Message from the President - Dec '21
Date postedDecember 16, 2021
What a bittersweet letter this is to write. My term as President officially ends this month. What a long strange trip it’s been! I do believe I have the dubious honor of the only President to have presided during a pandemic and to have had to cancel two (not one, but two!) National Conferences. Since we never met face to face at Conference, I was never formally inducted… so perhaps this has all been a dream!
All kidding aside, it has truly been an honor to serve and a joy to work with the Officers, Directors and Staff of MBCEA. Volunteer work is not for the faint of heart. There are times when I felt I was giving more time and attention to MBCEA than Hance Construction. By the same token, there were other times when I did not give enough – and Sasha, Jackie, and incoming President Jen (Jen Heimburger of Heimburger Construction) carried the ball for me. Our Association, and me personally, is truly fortunate to have such a great team.
Two years ago, I set some goals for myself as President including.
- Develop a Strategic Plan.
- Develop a road map for management succession to reduce time impact on successive Presidents.
- Enhance outreach to manufacturers for increased membership recruiting.
- Roll out a Regional Chapter model to address under-served members.
So how did we do?
- With the unreplaceable help of Jen we developed our first strategic plan. This is a living plan that will be handed off to each future president to implement and adjust to meet the future demands of our association.
- We now have a process for developing Board members through the committee structure and eventually identifying those who excel and support our mission which can then be promoted to officer positions.
- My tenure started with presentations to MBMA, CECO and Butler. Unfortunately immediately following, we experienced the Covid shut down. We have continued to promote and enhance our relationship with MBMA and our outreach to manufacturers and their builders has increased and flourished.
- This is one of my disappointments as it was important for me to involve all members in the MBCEA experience as well as an opportunity to meet many more members as President.
I succeeded some very smart people – Gary Smith, Mike Reynolds and Keith Wentworth. I will be followed by some even brighter lights: Jen Heimburger and Robert Tiffin. More than 50 years ago, the MBCEA organized to focus on the professional advancement of our members. I hope you agree, we are certainly fulfiilling our mission.
Together, we have built a strong association of which we should all be quite proud. We continue to develop meaningful programs focused on training, quality, professionalism, and safety. We have developed resources to promote our amazing industry to the next generation. We are committed to growing awareness of and promoting the acceptance of our quality programs. And we do all of this while having fun and enjoying each other’s company! We live our motto "Reaching New Heights Together."
I have enjoyed every minute of this strange trip and want you to consider volunteer work for yourself. Whether it is with the MBCEA, your kids' little league, your church, or even politics, don’t sit on the sidelines. Reach out and get involved. You will make new friends, learn new things, make a difference and have fun. It is easy to sit back and complain about things; it takes effort to stick your neck out. I encourage all of you to try it.
I can’t wait to see what Jen has in store. I am confident it will be great. I know she will be an excellent President. I leave you in great hands and look forward to seeing you in Tucson at our National Conference.
Please accept my heartfelt wishes for a very happy holiday and prosperous New Year!
Regards,
Art Hance
President, MBCEA
President, Hance Construction
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