The CCGA continues to receive positive feedback following its first damage prevention symposium held November 12 through 14 in Kananaskis, Alberta - and by all accounts, the symposium was a complete success! Just shy of 200 people attended the symposium and had their choice (sometimes a difficult one!) of three con-current sessions on a variety of subjects for a day and a half. Senator Grant Mitchell, Deputy Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, which had recently released its study, delivered a keynote address on day two of the symposium on the Senate's view of the importance of a safety culture. Following his speech, Senator Mitchell was presented with a commemorative "DigSafe" shovel from Mike Sullivan, Executive Director of the CCGA and President of Alberta One-Call Corporation.
The Symposium presented the CCGA with the opportunity to introduce its new Board of Directors, including a new Chair, Dr. Dave Baspaly, a new Vice Chair - Ms Nathalie Moreau; and, a new Secretary, Mr. Bryon Sackville. The CCGA's new Board Members are the Canadian One-Call Centre Committee, represented by Ms Sher Kirk of Alberta One-Call Corporation; and, the North American Damage Prevention Council, represented by Mr. Brent Fleury of Bell.
The CCGA also unveiled its plans for the near future - expanding the Board of Directors to include representation from additional damage prevention stakeholders. The CCGA will annouce those members in the near future as their membership is finalized.
As for the next Damage Prevention Symposium, the CCGA will be meeting soon to review feedback from our first and make a decision on when and where the next one will be. In that regard, the CCGA is mindful of its role to complement the foundational work of the Regional Partner CGAs across Canada. "Anything we do is planned so that it is in the Regional Partners' best interests", explains Mike Sullivan. "The goal is to create additional awareness at a high level yet draw attention to local issues at the same time. I think we were able to do that in Kananaskis."
In closing, the CCGA wishes to thank all of our presenters who donated their time and energy to make this first symposium such an enormous success. In their name, the CCGA is donating $2500.00 to the Canmore Rotary Club Charitable Foundation's Flood Relief Fund.
Senator Grant Mitchell
