What’s in a name? (A lot

Last year, at the Annual General Meeting of the School Plant Officials Association of B.C. (SPOA), the SPOA Executive highlighted a number of initiatives on which they were working. These initiatives included the creation of a long-range strategic plan, cleaning up the constitution, and the creation of a new name for this association.

At this year’s AGM in Penticton, your Executive has planned to provide a complete overview of all of these initiatives, as well as unveil our new name and illustrate what it means for us as an association.

The Executive, along with a Strategic Planning Committee, have worked very hard developing a three- to five-year plan. Throughout all of the planning, a theme kept appearing, and that was one of modernization – not only in how we carry out our business and the need to expand what we do, but also in the name of the association.

The Little Red School House and our SPOA name are held dear by the vast majority of our members. Since 1964 when a few stalwart individuals got together and formed the associa-

(A lot!)

BY BRUCE MACLEAN, 2010/2011 SPOA PRESIDENT

tion, we have held tight to these historical connotations. This is a proud organization, and its history has been diligently documented. We continue to do so with the efforts of Bob Hardy and all of the existing and former executive members. As a result of Bob’s extensive background with SPOA and his contacts, he is able to offer advice and guide consecutive executives as they strive to uphold the history and move forward, without tarnishing that history or the name.

Since our inception 47 years ago, facility management has evolved into a multi-disciplined professional career. Universities, colleges and technology institutes have adapted to provide degrees and diplomas in the profession of facility management. A facility or a portfolio of facilities is quite often 30 to 50 per cent of an organization’s net worth. Now more than ever, owners are seeking professionals to take care of their facilities and keep the occupants safe in these valuable assets.

In SPOA, we are all facility professionals, whether you look after building maintenance, custodial services or grounds; they are all tied together. In essence, we are all educational facility managers; this in a nutshell describes exactly what we do. Moving from the current name of SPOA to EFMA will enable those who are unfamiliar with the name of SPOA an opportunity to better understand, almost instantly, who we are.

The new name, Educational Facility Managers Association (EFMA), is one that lends itself to instant recognition. It is a name that is in line with other facility management organizations around North America. It also aligns with our own facility professional certification program – we certify our members who meet the required criteria as Certified Educational Facility Managers (CEFM). We are facility management professionals.

With renewed vigor, we are embarking upon further growth for the association that will lead us into the 21st century, ensuring we continue to enhance what we do for our members, the districts that employ us and those who support us. It positions us to be ready to accept change and adapt to the 21st century initiatives the B.C. Ministry has proposed.

This is an exciting time as we prepare to spring forward. Our passion for SPOA will live on as we move forward as the EFMA.

The leadership and foresight of past executives and members won’t succumb to the shadows, but will in fact help guide us as we navigate our future. We are proud of our history and will respect it as we evolve into the “Educational Facility Managers Association of British Columbia”.