Another winter has come and forgot to leave since we last met. Contrary to my predictions it was colder than and almost as snowy as last winter so I am going to predict that this summer will be shorter and colder than the last one maybe I can be completely wrong about that too. I also thought that construction might taper off a little as well but so far I am wrong about that too. The Premier should probably hire me to make those predictions.
There have been a few new developments in our profession this winter; most of you have heard by now that Building Standards has created a new protocol for maintaining your Building Official’s licence. This new process will also allow Building Standards to make it easier for Building Officials from other provinces to be accepted and licensed to work in Saskatchewan. As part of this protocol they have developed a two day course which to train and test you on Saskatchewan’s requirements for building in the province. You have already experienced another aspect of the protocol with the credit towards your required licence maintenance.
Vice President Chris Gates put together a very good training program this winter in Saskatoon. It was encouraging to see numbers of attendees at the sessions. I think most people appreciated the change in format and the variety of the material. I hope that in the future we will continue to offer courses that will be recognized by Building Standards in support of Building Official licensing.
Ryan has again put together an impressive program for this conference with a number of very timely subjects.
I want to congratulate Jerry Wintonyk and his host committee for a great job of hosting this conference.
In October 22, 23 & 24th, 2014 we are going to Yorkton’s Gallagher Centre for our fall conference hosted by Brant Hryhorczuk. While we are there we are going to hold elections for all SBOA executive positions. We have asked Doug Mulhall from Weyburn to once again be our nomination chair. Doug will be drawing up a slate prior to next fall’s elections. I encourage anyone who is interested in throwing their hat in the ring to call Doug and let him know. I do know that there will be at least one position coming open in October. Even if you don’ t want to become a board member perhaps you would like to be a committee member, many of the chairs will welcome any assistance you can offer.
2015 will be the 50th Anniversary of the SBOA. We are planning to celebrate this anniversary at our spring conference tentatively set to be held in Saskatoon. We have formed a 50th Anniversary committee lead by Past President Len Semko with assistance from LeRoy Evenson, Gary Martens and Chris Gates. We would like to bring in as many members and past members as possible for this celebration. If you know retired members please give them the heads up and if possible send contact information to any 50th anniversary committee member so we can assemble a contact list for alumni.
Please remember this is your SBOA if you have any suggestions or concerns about the operations, and conferences please call or write any of the board members and let us know.
Dan Knutson
President, SBOA
