President’s Message- Moving Forward
Valerie Browne, President, CSAE Trillium Chapter
I’m honoured and humbled to find myself addressing you as your new President. The CSAE Trillium Chapter is one of the most proactive and effective organizations I’ve ever had the privilege to be involved with; I’ve learned so much over my years of volunteering with this group.
It bears repeating that the strength of Trillium is its members, Executive and Business, who come together and collaborate to make it all work. Beyond the (amazing) events, programs, publications and other resources, one of the greatest benefits to membership is becoming part of a professional network of peers that supports us and helps us solve our problems, find innovative solutions and create new opportunities.
This member experience is what we want to preserve and advance as we work with the CSAE National Office on the development and implementation of the new CSAE business model. Collectively, we have so much to contribute to that work and it only makes sense to tap into CSAE members as a resource. We made a very good start when a meeting of Past Presidents was convened by Rozalyn Werner-Arcé, CAE, herself a Past President, to talk about CSAE’s business model, share experiences and gather ideas. That meeting blew me away. Your Past Presidents, like so many members, are passionate about preserving the best of the current model while supporting initiatives that will advance the evolution of CSAE.
The business model discussions between CSAE National and the Chapter Leaders have evolved to a stage where a national Transition Team (including our very own Past President, Steve Carroll, CAE) is working to define how a new relationship between CSAE National and the Chapters might work. The Transition Team is expected to have a report and recommendations to share at the next CSAE Leaders Forum meeting in January 2017, and I’m sure there will be more information to share at that time.
I think it’s fair to say that Trillium, through many years of hard work and the judicious use of resources, has become an incredibly valued and effective service provider to our members. Unfortunately, most other CSAE Chapters are simply unable to offer comparable programs and services under the current model. One of the main goals of the business model update is to figure out how to provide more meaningful opportunities for engagement, learning and networking to every CSAE member across Canada. Imagine how great that will be.
