Congratulations to all nominees and winners of the EMA of BC Environmental Management Awards and a warm welcome to the newest members of the EMA of BC Board of Directors.
The Annual General Meeting and inaugural Environmental Management Awards ceremony were both held on June 15, 2012. With several board positions contested, it was an exciting AGM. Congratulations to the newly elected board members: Crystal Ireland of Maxxam Analytics, Sarah Buckle of MHPM, Mark Westbury of AECOM, Caroline Bernardin of Coast Mountain Bus Company, Brooke Bennett of WorleyParsons, and Daniel Kiselbach of Miller Thomson.
I would like to extend many thanks to our departing board members: Patrick Novak of Caro Analytical Services, Sarah Hansen of Miller Thomson, Herb Locke of Tri-Arrow Industrial Recovery, and Vicki Skye-May of ICBC. My thank you wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging Marcia Moulton for her dedication and energy during her term as President. Marcia has been a major contributor to the revitalization of the EMA of BC.
I am proud to follow in Marcia’s footsteps and be your president for 2012-13. In my role as Environmental Sustainability Manager at Coast Mountain Bus Company I am a bit of a Jack-of-all-trades, covering issues such as environmental management, storm water and industrial wastewater treatment, waste management and recycling, emergency response, air emissions, and energy management. It is this wide and sometimes bewildering array of responsibilities in the environmental field that led to the formation of the EMA of BC.
For over 20 years, the EMA of BC has provided education and resources to environmental managers and has been a forum for members to share knowledge and experiences. Our presenters, networking sessions, site tours, and workshops provide valuable learning experiences and fantastic value to member companies. Your 2012-13 board of directors intends to continue this tradition and is already busy planning out the next year.
Areas of focus for 2012-13 include deciphering and exploring the impacts of Bill C-38, delivering more information through our website, improving social media capabilities, adding the ability to deliver content to our remote members, encouraging membership for non-profit organizations and sole proprietorships, and providing quality speaker sessions and tours.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible over the next year and I encourage you to introduce your co-workers and industry associates to the EMA of BC.
Yours truly,
Derek Stewart, President, Environmental Managers Association of BC