it was a strong executive that helped the association continue on a positive path.

Kuderewko’s father was an electrician in Regina, and he worked with him as a teenager during the summer. Part-time work turned into a full-time career when he moved to Alberta (1985) and started at Prelim Electric Ltd. in Medicine Hat in 1991.

Feeling the need to give back to the association that looks after his best interest, he decided to attend a meeting of the ECAA Medicine Hat chapter. At this first meeting, Kuderewko was appointed president of the local group, a position he held for five years.

It was in 2000 when he took over the provincial president spot, and at that time the ECAA was in a very good position.

“The ECAA was growing; we reduced membership costs, but maintained a balanced budget. Everyone was quite jovial that year,” he says.

Yet, there were a few bumps along the road that year. Issues such as non-compliance overtime, the Master’s License, and the Industrial Code and Apprenticeship were overseen by Kuderewko and the board. He states it was an interesting time, and certainly a learning curve for someone who was relatively “green” to the association.

“I was newly involved and going through the ranks. It was an eye-opening experience working with an executive that had more years than I. They really helped carry the association through,” he states.

Still a member of the ECAA, Kuderewko states industry and ECAA need to continue on with their professional path to make a positive impact on the construction industry as a whole.

Kelly Morris President, 2002-2003 Kelly Morris could have been, and has been, many things. From taking the steps towards an automotive career at his vocational high school, to training as an electrician, then becoming an aircraft maintenance engineering technologist, to a technical writer and project manager for a military aircraft technical publications team, he has gone where the work is. But, thankfully for the Alberta electrical industry, he came back to the trade.

Morris grew up in the electrical industry with his father owning a shop.

Even though he had his eyes set on an automotive career, he started his electrical apprenticeship at his vocational high school. He fast tracked his way through, working in the trade while at high school and becoming a journeyman in three years after then landing a job working on the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre in Edmonton.

“Then the industry tanked,” he states.

“So I got out of it, went back to school and became an aircraft maintenance engineering technologist.”

Working for Wardair was the goal, and he headed out east to Ontario to accept a job with them; but not before discussing with his father the possibility of buying the family business when he was ready to retire.

This possibility presented itself in 1989, and after giving notice to this famous airline, the sale of which broke the news the day and hour he entered his house returning from his last shift, the then 27-year-old Morris headed back to Alberta, only to step into another recession. Taking a job as a technical writer with an aviation company and moving up to a project management role with them, he bided his time until he saw the electrical industry picking up once again.

Back in the electrical trade, Morris became reacquainted with a familiar association.

“From a young age I was dragged out to ECAA meetings as a teen and an apprentice. But as I got older I found there was an opportunity to express opinions and have my opinions challenged, and that interested me,” he explains, adding Sheri McLean was an additional force, ensuring he got involved with the ECAA provincial board.

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When Morris stepped into the provincial president role in 2002, the association’s 40th year, it was, as he describes, explosive.

“We were at the boiling point with the unions and the Market Recovery Fund,” he states. “The open shops had to see that the ECAA was complex because we can negotiate contracts for the unions, yet this labour group was autonomous within our associations. So we really pushed for better communication from the labour committee. It was fine if the two groups disagreed, as long as we stayed united for the bigger issues.

We had to relearn how to disagree with one another yet remain associated.”

One of the larger issues at hand was the release of the Alberta government’s white paper in 2002. Morris states they lobbied the government very hard to stop the idea of issuing permits to journeymen, and to insist there be a certain level of education in order to obtain those permits. In other words, the ECAA felt it was very unwise to make electrical permits available to individu-

als who aren’t educated in the liability associated with that piece of paper.

While he thought the ECAA had opened up a terrific dialogue with the government, he states they were in fact not supported at the end of the day by municipal affairs, despite their continued statements to the contrary, and still continue to be disappointed by current government relations and performance.

“The ECAA still plays a big role in making change in the industry,” states Morris. “There is a devaluation of trades people in society. We’re seeing companies hire whoever they choose, and elect to work outside of the safety and labour codes without consequence. In this type of environment, credentials can become meaningless. We have to ensure we have our professional titles and bring value back to the electrical industry specifically, and trades in general. The ECAA is the voice of the electrical industry, so we must stay strong, react, and be true to our members.”

Abe Reimer President, 2003-2004 Abe Reimer went to school to build computers, but it was a gig over summer break that got him interested in the electrical field, an industry he’s been in ever since.

Reimer began his electrical apprenticeship with Lone Pine Electric, and worked to get his professional certification. Being well connected in the industry, he knew several people already involved in the ECAA, and was asked to come to one of the meetings. Feeling that it was the right fit for him and the company, Reimer stayed on and eventually became the president of the Edmonton chapter before taking on the provincial top spot in 2004.

His goal as president was to continue the relationships with government, draw more contractors to the ECAA, and to ensure there was equal representation for the members already involved in the association.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

tors, not just the union groups, so they felt like they were a part of the ECAA,” he states. “The ECAA was for the betterment of the industry as a whole, not just the unionized contractors.”

He also tried to strengthen ties between the association and the government, a relationship which sometimes could be strained.

“We wanted our voice to get right to the provincial ministers so our trade could be heard,” he explains.

The association and trade was frontline when the ECAA participated in WorldSkills Calgary 2009.

“This was a great event because it brought the electrical trade to the forefront. The young kids could come in and see that the electrical field could be lucrative for them and a viable career option,” states Reimer.

Now semi-retired, Reimer does consulting out of Calgary and Kelowna, but always keeps his ECAA cohorts in mind.

“Representing the majority of the major contractors in Alberta, the ECAA are a great bunch of people to work with.”

Terry Milot President, 2005 - 2006 While interviewing the legendary golf-pro Jack Nicklaus, a reporter once remarked, “Jack, you have had a spectacular career. Your name is synonymous with the game of golf. You really know your way around the course. What is your secret?” Nicklaus replied, “The holes are numbered!”

“If only leadership and the construction industry were so easy,” states Terry Milot. “Unfortunately, there are no handily numbered steps that we can follow in growing our leadership, or in the game we have chosen to participate in.”

Milot began his game in 1979 when he started his apprenticeship with Chemco.

“During that time the work week was 35 hours a week, seven hours a day. Realistically, a half day for a farm boy, so I enrolled in night courses taking accounting, opening a small business, and many other courses which I hoped would later pay dividends,” he recalls.

After receiving his journeyman electrical credentials and apprenticing for an instrument mechanic, Milot ran several jobs and moved up the supervision ladder within Chemco.

With the economy heating up, Milot found himself greatly involved with Chemco and in 1993 became chief estimator and partner in the company.

Since then, he has been involved with all aspects of the company’s growth and responsible for the estimating, business development and major proposals.

Even during his rise to the top at Chemco, Milot found time to join the ECAA in 1998 as a member of the Edmonton chapter executive. There he began to move up again. In 2000, he was appointed role of secretary, which he served as for two years, and continued moving up the ladder to treasurer and vice-president each for two year terms, as well as holding the chapter presidency from 2006-2008.

He finally stepped into the “big role” as provincial president in 2005. The industry and association were in a very

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

busy state at the time. Numerous issues, such as creating a non-union committee, creating an associate liaison committee, and balancing a decreasing revenue budget were just some of the unmarked holes that Milot encountered.

“When looking back at the issues, I think the Masters debate was definitely a fight which took a lot of effort and determination,” he states. “With the recent award of the Masters Program to the Safety Codes Authority, it may appear that we have lost the war, but in reality we can take solstice in the fact that there still remains a Masters Program, which for a while was also in jeopardy of being deleted.”

Milot saw other victories during his term which sought to give everyone a level playing field.

“The greatest accomplishments were to set up the dues structure so all parties were paying the same amount and recognizing that this association gains a lot of its strength from the diversity of its members. Whether you are a two-man shop or a company of 200, your concerns are relative and the association can raise your voice to a higher level in government and in industry.”

“During the period of time I have served with the ECAA Provincial Board, the game has seemed to be of the same objective; however, the rules have frequently changed. The advantage the ECAA has is that of the team concept. It is the strength of the entire association with its many leaders and players that enable the major hurdles to be more like small hazards.”

Mike Brunner President, 2006-2007 When most teenagers are thinking about getting their driver’s license, Mike Brunner was getting his apprenticeship.

In England, at the age of 16, during his last year of school he embarked on a fiveyear apprenticeship. He followed that up with five years of working in the trade before starting his own company.

In 1974, Brunner skipped back across the pond to Calgary. Having lived in Canada until the age of 15 (his mother was a war bride, and when his father passed away they moved back to her

home in England), he settled in nicely, finding work with Merriman Electric and then with Custom Electric in 1978. He went from foreman to project manager, and along the way began attending the odd ECAA Alberta meeting.

It wasn’t until he started with Allied Projects in 1996 that he became more involved with the association. In fact, Brunner went straight from sitting on the Apprenticeship Program Committee to a position on the provincial board after another member had stepped down. He moved up in ranks from treasurer to secretary to vice-president and finally president in 2006.

“It was busy that year, but it was a good time,” he states. “We really wanted to focus on getting apprentices in the trade since we were dealing with a booming economy. We were all asking ‘where can we get more skilled people?’”

Having sat on the apprenticeship committee previously, Brunner states he tried to promote the association and trade as a career choice, not just an in-and-out option.

“I love this industry,” he says. “I can probably count on one hand the days I hated to go to work. I really wanted to pass that along. You do have to start at the bottom, but with hard work you can most certainly make it to the top.”

During Brunner’s term they also offered up some benefits to the current membership. The ECAA health plan was put through, offering non-union members an option for themselves and their employees.

While not overly active in the ECAA since his term ended, Brunner still offers a hand when needed.

“The association is very strong. They do such a good job of keeping members involved and keeping the industry positive. It’s an honour to be a part of it.”

DJ Coppens President, 2007-2008 It was by fluke DJ Coppens landed a job in the electrical field, but it was not by chance that he ended up joining the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta.

Coppens had been working another job when he was asked to help a friend on an electrical project. He foresaw a future in the field, and sought an apprenticeship.

Coppens apprenticed at AK Electric and Controls, a small, one-man operation until it was suggested that he should work elsewhere (commercial and industrial areas) to become a more versatile electrician. He took the advice and worked for various companies until settling with Territorial Electric in the early ‘80s.

It was a shortly after joining Territorial that Coppens began going to the ECAA’s Edmonton chapter meetings as a company representative.

“I thought the association was really good for the entire industry, and thought it would be really good for the company as well,” he states.

Coppens continued to serve the ECAA and Territorial and was elected provincial president in 2007. While the association was still fighting the battle to keep the Masters Program and finalize the Profes-

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sional Electrical Contractors (PEC) status during his year, Coppens states the Trade Investment Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) was another hot-button issue which he had to address.

“The federal government was trying to make it easier for trades to work in both Alberta and B.C., essentially making equal tickets,” he explains. “But Alberta has one of the strongest apprenticeship programs in Canada, so there was concern that other province’s levels of accreditation would not match ours.”

While some of these hot-button topics were not resolved during Coppens term, he states he still realized the power and pride of a united association.

“It never ceased to amaze me that when an issue came to light how responsive our members were to form committees,” he says.

Coppens continues to volunteer for the industry as the Alberta representative on the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association Board (CECA), as well as an ECAA representative at the Alberta Construction Association (ACA) as part of the Standard Practices Committee. Yet, he states, for the association and industry to grow, more contractors need to step up to serve their trade.

“In the future, the ECAA needs new blood, new ideas, people that are ready to take on new adventures. People stepping up and taking charge is always a good thing.”

Ron Mackenzie President, 2008-2009 Ron Mackenzie was introduced to the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta 11 years ago as a networking opportunity, but having since served as president for both the Calgary chapter and provincial association feels he’s gained much more.

At the age of 27, Mackenzie began his electrical apprenticeship with a family friend’s company. After the company folded, he worked in the industry for 10 years before settling into Trotter and Morton, where he went from field electrician to project manager. It was here he joined the ECAA to connect with others in his industry.

“Without being part of an association or group, it’s kind of like you’re on an island. There’s always a great sense of being part of something,” he says.

Mackenzie found his place as president of the Calgary chapter from 2004 to 2006, and again as provincial president in 2009. He came in just as Municipal Affairs was once again making a bid to take the Masters Program back from the ECAA. In what he considers the greatest achievement during his term, the ECAA renewed the contract on the program for another year, ensuring the same highquality testing and skill level would be achieved in the Alberta electrical industry.

Skills were certainly being tested as the ECAA sponsored the WorldSkills competition in Calgary. Not only did it put the association on the world stage and help them gain exposure, but the group also got meet and network with contractors and apprentices from across the globe.

Mackenzie continues to serve as director at large for the association and advises on the education and apprenticeship programs. Even though he dedicates his time to the ECAA, he states more electrical contractors need to do the same.

“The ECAA is the voice of the industry in the province even though we only represent a fraction of the contractors,” he states. “But there is so much more to being part of the association than issues and industry. Through networking, you get a feeling for the industry as a whole and where the market is going.”

“In my involvement with the association I have gained more than I have given. I am so glad I got involved.”

Bob Maslanko, PEC President, 2010-2011 At 18 years old, Bob Maslanko dabbled in the auto industry until his dad, a carpenter, suggested he better settle into a trade and be either a plumber or electrician. He chose the latter, and since then has been serving the industry through both his career and ECAA postings.

Maslanko completed his apprenticeship with Western Electric before joining Stantec in their engineering, oil and gas division as an estimator. He was encouraged by a friend in the industry to attend

a meeting of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta as he thought being a part of the organization might be his forte.

Turns out that friend was correct.

Maslanko sat on the Edmonton chapter’s board of directors until he was offered the provincial top position in 2010.

Once placed in the role, he states there were three main challenges that faced the ECAA. The first being a large increase in premiums for the contractor health plan.

“There was not a lot of great participation from the contractors in the health plan. Many of the bigger companies decided to stay with their own plans, and the smaller companies couldn’t afford to join,” he states.

The ECAA was also addressing some financial issues. Maslanko said they were looking to maintain association costs while facing decreased revenues. This partly sparked from the loss of the Masters Program, a battle the ECAA had been winning for several years until Alberta Municipal Affairs moved the program over to the Safety Codes Council.

“While training took place at NAIT, we had looked after the exams, and kept all the Masters informed and up-to-date,” he states. “Now there is a worry that skill level, that level of knowledge that can only be given by people directly in the industry, will not be up to par.”

Yet, the ECAA continues to find a way of keeping members informed through The Spark, an e-newsletter developed during Maslanko’s term.

“We wanted to keep in touch with all the contractors and members through social media,” he says, adding they also began to run radio and advertising campaigns to promote the industry and the association.

Fresh off his post, Maslanko states the association will have to continue to find different sources of revenue, such as offering more courses for members to take, in order to stay financially level. But, he does think the ECAA will continue to grow, despite whatever challenges come and go, thanks to a strong group of educated, skilled people.

Phone: 1-800-642-5508 Email: info@elecleague.ab.ca

The CEC is open to everyone in the industry: electricians, contractors, engineers, manufacturers, distributors, manufacturers representatives, utility, inspectors, and so on. We encourage younger members of our industry to join as the CEC is a great way to network and meet people.

Congratulations to the ECAA on 50 Great Years !

Toll Free: 1-800-642-5508 AEL is an organization whose membership is open to companies and practitioners of every facet of the electrical industry in the province of Alberta. Its purpose is to promote the entire electric industry, identifying and implementing promotions to raise the public profile of the industry, and to explore ways and means to develop and market new and existing business opportunities for its members by exploiting the combined results from the various industry segments working together in harmony.

Wishing a Happy 50th Anniversary to the ECAA!

Email: info@elecleague.ab.ca 50th Anniversary

35

Board of Directors 1967 - Back Row: A.T. Wigelsworth, D.W. Maltby, J.P. Robinson, W. Manchakowski, P.D. Raffin, J.K. Matthews, J. Merriman. Front Row: R.C. Harris, G. Hammond, E.S. Sunley, W.A. Lawrence, J. Bury.

Clem Gratton, PEC President, 2011-2012 In 1977, Clem Gratton was wondering what to do with his life. Luckily, a sneaky friend convinced him to come to work at Creative Electric, unbeknown to the company’s boss, and he’s been in the biz ever since.

After being allowed to work at Creative for a while, Gratton joined KVR Electric, which at the time was a “startup company”. As the company began to grow so did his knowledge and experience, moving from apprentice to upper management over the course of 11 years.

Seeing that he could run a large company, Gratton decided to do it for himself, starting up CMN Electrical in 1989. After a couple years, Gratton joined a few Edmonton chapter ECAA members at the association golf tournament. In the lounge afterwards, Gratton began sharing his views and opinions on some industry issues, and the group, in so many words, said, “don’t tell us how to do it, show us.” He began by volunteering for several committees, including representing the ECAA at the Canadian Electrical Code Advisory Committee, the Electrical Technical Council, and the Provincial Apprentice Committee, before becoming president of the ECAA in 2011.

When his term began, Gratton states his goal was to show the membership the value of the association they belonged to.

“I wanted to inspire the board of directors to communicate with their members, find out what they were working on, and in turn give them information about the association,” he says. “I decided to spread the word

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

myself as well by going out to chapter meetings. I did this all the way to my last speech as president at the AGM.” In hopes of giving members an appreciation of their association Gratton himself learned a thing or two about recognition of the ECAA. “You really learn to appreciate all the work of the committee members and the manpower it takes to make the association tick,” he says. “In 50 years, it’s taken a lot to build the association and you don’t realize until you are president how much is really going on.”

And, during Gratton’s term there was indeed a lot going on. The ECAA completed their hand-over of the Masters Program to the province, which meant finding out how to do business without this additional revenue stream and source of information distribution.

He states while some saw this as a blow to the association, there was an upside.

“What this did achieve was that the Masters Program became ingrained in the province and that it holds importance in the Safety Code’s

system,” he says Dealing with association issues and travelling left little time for his own career. Luckily, Gratton’s two sons oversaw the business side of life while he tended to his ECAA duties.

“Without them there I couldn’t have put the hours in, not be able to travel as much without worrying about things being looked after. This was the only way it could have happened,” he says.

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37

The Advantage of Choosing a Professional Electrical Contractor (PEC)

By Deb Smith

The success of any construction project depends upon the skill and reliability of each person in every trade involved.

Through a strong apprenticeship program and valuable on-the-job training, Alberta’s workforce is second to none.

The Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) takes that commitment to excellence one step further with its Professional Electrical Contractor program.

In Alberta, you can have an electrical contracting company owned by someone who may not even be an electrician, but registered electricians must perform the work (as per Apprenticeship and Industry Training regulations). Electrical permits are required for virtually all electrical work, and only a Master electrician can

apply for that permit, save for a few exceptions including ‘homeowners’. The Master electrician earns certification through successful completion of the Master electrician’s exam, and is renewed every year.

But success in business goes beyond skill and hard work.

Eric Fadden, PEC, provincial communications chair for the ECAA, explains it this way: “The association has found over the years that professional electrical contractors earned their Master electrician’s license, which requires both knowledge and experience as a journeyman electrician and an extensive knowledge of the Canadian Electrical Code, but they have little or no training in solid business practices, the legal implications for business owners, marketing, or public relations.”

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For a construction contractor, this could have disastrous implications.

“What happens if you’re involved in a large project and the electrical contractor you’ve hired goes broke because of improper business practices?” asks Fadden.

How does an employer find a reputable electrical contractor that will stay in for the long haul?

The past presidents of the ECAA came up with a plan to answer these questions, and on May 12th, 1993 the association received professional designation for its Professional Electrical Contractor program (PEC)—a program to provide professional training and status, and to develop confidence in electrical contractors both within the construction industry and the public market.

To receive the PEC designation, an electrical contractor must successfully complete courses in accounting principles, business and public relations, estimating and finalizing the tender, project management, safety principles and legal implications involved in the contracting business.

Lawyers, accountants, public relation professionals share their knowledge of the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to success. All of these courses are tailored specifically to enhance the education of Master Electricians and prepare them for the task of a Professional Electrical Contractor.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

Phone 469-6342 Cell 975-5911 Fax 463-6984

Jan Sienkiewicz 3912 - 30 St. Edmonton, AB T6T 1K4

Eric Fadden, PEC, provincial

communications chair for the ECAA.

The uniqueness of this program is that equivalent courses are recognized by the association in achieving this designation.

As well, PEC certification is recognized towards the Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Blue Seal, as well as the Canadian Construction Association Gold Seal program.

“The PEC program trains and educates Master electricians on how to be a contractor and then binds them to a code of ethics governed by a practice review committee,” says Fadden.

The ECAA encourages all electricians in Alberta to take the PEC courses, even if an employee is within the industry and not necessarily a contractor. Courses are open to anyone interested in taking them. But,

to achieve professional status, one must be a Master electrician, successfully complete the courses, and be of good character and reputation.

The code of ethics and teaching effective methods of operation reflect the mission of the ECAA to be the voice of the electrical industry in Alberta, to educate, and to build strong relationships within the construction industry as a whole.

The construction contractor with a Professional Electrical Contractor on the team is assured of skilled workmanship and reliable completion of the job.

“We’re giving the contractor a quality and knowledgeable installation and we understand the business practices that go in behind it,” explains Fadden.

“And if anything ever did go wrong, the contractor is held accountable to their peers through a legislated process without having to go to the Alberta court system. All actions are governed by the Professional and Occupational Associations Registration Act (POARA), and the

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The association currently has helped more than 200 Master electricians earn the designation of a Professional Electrical Contractor and the number increases every year as contractors realize the benefits of this additional knowledge, and consumers realize the additional protection and advantages to hiring reputable contractors through the ECAA certification program. Competition in the construction industry is tough, and the success of the team depends on each member. Hiring a professional electrical contractor for the job is one way of ensuring a positive and prosperous outcome.

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39

A History of the Electrical Trust Funds Prepared by Arthur Thormann (last paragraph supplied by Reg Morris) The benefit of the Electrical Trust Funds is one of the great services provided by the ECAA in conjunction with the IBEW; it provides long-term and short-term care and education to electrical contractors’ bargaining and non-bargaining employees and their families. The parties established four trust funds in the 1970s: the Health & Welfare Trust Fund on April 1, 1971, the Pension Trust Fund on April 1, 1973, the Education Trust Fund for Northern Alberta on May 1, 1977, and the Education Trust Fund for Southern Alberta on October 1, 1977. The following is a list of the people who served as trustees of these trust funds, and the benefits they achieved for the members and their families.

The Health & Welfare Trust Fund The parties officially named the fund the Electrical Industry Insurance Benefit Trust Fund of Alberta. The ECAA’s initial trustee appointees were Arthur O. R. Thormann and Arthur Edward Bainard; IBEW’s initial trustee appointees were Harold Reginald Taylor and Garth Frederick Myers. Art Bainard resigned after four years for health reasons. Elver Olsen took his place on December 1, 1975. On February 1, 1978, Neil Goudriaan took Garth Myers’ place, and on October 14, 1981, Vair Clendenning took Neil Goudriaan’s place. Clendenning resigned on December 1, 1990, and Robert Lynn replaced him.

On July 1, 1996, Harold Taylor resigned and John Briegel took his place, but Taylor remained on as an advisor. John Briegel resigned on December 2, 1998; this left a temporary vacancy which Ken Sieben filled on August 3, 2001. Mike Reinhart took Ken Sieben’s place on July 21, 2004, and Tim Brower took Mike Reinhart’s place on December 20, 2004.

To accommodate the increased workload and better succession planning, the ECAA and the IBEW recommended an increase from four to six trustees in September 2006. The IBEW appointed Gordon Graham on October 1, 2006. In addition, the IBEW reappointed Harold Taylor on November 6, 2006.

Robert Lynn resigned as union trustee, and the ECAA reappointed him on November 1, 2006 as management trustee.

On July 20, 2010, Kevin Levy took Tim Brower’s place, and the IBEW reappointed Ken Sieben to take Gordon Graham’s place.

The ECAA and the IBEW also recommended the appointment of trustee trainees, and the ECAA appointed Kelly Morris on July 1, 2009 and Brian Wagner on August 1, 2009. The present board of trustees consists of Arthur Thormann, Elver Olsen, Robert Lynn, Kevin Levy, Ken Sieben, and Harold Taylor.

The health and welfare benefits provided to plan members and their families over the years include life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance, major medical care, dental and orthodontic care, prescription drugs, vision care, hearing aids,

40

Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

and supplemental hospital care, to name a few. As well, an Employee and Family Assistance Plan is provided for face-to-face counseling, referral to specialized or long-term treatment, family advisory services, legal advisory services, financial and career counseling, health information services, and trauma (critical incident) response.

Through the accumulation of an hour-bank, the trust fund covers plan members and their families for benefits up to nine months during periods of unemployment. In addition, when plan members retire, the trust fund covers them and their families for a period of one-and-a-half months for each year of plan membership – a most remarkable benefit!

The financial record of the Health & Welfare Plan is just as remarkable. To fiscal year-end 2011, the trust fund received employer contributions in excess of $227 million and paid out for insurance premiums, direct reimbursements, and reciprocations just over $189 million. Additionally, the fund holds reserves of just over $37 million for incurred but unpaid liabilities, and for other contingencies.

This leaves the fund with a small remainder of just over $1 million towards its administration expenses of just over $17 million, which the fund’s investment income augments with just over $16 million.

The above figures clearly illustrate that the Health & Welfare trustees in just over 40 years of unrelenting work, managed to achieve an excellent record of balancing the trust fund’s income with its required expenses and reserves, and this on a nonprofit basis!

The Pension Trust Fund Officially named the Electrical Industry Pension Trust Fund of Alberta, it has a trusteeship history identical to that of the Health & Welfare Fund, except that it started on April 1, 1973.

One of the major hurdles this fund had to overcome right from the outset was to provide meaningful pensions to pensioners retiring during the early years of the pension plan. The trustees accomplished this by providing up to 10 years of past service credit for plan members still active in the industry during a period of one year prior to, and eighteen months after April 1, 1973.

Presently, the fund supports about 2,250 pensioners receiving over $24 million per year in monthly pensions, and about $3.5 million in commuted values for plan members receiving a termination benefit. In addition to the contributions received from employers, the trustees achieve this feat mainly through their investment income.

The following is a summary of the fund’s 38-year financial record. To fiscal year-end 2011, the trust fund received employer contributions amounting to $462.8 million, and paid

out $319.5 million for pensions, $27.9 million for termination benefits, and $52.5 million for administration expenses and various investment and custodial fees. This left the trust fund with a remainder of $62.9 million for investments, and its investments earned an additional amount of $513.3 million, for a total of $576.2 million available for future pensions – achieving an amazing compounded return of 9.37 per cent per year over a 38-year investment period.

Since the actuarial liability for future pensions, plus a 10 per cent margin for adverse markets, comes to $599.4 million, it leaves the trust fund with a going-concern deficit of $23.2 million, discounting the $54.5 million reserve for adverse markets.

However, a 10-year smoothing the fund asset’s market values adds $86.4 million to the actual market value, resulting in an “actuarial” market value of $662.6 million. In actuality, adding the apparent going-concern deficit of $23.2 million to the adverse market reserve of $54.5 million, plus the asset-smoothing amount of $86.4 million, results in a true actuarial going-concern surplus of $117.7 million.

However, in addition to dealing with adverse markets, the fund’s trustees must also deal with adverse legislation. Present pension legislation in Alberta requires the fund to set aside a reserve for funding pensions in case the trust fund terminates its obligations, in which case the fund must have sufficient funds available to buy expensive annuities from insurance companies. The legislative requirement for such a reserve comes to $344.5 million, leaving the fund with a solvency deficiency of $314.2 million ($889.4 million solvency liability, minus $576.2 million asset value, plus $1 million wind-up expenses).

This creates a dilemma for the trustees: while this unfair pension legislation exists, the trustees cannot deal evenhandedly with their present and future beneficiaries as required by the Trustees’ Act because the trustees cannot grant further pension increases unless and until they meet the Pension Act-legislated solvency requirement.

The Education Trust Funds The parties officially named these funds the Electrical Industry Education Trust Fund of Northern Alberta and the Electrical Industry Education Trust Fund of Southern Alberta, until the merger in 1999, and then renamed both funds the Electrical Industry Trust Fund of Alberta.

The ECAA’s initial trustee appointees were Arthur Thormann and Elver Olsen (for both the northern and the southern funds); the IBEW’s initial trustee appointees were Gary Frisk and Fred Fisher (for the northern fund) and Harold Taylor and Don Hegland (for the southern fund). John Briegel replaced Hegland in December 1983. Both Taylor and Briegel served until the merger in 1999. In May 1981, Arthur Thormann and Elver Olsen resigned from the northern fund, and Reg Morris and Frank Geweth replaced them. Geweth served until his retirement in January 2002 and Pat Barnes replaced him. At the end of 1981, Art Thormann also resigned from the southern fund, and Ross Andreas eventually replaced him in May 1983. In June 1986, Elver Olsen also resigned from the southern fund, and Rick McMurray replaced him.

Both Andreas and McMurray served until the merger in 1999.

The IBEW replaced Gary Frisk with Neil Goudriaan in January 1979 for the northern fund, and in May 1981 Vair Clendenning and Darel Small replaced Neil Goudriaan and Fred Fisher. Then, in April 1982, Jim Benfeld and Derek Briton replaced Clendenning and Small. In September 1989, Robert Lynn replaced Briton, and in December 1990, George Chatschaturian replaced Lynn. Chatschaturian served until his premature death in April 2002. In July 2001, Jim Benfeld resigned and Larry Gatner replaced him. In July 2002, the IBEW appointed Robin Duke to take George Chatschaturian’s place.

The present board consists of Reg Morris and Pat Barnes as ECAA appointees, and Larry Gatner and Robin Duke as IBEW appointees.

The Education Funds were set up to fill a specific need, that of teaching practical hands-on courses to the beneficiaries such as conduit bending, hoisting and rigging, fire alarm wiring and testing, etc., and all the computerized systems that are part of today’s construction and service world. These were required because the mainstream education institutes were leaning too far into the theoretical end of the training spectrum and were of little use to residential electricians who required the hands-on training in the above mentioned courses (and conversely to the commercial industrial electricians who had little knowledge of service work, etc.). These types of courses are being taught in the fund’s own facilities today to good attendance. A current need and an ongoing requirement is the Construction Safety Training System that all industrial electricians require before being allowed on to the large oil sands projects. This is a costly venture, but one that the Education Trust Fund was quickly able to fill. The diligent work done by the various boards of trustees to improve the education of electricians and electrical apprentices over the years is to be highly commended.

50th Anniversary

41

Trials and Tribulations

By Kelly Morris, PEC If it wasn’t for the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA), there would be no Master Electrician credential today.

The ECAA, as an industry association, provided a forum for master electricians to provide their feedback, and an avenue to ensure that their voices were heard.

The Government of Alberta has explored extreme position with respect to skilled labour, up to and including the idea of eliminating trade credentials altogether, or simply recognizing anyone claiming to have skills as being a credentialed tradesperson.

The Master Electrician issue surround-

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42

ed their idea of allowing journeymen electricians to obtain electrical permits for certain kinds of work.

While on the face of it one might consider this “reasonable”, when you apply careful thought and analysis, the foolishness associated with this concept become self-evident. Master electricians are educated in items related to assuming responsibility for an electrician installation, whereas journeymen electricians are not. It is not “reasonable” to accept the signature of a journeyman electrician on an electrical permit without educating that person in what responsibilities result from that, and further, for how long those responsibilities remain.

Having successfully lobbied the government to prevent these changes, the ECAA approached them; specifically the Department of Municipal Affairs, and opened a dialogue to examine what their issues with the Master Electrician were. The result was the creation of the Certified Master Electrician and Registered Master Electrician under the existing Professional Electrical Contractor regulation. This regulation exists under the Professional Occupations and Association Registrations Act in the Department of Employment and Immigration.

These titles were created and designed to “enhance” the Master Electrician program, and bring more accountability and ensure safe electrical installations.

At the final hour, the Department of Municipal Affairs refused to change their regulation to recognize the Certified Master Electrician as they previously committed to do.

In addition, concurrent in their work with the ECAA to enhance the Master Electrician program, they altered the value of the permit in industry from “authorized to proceed with work” to demote it to an undefined document that they see as little more than a registration form.

Finally, they divested themselves of any interest in or ownership of the Mas-

12-04-02 12:57 PM

ter Electrician program and moved it all to the Safety Codes Council. The administration of this program, performed on behalf of government for over 15 years by the ECAA, is now at the mercy of this bureaucracy.

It should come as little surprise, in hindsight, that this government, in their never-ending pursuit of de-skilling, took this approach. The Department of Municipal Affairs has had six different ministers since 1999. The efforts of the ECAA towards enhancing the Master Electrician program to address their concerns with it saw us work with five of them.

It’s clear to me that the agenda of the bureaucracy is taking precedent over anything that a new minister might mandate; given the ministers have had no time to learn the demands and issues of their portfolio. In other words, they end up relying on information from their bureaucrats as opposed to the electorate, or the expertise in the Safety Codes Council, or industry for that matter on what might better serve public safety.

In addition to instability in the leadership of that department, there have been two Electrical Technical Council administrators, also identified as chief electrical inspectors, to occupy this post on our time working with this department.

The failure of the Safety Codes Act to protect the citizens of Alberta for safe installations (the recent situation in Fort McMurray being the most visible to date) continues to demand the credentials of master electricians and certified master electricians for that work that is done within the safety system.

The added value of the certified master electrician is presently lost in industry, as to what it can do to address the vast volume of work done outside the safety system. This issue alone represents a shortcoming in government philosophy, as they don’t know, and they don’t ask “how much work is being done outside the safety system”.

The ECAA can be satisfied for now that the Master Electrician credential remains, and the Certified Master Electrician title remains (in addition to the Registered Master Electrician and Professional Electrical Contractor titles). The electrical permit, however, once the cornerstone to ensure the safe installation, is now simply an avenue for jurisdictions to charge what I would argue is a tax on master electricians, to fill out a form that

has little value; further, the money paid for this form has no relationship to the service provided; it’s simply based on project value.

As long as challenges such as these continue, the need for a strong association such as the ECAA increases. As the “voice of the electrical industry”, the ECAA continues to represent its membership very well in my opinion.

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the ECAA on their

50 years

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43

Here’s to the next 50!

ECAA 50th anniversary gala recap

On May 25 and 26, 2012 electrical contractors from all across Alberta gathered at the Marriott River Cree Resort in Edmonton to celebrate the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta’s (ECAA) 50th anniversary. The two-day event, which featured the ECAA Annual General Meeting and President’s Gala, was hosted by past president Clem Gratton and his wife Kathy.

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

Amongst a variety of exciting events, including a golf tournament, president’s reception, a number of AGMs, and an awards luncheon, the main event (and the finale to the weekend) was the President’s Gala, held on May 26th in the evening. The event featured a musical performance by Canadian Country Music Association award winner’s Hey Romeo.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

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MC Chris Browton (right), executive director of Skills Alberta, presents president Clem Gratton with a congratulatory plaque on behalf of the City of Edmonton.

“The 50th anniversary is a special occasion,” said Eric Fadden, communications chair for the ECAA. “I recognize a lot of people that I’ve seen my dad involved with over the years.”

The gala, which had an attendance of around 300 people, also introduced incoming president Kelly Wilde, owner of KELS Electric Limited in Sherwood Park, Alberta, to the rest of the association.

“It’s an honour to be a part of an association that has a 50year history. It’s a bit of a daunting task; there have been a lot of people that have been in this position before me who were probably smarter than me,” laughs Wilde. “I am giving back, that’s the way I do it.”

Although the weekend was filled with a number of fun, memorable events, undoubtedly the highlight for a lot of people was the opportunity to connect and network with fellow members.

“The social events were the most beneficial to me, especially seeing familiar faces and keeping myself up to date with present issues,” says Dave Carson, outside sales for Electrical Wholesalers Edmonton Limited (EWEL).

Adds Wilde, “I enjoyed seeing the PEC [AGM]. I sat in the meeting after and there were a lot of young PECs that had the desire to move on with the association. I haven’t seen that [enthusiasm] prior to today from a younger generation in a long time.”

Fadden, a member of the ECAA since 2008, had a hard time picking one moment that stuck out for him as his weekend

Outgoing president Clem Gratton (left) passing the hat to incoming president Kelly Wilde.

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Canadian Country Music Association award-winning band Hey Romeo entertained gala guests.

The ECAA 50th Anniversary golf tournament winners.

Outgoing president Clem Gratton and his family at the ECAA 50th Anniversary Gala.

highlight. Instead, he says that just the fact that the association is still going strong even after 50 years is the biggest focal point for him.

“To pick one moment that was my favourite, I don’t think it would do justice as the fact that the association has been around for 50 years speaks to the importance it has to the construction industry in Alberta.”

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Plugged in and working hard: Labour Relations Committee chair continues to lead by example The Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) has long been a mainstay of the Alberta Electrical Contractors Industry. Lesser known, perhaps, is the ongoing effort in time and resources that has gone into the ECAA’s Labour Relations Committee. Chairman Brian Halina has been at the helm of this committee since the mid 1990s, taking over from Art Thormann who had been chair for many years previous.

“I’ve sat on the Labour Relations Committee for the last 22 years,” explains Halina. “It was my first position with the ECAA.” Halina attributes his foray into the committee as one that “was a good fit”.

“I was president of Chemco Electrical Contractors Ltd. at the time and heavily involved with labour relations with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.”

Today, the ECAA’s Labour Relations Committee is responsible for all the electrical contractors covered by Certificate 52 within the province of Alberta between the ECAA and the IBEW.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

By Melanie Franner

A man with a mission Halina himself began his apprenticeship in the electrical industry in 1969, when he signed on with the then-named company Doug Smith Electrical. The firm employed approximately 10 people at the time. Halina was on the fast track and by 1975, became one of the owners of the Edmonton-based organization. In 1978, the name was changed to Chemco Electrical Contractors Ltd. Today, the company has employed upwards of 2,500 electricians and has branches in Fort McMurray and Saskatoon. Its service offerings include heavy industrial electrical construction, electrical and mechanical instrumentation, fibre optics, high-voltage testing and distribution, and maintenance.

“We pretty much service all facets of the electrical industry,” he says.

The art of negotiation Halina’s work as president of Chemco Electrical Contractors mimics his role of chair of the Labour Relations Committee.

The company successfully made the transition from a privately owned organization to an employee-owned one in 2011. And there has been no looking back since.

Halina has used these same group-negotiating skills in spearheading the Labour Relations Committee toward change.

“We recently concluded a four-year agreement in 2011 that will run until 2015,” he explains. “It took almost a year of negotiation between the contractors and the unions. We changed the way negotiations are done. We went from a negative process to a more proactive one where we identified the challenges in front of everyone and worked together to create a solution. It was very different from the way things were done in the old days when the process was a lot more reactionary.”

The ECAA’s Labour Relations Committee is currently comprised of 17 electrical representatives. However, it represents some 80 to 100 electrical contractors in the province.

“By having the committee, we’re able to voice the opinion of all electrical contractors, whether they be residential, commercial, or industrial,” says Halina. “Our biggest goal is to represent the whole industry. And I think we’ve achieved that.”

Evolving with change Having served on the Labour Relations Committee for nearly a quarter of a century now, Halina is the first to admit that the role of the association and the committee has changed over time, evolving to better meet the needs of its members.

“One of the biggest changes has been that the association has taken on a larger role in promoting training,” he explains.

“There is Better SuperVision available, Leadership in Safety Ex-

Today, the ECAA’s Labour Relations Committee is responsible for all the electrical contractors covered by Certificate 52 within the province of Alberta between the ECAA and the IBEW. cellence, and the ECAA has taken on the role of liaison with other associations. The ECAA has continued to deliver audiometric testing, CWB welding training, and Electrical Trades Skills Evaluation. The Electrical Industry Training Centre provides training in a large variety of electric courses including Substation, Construction Arc-Flash Training, EHT Training and Testing, and QA/QC Program. In conjunction with the IBEW, a 12-week, Pre-Apprenticeship Program is offered for new electricians taking up the trade. We have also been more proactive in bargaining agreements with the trades and have become involved in project labour agreements with large industrial organizations like Shell, Syncrude, Capital Power, and CNRL to name a few.”

And, of course, change will continue to come in the months and years ahead. But the groundwork of a strong foundation has already been firmly established.

“The committee is very well structured,” concludes Halina.

“The structure mechanism has been in place for a number of years now. I think there will continue to be slight changes in the future but the role and responsibility of the committee will stay the same for the long term.”

Brian Halina

That being said, Halina is quick to add that change may soon be coming in the form of a new chair.

“I’m probably going to be looking at retiring in the near future, from both Chemco and the committee,” he concludes.

But if and when Halina does make that personal transition, he can do so in the knowledge that he has helped affect meaningful changes of benefit to electrical contractors working within the province of Alberta.

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ECAA special award recipients Each year the ECAA recognizes members through special nominations.

Lifetime membership is awarded to a member who has served a minimum of 15 years continuously in good standing with the association; has served on boards or committees on behalf of the ECAA for 10 years; and has contributed, and

Pat Barnes (C) receiving an honourary membership in 2011 from Bob Maslanko (L) and Terry Milot (R).

is encouraged to continue to contribute, to the better of the association.

Recipients from 2002 to 2012 include Ron Faulkner, Bob Klassen, Pete Raffin, Bryan Wynker, Henry Stanowich, Klaus Reichwald, Bjorn Gjertsen, Peter Idler, Gordon Badach, Elver Olsen, Gord Harris, Brian Galick, Don Hansen and Stan Misyk.

Bob Maslanko (l) presenting a lifetime membership to Don Hansen (R).

Willard Kondro (L) presenting to 2007 Award of Merit recipient Abe Reimer.

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Willard Kondro (L) and Terry Milot (R) presenting 2006 Award of Merit recipient Brian Halina (C).

The association may, at an annual general meeting, elect to nominate any individual to be an honourary member of the association. Recipients added to this select group from 2002 – 2011 include Cliff Pilkey, George Froese, Steve Warholik, Bob Steele, Allen Wigelsworth, Walter Manchakowsky, Brian Harris, Ken Cameron, Perry Schmaltz, Keith Youngblood, Ernie Mortemore, Pat Horiachka, Pat Barnes, and Bunny Kennedy.

Award of Merit The purpose of the ECAA’s Award of Merit is to honour a person whose outstanding achievement is of such importance to the electrical contracting industry of Alberta that it is contributing to its human welfare and common good. Persons to be considered shall have been concerned with some portion of the electrical industry in Alberta including, but not limited to, electrical contractors, consulting en-

DJ Coppens presenting to 2008 Award of Merit recipient Reg Morris.

gineers, inspectors, educators, suppliers and manufacturers, and shall have been in residence of Alberta during the period of their considered achievement.

Since 2002, this distinguished award has been presented to Louis Galick, Terry Sawatzky, Kelly Morris, Willard Kondro, Brian Halina, Abe Reimer, Reg Morris, Dave Hagen, John Robinson and this year to Keven Lefebvre, PEC.

50th Anniversary

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Balancing work and family: The ECAA’s Sheri McLean Wife, mother, grandmother, and working professional – the ECAA’s executive director Sheri McLean has managed to balance it all.

The hard-working wife and mother of three admits that her life with husband Ned is very fulfilling, as is her job.

“The ECAA keeps me very busy, as do our grandchildren – all four of them [soon to be five].”

What prompted McLean to devote her career to the association were the downto-earth people who made up the boards throughout the years and the membership.

“They are genuine, good people who have appreciated me and welcomed us into the electrical contractor family, and are giving back to the industry they make their living from. Many put in hours and hours of volunteer time and I truly respect each and every one of them.”

As McLean reminisces, she was hired by the ECAA as part of their “frugal years cut-backs” on a six-month contract as an administrative assistant. Her 15 years of experience with another association and her love of the not-for-profit sector sealed the deal and landed her a permanent position.

By Jill Schettler

Early in her career with the ECAA, McLean received a Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation through the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE), garnering the executive director a proud honour and a wealth of knowledge.

For McLean, career highlights include the ECAA receiving professional status and the ECAA’s 40th anniversary convention and history book.

“I spent my summer months touring the province with one of our lifetime members Lou Galick interviewing founding fathers and listening to memories being shared on the past history of the chapters and the association overall.

A wonderful, wonderful experience,” shares McLean.

Another highlight was administering the electrical Masters Program for the Department of Municipal Affairs for 15 years and being able to talk to and meet and mentor a number of the students and then watch them proudly receive their certificates at local chapter meetings.

“The best part of my job is travelling to our eight chapters and being able to meet and network with all our members  Commercial, Institutional, and Multi-Family Construction  Construction Management  Design Build

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www.trimenelectric.com 52

Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

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Sheri McLean (sitting, right), with the ECAA office staff, Dorothy Dean(top left), Brittany Smith (top right) and Christine Hryniw (bottom left)

and their families – many have become very close friends,” says McLean. “I don’t understand why every electrical contractor in the province is not a member of this truly wonderful association.”

Although she has held the position for a number of years now, she shares that hasn’t yet thought about retirement.

Instead, there are a few more things she would like to get done.

“I would like to see the ECAA’s Professional Electrical Contractor (PEC) program really flourish over the next couple of years by increasing public awareness of the PEC designation and the benefits of hiring a PEC.” Although McLean works closely with the members of the ECAA, she also has formed close relationships with her fellow staff as well.

“I have to acknowledge the exceptional people I have worked with during my tenure at the ECAA. The staff turnover here is very small. I feel I have given my staff the confidence to grow into incredibly strong, competent employees who will succeed anywhere in the corporate world. Many have become special friends not only to me, but to our members as well. As one employee put it, ‘we are an ECAA family’.”

Congratulations

from the Merit Contractors Association

Merit Contractors Association would like to congratulate the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta on its 50 anniversary!

For the past 26 years, the Merit Contractors Association (Merit) has been serving the needs of Alberta’s open shop construction industry and currently represents over 1,300 construction companies in the province, which employ nearly 40,000 Albertans. Merit is one of the fastest-growing construction associations in Canada. Its member companies participate in all sectors of the construction industry, including residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, heavy civil and road building, and together completed over 60 million hours of work in 2011.

Merit is best known for its cost-effective and portable Hour Bank Benefit Plan, which includes life insurance, health, dental, disability, and employee and family assistance. Merit’s Hour Bank and Office Supervisory Plans combine to provide benefits th

to over 2,500 companies and 53,000 employees across Canada.

Merit also covers 100 per cent of member companies’ apprentice tuition fees. Last year we paid over $2 million in tuition refunds to over 2,500 apprentices.

Merit has enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with the electrical sector. Our current 1,300-plus member companies include over 240 electrical firms and our tuition refunds to employees in electrical for the past five years have totaled close to $5.5 million. Electrical contractors have also had a sizeable presence on our board of directors (including a number of our past chairs) and have played an important role in shaping the development of our association.

The Merit Contractors Association would like to thank our partners in the electrical sector for their vital contributions to our association. We hope that the coming decades will see the continued growth of this valued partnership.

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Bright lights,

big savings

By Theresa Shea

Mike Swanson, electrical specialist at Alberta Envirofuels Inc., wanted a roadmap for upgrading lighting at the company’s compressor and utility buildings, where it makes a blending component for premium gasoline. He wanted a solution that merged environmental awareness with cost efficiency and improved the quality of lighting.

The project turned out to be a perfect applied research capstone project for NAIT’s bachelor of technology in Technology Management students Ryan Kirstiuk and Nadiya Herman, who graduated in 2011. Kirstiuk took the lead role and analyzed Alberta Envirofuels’ lighting system and then suggested the company trade its existing HPS (high pressure sodium) lighting for new, highly efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lights.

By December 2010, the company had changed all the indoor lights in the compressor building and some in the utility building. Kirstiuk calculated that switching to LED would save Alberta Envirofuels as much as 50 per cent, or approximately $59,000 in electricity and unit replacement costs over the approximate 10-year lifetime of the lights.

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

In time, Kirstiuk’s work could save the company even more.

“We will make upgrades to lighting throughout Alberta Envirofuels in the future based on budget availability,” says Swanson.

Meanwhile, Kirstiuk, now an engineering technologist in property management at Atco Gas, hopes to bring what he has learned about green lighting to his employer and a broader market.

“A lot of places might be interested in LED lighting but not be aware of the savings,” he says. “Sometimes the upfront capital costs scare off interested parties.” However, after his capstone project work for Envirofuels, Kirstiuk now has the cost- and energy-savings numbers to share with those interested in making the switch.

All students in NAIT’s Bachelor of Technology program must complete cap-

stone projects, in which teams of students work with industry partners on an identified problem or opportunity. Although capstone subjects can vary widely, each must deliver a practical solution or viable recommendation. The two-semester capstone is an important part of BTech degree studies, giving students valuable insights into real-world challenges.

2012 is a milestone year for both NAIT and the ECAA as we each celebrate 50 years of growth, evolution and service to the community. In 1962, NAIT’s very first class was a group of 29 Communication Electrician apprentices. Over the past five decades, thousands of skilled graduates have built rewarding careers in fields touched by the ECAA, and indeed many ECAA members are no doubt NAIT alumni.

NAIT congratulates the ECAA on 50 years of success and is proud to have been part of the journey.

Congratulations on 50 years from IBEW Local 424

Local Union 424 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is proud to congratulate the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) on its 50th anniversary.

Local 424 is honoured to have provided skilled, qualified trades people to the signatory contractors of the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta since the beginning. Currently our membership exceeds 7,000 members working mainly in the commercial and industrial markets. From solar panels to lightning bolts, our membership is always willing to assist the signatory contractors of the ECAA.

Local 424 is proud of the work we have done in partnership with our signatory contractors. Not only in building some of the finest construction projects but also in developing industry-leading standards. Our training centre has allowed thousands of our members to be trained in cutting-edge technology. From basic courses like conduit bending to complex courses for substation relays, we are constantly seeking to enhance the value of our signatory contractors. Our pension plan and our benefit packages set the standard for the rest of the industry. All of these items are a result of years of successful bargaining with the ECAA.

Our partnerships with programs like Tradewinds to Success and our own preapprenticeship program show the commitment to the community in which we all live and work. Many of our signatory contractors are active within the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta and their dedication shows the true value of the organization.

IBEW Local 424 knows that the first 50 years are but a sign of things to come.

With the knowledge, commitment, and leadership of the ECAA, our members look forward to another 50 years of quality, costeffective construction projects. Congratulations ECAA on 50 years of success.

4.5” x 4.5” INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS® 900 Seventh Street, NW • Washington, DC 20001 • www.ibew.org

The IBEW Honors Local Labor Activists for Their Outstanding Contributions

Edwin D. Hill International President

Salvatore J. Chilia International Secretary-Treasurer

50th Anniversary

55

SAIT Polytechnic blends the best of both worlds Congratulations ECAA! Congratulations to the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta on its 50th anniversary as the “voice” of the provincial electrical industry. SAIT is proud of its ties to industry and the longstanding relationship with the ECAA. The association’s commitment to education, stakeholders, and industry information has served the province of Alberta admirably for 50 years, and we look forward to continuing to advance electrical education and training together for decades more.

Instructor Bob Veck (l) working with Simon Mather (r).

Time is always in short supply for thirdyear electrical apprentice Max Thrasher.

Since launching his career, the 32-yearold has quickly worked his way up the ranks. He was hired on the spot by employer Dendera Electric and soon found himself with a hand in running the company. While the swift rise is good news, Thrasher has found it challenging to

keep up with his training.

“It’s just part of my personality, I can’t let things go. Whenever I leave the shop, I take it home with me,” says Thrasher.

“It took me quite a while to even get into my first year [of apprenticeship training] because of how busy we were at work.”

Thrasher found a way to beat the clock by enrolling in the third-year Blended

Proud Member Partner and Supporting tractors on of the Electrical C lberta Association of A

s on 50 Congratulation

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Contractors Association of Alberta ECAA 50 yrs.inddElectrical 1

yrs Strong!

Learning program for electrical apprentices at SAIT Polytechnic’s School of Construction — a flexible new program that combines online studies with hands-on lab time.

Launched in September 2011, the third-year Blended Learning option combines 12 weeks of online theoretical studies with four weeks of on-campus labs. The theory and lab components can be spread over a 16-week period or taken as two separate blocks. A 21-week, fourth-year Blended Learning program has also been available since 2010.

Instead of committing two full months to school, third-year Blended Learning students can continue to work while completing their training— taking off one day a week or a few hours here and there for labs — flexibility that Thrasher says benefits himself and his employer.

“Having this program available is definitely a good option,” says Thrasher, explaining that some people — such as himself— become so involved in work that they need help making time while others are really motivated to learn on their own.

And those two features are the keys to the program, explains Dr. Lionel Shew-

27/02/2012 12:30:53 PM

chuk, academic chair for electrical apprenticeship at SAIT. “It has reduced a lot of the stress that would normally exist with a student not having funding,” says Dr. Shewchuk.

“That is one facet. But the other is allowing them to work at their own pace. We had a student who finished a 21-week program in 12 weeks and he was at it part-time.”

A journeyman electrician who has taught for 25 years, Dr. Shewchuk also earned a doctorate in education technology and has done extensive research on distance learning. He and his team developed the Blended Learning program to create a system where students are engaged in a learning community through technology — rather than being isolated by it.

There is strong program support for students through an array of resources specifically tailored to their needs: online chat with instructors, specialized print material, and interactive multimedia. These tools emulate a standard classroom environment but with more flexibility. Industry-experienced instructors are available to answer questions in labs that are open five days a week while providing one-on-one instruction when possible. Additionally, instructors can be reached by phone and email.

Balancing education with the ability to earn a living was the primary draw for Simon Mather, another third-year electrical apprentice enrolled in the Blended Learning program. He recommends the approach to anyone prepared to make the commitment.

“I do recommend it, if you are willing to put in the effort,” says Mather.

“It’s great, because you are getting the one-on-one, hands-on training with the teacher while enjoying the flexibility of the extended time.”

The program has the full support of Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training and follows the same curriculum as the traditional in-class apprenticeship program in order to prepare students for their provincial and inter-provincial exams.

“What we want to do is make sure they are successful, that is the bottom line,” says Dr. Shewchuk.

Max Thrasher working on multimedia review exercises (near) and Simon Mather conducting transformer testing (far).

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50th Anniversary

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12-03-28 1:59 PM

of and truly value the many great relationships we have made.

Cheers! Wishing you many more years of success.

Recollections on a great relationship President

Federated Insurance extends their sincere congratulations to the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta (ECAA) on the occasion of their 50th anniversary. To reflect back on the outstanding partnership Federated Insurance has enjoyed with the ECAA for many years, we sought out our Association Services coordinators.

George Froese, honourary member of the ECAA, represented Federated Insurance with associations from 1991 to 2001 and recalls the relationship as really getting underway in the late 1970’s when Tony Tonhauser, Terry Rausch, and other marketers (now Risk Services coordinators) started calling on electrical contractors in Alberta. As part of our overall association marketing philosophy, Federated Insurance has always supported representation at ECAA chapter meetings and Froese recalls such cooperation from our sales and other personnel in Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Lloydminster.

As a company focused on the value of relationships, it’s no surprise that Froese speaks highly of the prominence of ex-

ecutive director Sheri McLean, Perry and Sophie Schmaltz, Kelly Morris, Jeff Light, and “many others”.

Froese credits the positive relationship with the ECAA as directly impacting our subsequent successes with other provincial electrical associations, as well as the Canadian Electrical Contractors Association.

Gary Borodenko recalls taking over as the Association Services coordinator in 2001 with some trepidation. With Froese’s reassurance, that in the ECAA he would be dealing with people who were “the best in the industry” and “salt of the earth”, Borodenko visited the board of directors with the intent of finding out how he could help the association. He was struck by the overall concern for the electrical industry in Alberta, and not only their own businesses, but those of their competitors as well.

Borodenko also references his meet-

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ings with Sheri McLean and how she provided him with the opportunity to address the membership following the tragedy of 9-11 to explain the impact on insurance rating. He also recalls memorable meetings with Gord Harris and Willard Kondro.

Upon Borodenko’s move to a sales management position, Wayne Budge assumed the Association Services coordinator role in 2008. Enhancing the partnership with the ECAA as set by his predecessors is critical to Budge and he also acknowledges the support of other Federated Insurance personnel in attending association events and developing solutions to their insurance-related needs.

Budge has thoroughly enjoyed his time building on the relationships with Sheri McLean, ECAA staff, president Clem Gratton, the past presidents, board members, and the general membership.

“There is a lot of satisfaction in working with people from the ECAA, who are dedicated to the welfare of their industry and membership,” says Budge.

While Budge has fond recollections of ECAA meetings, conferences, and playing (poorly) in the Carson Classic, the highlight is his attendance to the 50th anniversary convention where many new friendships were developed.

George (Verna), Gary (Linda), and Wayne (Wendy) are all grateful of their times with the ECAA and the wonderful people they have come to know and respect. On behalf of all of Federated Insurance, we again congratulate the association on their 50th anniversary, for their service to Alberta residents, and for their role in the training of electrical contractors. Federated Insurance is honoured for having shared in some of your past, happy to be celebrating the present, and look forward to helping the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta prepare for the future.

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To l l F r e e : 1 - 8 6 6 - 4 7 3 - 9 4 6 2 • w w w. i p e x e l e c t r i c a l . c o m

1 Seated (L-R) Clem Gratton, Ron Gilhooly, Willard Kondro, Art Thormann, Elver Olsen, Eldon Dane. Standing (L-R) Perry Schmaltz, Jeff Light, Pat Barnes, DJ Coppens, Bob Maslanko, Harm Gerrits, Kelly Morris, Kurt Sorensen, Gord Harris, Ron Mackenzie, Ross Andreas

3

2

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•

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

4 1. Past Presidents attending gala.

2. Lifetime Member Stan Misyk.

3. Past President and Labour Relations Coordinator, Pat Barnes (C) receiving recognition from President Clem Gratton (L) and Labour Relations Chair Brian Halna (R).

4. Award of Merit Recipient, Keven Lefebvre, PEC. 5. 50th anniversary gala sponsors.

6. George Froest (L) and Wayne Budge (R) - Federated Insurance.

7. Labour Relations Chairs Art Thormann (L) and Brian Halina (R).

photo credit: A. Dalton, Electrical Business

50th Anniversary Gala

5

7

6

Congratulations ECAA on your 50th Anniversary!

As a member for the past As a member for the 44 years, it is our great past 44 years, it is our pleasure to congratulate great pleasure to the Electrical Contractors congratulate the Association of Alberta on Electrical Contractors your 50th anniversary!

Association of Alberta on your 50 th anniversary!

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3770 Calgary, 12th StreetAlberta NE Calgary, T2E Alberta 8H9 T2E 8H9 Telephone 403-291-2333 Fax 403Tel: 403-291-2333 • Fax: 403-291-5118 291-5118 www.westernelectrical.com

www.westernelectrical.com

Eaton Electrical Group 12465 - 153rd Street Edmonton, AB T5V 1E4 Phone: (780) 490-3280 Fax: (780) 450-1750 Toll Free: 1-800-268-3578 www.eatoncanada.ca 50th Anniversary

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Index to advertisers A.C. Dandy Products Ltd...............................................OBC

Builder’s Electric Co. Ltd................................................. 36

CLR - Construction Labour Relations.............................. 37

AAA Enterprises............................................................. 20

Building Trades of Alberta............................................. 51

CMA – Electric Ltd.......................................................... 38

Alcan Cable................................................................... IBC

Calgary Electric Club...................................................... 35

Allied Projects Ltd............................................................ 8

Canadian Custom Engravers........................................... 22

AltaPro Electric Ltd......................................................... 31

Canadian Electrical Contractors Association................... 13

Bantrel ............................................................................ 9

Candela Group Ltd........................................................... 4

Bar W Petroleum & Electric............................................ 45

Canem Systems.............................................................. 32

Black & McDonald Ltd.................................................... 53

Chemco Electrical........................................................... 21

CMN Electrical Systems Ltd............................................ 34 Corona Electric Ltd......................................................... 44 Corporation des Maitres Electriciens du Quebec............ 49 DC Electrical Services..................................................... 38 Design 21 LED Lighting Systems.................................... 49 DNC Energy Inc............................................................... 39 Eaton............................................................................. 61 Edgerton Electrical Services........................................... 34 Edmonton Electric............................................................ 6 Eecol Electric Corp.......................................................... 5 Electrical Safety Program Solutions Inc....................11, 19 Electrical Wholesalers Edmonton................................... 33 Federated Insurance...................................................... 32 Fisher Powerline Construction Ltd.................................IFC Gescan........................................................................... 30 Graybar Canada............................................................. 17 Guillevin International Co.............................................. 56 Ibew Local Union 424................................................... 15 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers............ 55 IPEX............................................................................... 59 Kamwin Electric Ltd....................................................... 43 Kels Electric Ltd.............................................................. 11 Magnum Electric............................................................ 18 Mechanical Contractors Association of Alberta................ 9 Merit Contractors Association........................................ 10 N.A. Power Installations Ltd........................................... 44 Nait.............................................................................. 26 Nedco Western Canada.................................................. 29 Nomad Electrical Contractors Ltd................................... 10 Nova Pole International Inc............................................ 47 Nova Scotia Electrical Contractors Association............... 48 Power Works Electrical Ltd............................................. 38 Prelim Electric Ltd.......................................................... 30 Richard McDonald & Associates Ltd............................... 62 Sait Polytechnic School of Construction...................42, 57 Schneider Electric.......................................................... 28 Siemens Canada.............................................................. 7 Simplex Grinnell............................................................ 25 Sun Life Financial........................................................... 23 Territorial Electric........................................................... 60 The Cat Rental Store......................................................... 9 The Inspections Group Inc.............................................. 46 Thomas & Betts.............................................................. 18 Trimen Electric............................................................... 52 Trotter & Morton............................................................ 37 Trydor Industries (Canada) Ltd....................................... 50

Brews Supply Ltd...........................................................

Communications Ltd........................................ 20 Project2_Electrical 50 year 7/16/2012 58 9:54 AM Chermik Page 1

Serving the Lighting Needs of Alberta Since 1956.

WOW the Service! www.wowlighting.com

Wesco Distribution......................................................... 27 Western Electric............................................................. 61 Westridge Electric Ltd.................................................... 22 Wirtanen Electric Training Foundation........................... 23

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Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta

The “Reel” Simple Solution Introducing New

NUAL FeederPlex HS RW90 ®

®

When your job specifications call for conduit, choose new NUAL FeederPlex HS RW90 feeders. ®

®

NUAL FeederPlex HS RW90 offers…

• All-in-one factory plexed assemblies • One reel solution delivered to the job site • Phase identification for increased workplace safety • Sunlight resistant RW90 XLPE insulation • No pulling lubricant required ®

®

One Run and You’re Done! ®