When Technews’ Jane van der Spuy first spoke to me about a webinar I was not sure what to expect, although I realised that this would be a wonderful way to talk openly to SAIMC members. With the support of Graeme Bell, Steven Meyer and the Technews IT folk, it was so easy, everything ran like clockwork.
During the registration process it became clear that the majority of our members represented the average South African: the typical ‘Silent Majority’. This places a tremendous responsibility on the verbal minority to ensure that everybody’s expectations are met.
Although not all that many people participated, the response that we received from the polls gave us a very good idea of what our members are expecting:
1. Being a member of a professional body that represents them on a national and international level. Being registered as a Voluntary Association with ECSA not only gives our professional members financial benefits, but also gives them a place where they are represented at government level and a place where they can achieve CPD points to maintain their registration.
2. A forum where they can interact socially with like-minded people. As my wife Ina always says, when I come home from an SAIMC meeting my smile shows that I have been with friends.
3. Being updated with technology – here Technews plays a major role in bringing the latest news updates to our members.
4. Although most people who registered and those who responded during the polls were quite content with the current website, there are issues that we need to sort out, mostly of an administrative nature. Distribution lists, registrations and the image of the website need to be improved. The website must be more user friendly.
5. This brings me to my fifth and last point – the image of the SAIMC. During the webinar it became clear that most people wanted the SAIMC to be professional but that it needed to represent a younger and more modern membership.
The various committees were immediately tasked with the responsibility to implement these goals and in my next few letters I will update you on the progress.
The SAIMC is 55 years old this year. What a wonderful journey it has been, presidents ranged from Heads of Engineering Faculties to CEOs, from technicians to project managers, all spectrums of life. For the first time since its inception structures have been put in place to ensure that great initiatives do not fall by the way side. The load has been distributed and more ideas are being generated, giving some of the older members headaches and some of the younger ones higher levels of frustration because things are not moving quickly enough. But, because the people have learnt to trust each another, everybody is working together for the benefit of all SAIMC members.
What a privilege it was to hand over the First Lego League trailer and see the team who will be representing South Africa in action. It made us proud, because these youngsters are proud and intelligent, but humble at the same time. The future of South Africa looks great and I am glad to play a very small part in it together with a willing team of very able people.
The full SAIMC webinar can be viewed below
http://www.youtube.com/embed/V2q1K515W1I
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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