April 2006 ISSUE
FOUNDATIOn update
Crystal Ball Not So Hazy After All
BY ANDY GILLILAND, P.ENG.
Education Foundation President and Columnist
Oh, how we shall miss Dennis Brooks, P.Eng., P.Geoph., who has represented the APEGGA Education Foundation so well as columnist, including his column in the most recent PEGG. You may know that Dennis has been an active supporter of the foundation since its inception in 1996 and has provided insight, wise guidance and leadership over all of those years.
The vision for the foundation that Dennis described in the last edition of The PEGG — A Vision Found Within a Somewhat Hazy Crystal Ball — is substantially shared by the current directors and members of the foundation, and we will work hard to be ready before “2015 in real-time,’’ as Dennis has suggested, to demonstrate the activities which he has described.
Under the leadership of Past President Connie Parenteau, P.Eng., the Education Foundation Board has strived to position the foundation for self-sufficiency at current award and activity levels by 2010. Current awards totalled $93,000 for 2005, all of that amount directed at bright, young students attending Alberta institutions. In addition the foundation supported APEGGA Outreach activities for a total of $17,000.
In recognition of the Alberta Centennial the foundation introduced two new, significant scholarships, one each for the universities of Alberta and Calgary. Overall, this represents the largest contribution to our students and winners in the history of the foundation.
None of this would be possible without the very strong support received from APEGGA and its members, and for that support we are most grateful. Our capital base is now at the highest level ever, and the foundation hopes to continue to add to this base to provide sufficient income to support and expand the awards program in the future.
The board has defined a fundraising strategy to make it possible for all members and permit holders to find it easy to support their foundation, and we hope that all members will respond. The foundation has established an affinity card program with the BMO Mozaik MasterCard, which may be of interest to some members.
In addition to fundraising, the foundation intends to develop communications tools to ensure that all APEGGA members, and others, are aware of the good works we undertake and to publicize the various award winners to highlight their excellence. Our award recipients do indeed represent in large part the future leaders in our professions, and we hope that all professional members will recognize the value of foundation support.
The foundation has been encouraged by the very positive support and advice received from the APEGGA Council and will continue the partnership model with APEGGA in all its activities. We are most grateful for the able services provided by APEGGA staff members, which enable the foundation to avoid large administrative costs.
It is an honour to serve as president of the foundation for 2006 and to have the opportunity to work with such a dedicated board. We are all committed to achieving the vision which Dennis Brooks has presented and, with continuing support, we will make the foundation into an acknowledged leader in the support of professional engineers, geologists and geophysicists for the benefit of Alberta.