Presidential view Flying by


It’s been a hectic, fast-moving few months for ECA president Alun Pearson. Here, he takes time out to outline what he’s been up to during his presidential year


T


he past 10 months have been a wonderful experience for me, and the time has just fl own by. I had been told by some of our past presidents that the term as president would go very quickly


– and how right they were. It’s certainly been an extremely busy period. I’ve been


travelling the length and breadth of the country, attending regional conferences and branch social functions, seeing fi rst hand all of the great things the ECA does for our members – and for the wider industry – while also making time to run my own electrical contracting business in South Wales. My fi rst regional conference was the Central South


region, held in the beautiful area of Sandbanks in Dorset. I then journeyed abroad to Malaga, Spain, attending the North East regional conference, and then moved around all nine other regions, for conference and branch social functions. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to, I was unable to attend the Irish regional functions to which I had been invited, one due to my fl ight being cancelled and others due to a clash of diary dates; however, I hope to meet up with my Irish colleagues later in the year.


these presentations, and was able to take new ideas into my business. I would highly recommend these excellent- quality presentations to all ECA members, as they can really bring valuable knowledge and insight to your operation, whatever its size. One of the memorable things that will remain with me


from attending all these conferences is how nice people are in the electrical industry. I was made to feel very welcome wherever I went Following a hectic 2011, January was a time to recharge


my batteries and start to look at how we could improve the process in the industrial relations environment, better our collaboration in the building services arena, and so on.


I’m proud, too, that the ECA is always here, front and centre, ready to help our members


Experience Although all these functions took a vast amount of time to attend, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of meeting so many different members from different-sized businesses. Listening to them was very informative, discovering how many of them are surviving the recession and changing their business models to carry on in these diffi cult trading times. At a time when the ECA is encouraging businesses to embrace opportunities, it’s heartening to hear fi rst-hand how some members are coping and adapting to changes in the business environment. Over the course of my travels around the UK and abroad,


I have heard some wonderful professional presentations given by ECA staff, on a wide range of subjects – from debt recovery and contractual advice to technical updates and opportunities for new markets in the sustainability arena. As an electrical contractor, I learnt a lot myself from


About the author


Alun Pearson Alun Pearson is president of the ECA, and owner of family business A Pearson Electrical Contractors.


Leading In February, we held the ECA Annual Dinner at the Grosvenor House hotel, attended by more than 600 guests, including ECA members and dignitaries and our guest speaker, London mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone. After the touching surprise of being seranaded into the room by a Welsh male voice choir, I delivered my keynote speech of the year as ECA president. Naturally, I outlined some of the


successful initiatives and great work that the ECA has done in the last year, working for members, promoting opportunities in the marketplace, lobbying government and providing a lead within the sector. It was a proud moment for me – one I will always


remember. And I’m proud, too, that the ECA is always here, front and centre, ready to help our members. With the association taking the initiative and looking to


the future, we are going to continue highlighting the threats and opportunities that our members and our industry need to be aware of – and getting out there to offer the best guidance to help our members respond. There’s a good reason why the ECA is known as


representing the best in electrical engineering and the building services industry, and if my experience over the last year – in fact, over the last 14 years since I became a member of the ECA – has taught me anything, it’s that membership of a trade association really counts. I urge you to make the most of yours.


March 2012 ECA Today 19


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