Inside EICF Mrs. Julie Boyce is EICF´s Office Administration Manager.


30 Years of Service with Passion, Talent, Skills and Innovation


She is well known to everyone involved with EICF. As EICF is evolving and adapting the services to suit the needs of the members and stakeholders there is one element of permanent identity and quality in EICF service. This is Julie Boyce. If there is anything you need from the EICF, one thing is for certain, Julie Boyce will sort it out.


Q: Q:


12 of April 1990, what does it mean to you? And how did you come into it?


I applied for a part time job at the British Investment


Trade Association, BICTA. I was interviewed by Dr. Bob Smart, director and secretariat for EICF, who was a really nice, friendly man. He offered me the job as accounts administrator. Emma was the secretary, David Critchley was publications and technical, and Bob Smart, all working full time. I worked mornings and any extra time to help out at busy times.


What was the first mission you were engaged with? When I joined it was like being dropped in at the


deep end. EICF’s 1990 Lugano Conference was my first job, I invoiced all the delegates still using a typewriter, no computers in the office at all. The accounts were all manual, everything written in big ledgers, it took ages. One of the occasions I remember was Bob photo copying all the conference proceedings, day after day the copier rumbling away with page after page popping out and needing to be drilled ready to be put into folders. One day the copier decided to stop, it had got a little hot so Bob decided to pour water over it to cool it down! Not ideal. But it worked and the stacks of presentations were finally ready for boxing up and couriering off to Lugano. Very happy times.


Q: Q:


Can you describe what sort of activities were undertaken and provided by the EICF? In the early days EICF held a Conference every other


year, and would be in the rotation for the World Conference. They had around 40 members and that was it.


BICTA and the EICF were sort of very close relatives. Can you explain the difference and the different origins and target audiences? Because BICTA and EICF were administered by the same people from the same address, there was always confusion as to the difference between the companies. Some EICF members were also members of BICTA, mostly so that they would receive the reduced fee for the conference from whoever was hosting that year. BICTA held many committee meetings, as we had our


own board room. People were always coming and going, making the office rather full at times. BICTA was the more active company at that time, aimed purely at the UK. For many years we had a French student for 6 weeks during the summer. They would learn all aspects of office


12 ❘ May 2020 ®


life, and their assistance was of great help when we were running up to a conference.


Q:


You started this job working with Dr. Smart who recently passed away. How were those days? What


was his stimulus in pursuing the growth of the association? Bob was a lovely man who looked after his staff,


however if he didn’t think you were working hard enough he would tell you so. He was very passionate about promoting investment casting and dedicated to making sure that both BICTA and EICF were run well.


Council meetings could


be a little challenging at times; BICTA had its own Council members, and you could tell when a Council meeting was drawing closer as Bob would whistle faster and faster as he worked in the office next to mine.


Q: Q: Q:


Is there anything from those early days that the EICF should be recovering to the benefit of the members? Due to the unfortunate demise of BICTA, all of the committee meetings have gone, the information that was distributed to the membership has disappeared, maybe EICF could take up some of the topics that are still of interest. EICF are now involved with education, statistics and research, all topics that the membership appreciate and benefit from. I am sure EICF will expand their services even further in due course, as the membership is always our first priority.


In 2004, Dr. Ford initiated the professionalism of the Association. Articles of Association were put in place


and the company was registered as a Private Limited by Guarantee with no shares. A Board of Directors was instituted and established. How do you consider this affected the way EICF operated? Anything that is put in place for the benefit and long-


term security of the EICF has to be a good thing, it was the start of many changes to secure the Federation.


What has changed from your starting days to the way you do operations today?


My job within the EICF is completely different now.


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