Message from the president of EFMA, Heather Simm

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF EFMA Heather Simm Director of Operations, School District No. 20 (Kootenay-Columbia)

As I write this spring update, I think a lot of the province is having a hard time imagining that spring will actually ever arrive! (And for those of us that regularly experience winter, we’re only enjoying the pictures of snow from the lower mainland a little bit ;)).

Regardless of the weather, EFMA members have to continue with their usual spring rituals, which include (in addition to daily operations) scrambling to finish off the prior year’s AFG, budgeting, and madly planning for upcoming summer work. As this planning is continuing, so is the amazing planning for our upcoming conference at the end of May.

You will see the great line-up our team has put together for this year’s conference and I encourage everyone to seriously consider attending (even just for one day). This edition of Ops Talk includes the full conference program, so please check out all the fantastic opportunities that exist and start making your plans to attend and to bring your staff. Anyone can register for the conference and it is a great learning opportunity for all staff within the operations world. Outside the formal program there are also so many great networking and problem-solving opportunities with your fellow members. Teamwork is the conference theme and we are all here to support one another on this professional journey.

On the Friday, we have representatives from both Shared Services and BCPSEA planning to attend for an update. The Capital Management Branch is once again planning to bring several staff members for multiple days, which will provide great opportunities to connect in person with your representative from the ministry.

This has been another great year for EFMA and all members should be so proud of the executive we have. There has been so much hard work behind the scenes creating the conference, as well as the Directors’ Workshop, which took place March 11 and 12, 2019.

I want to personally thank each of the members of the executive for all their hard work and the extra time commitment it takes to be part of the executive team. I can easily say for myself that the amazing relationships I have built and the things I have learned far outweigh the commitment required.

On behalf of all the EFMA members, thank you to Steve Smoroden, Rick Delorme, Chuck Morris, Harry Kumar, Archie Stogianos, Travis Elwood, and Gordana Vuchovic. An additional thank you also to our exhibitor representatives Andrew McKay from Tremco and Tammy Gizen from Talius. And finally, a special thank you to our executive director Glenn Miller, and there are not even words to express the gratitude we owe to Molly Shipowich, our executive secretary. All of your hard work and commitment is greatly appreciated.

We always need more people to join the executive, so if you are interested at all, please don’t hesitate to connect with any of the current executive members.

On behalf of the EFMA executive, thank you for the support and we look forward to seeing all of you in Penticton, May 2731st! n