The last few years have been exceptionally
busy for the roading industry in general and 2008 was no different although it did
start to slow in the last quarter.
Notwithstanding the demands of “day jobs” I am pleased to be able to report that
the Committee has again led some impressive achievements for the REAAA NZ Chapter
including;
The 2008 Roadshow
Although numbers were slightly down on 2007 we had another successful Roadshow in September 2008 with strong attendances in almost all locations. The change of
venue from
Wellington
to Palmerston North did succeed in attracting a small increase in attendance from
that region and the committee has resolved to adopt a rotational policy between
Palmerston North, Wanganui and
Wellington
for the next few years. For 2009 it
will be a
Wellington
venue with
Upper Hutt
the preferred location to make access from Palmerston North and Wanganui that bit
easier. The Young Presenter competition
was a notable success which we will repeat in 2009 and we again
received positive feedback on the range of papers presented.
The Roadshow
continues to be our flagship and I thank everyone who was involved in presenting and
organising it.
Website, Newsletters and Information
The practice of publishing Newsletters by
email only is now well established and we have published two Newsletters since the
last AGM, the latest being December 2008.
It is easier than ever for members to contribute but as always it is a challenge
to find new stories and our editor, Lisa, would welcome suggestions and thoughts from any members.
We have continued to increase the functionality
of the Website and in the last year a significant amount of our members have been
included on the searchable member database.
Currently our website committee are building the searchable conference paper database
and this will be ‘live’ in the near future.
Breakfast Forums
As foreshadowed in last years report, during
the last year we have hosted two breakfast seminars one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. The purpose of the breakfast forums
has been to provide a short but stimulating presentation on a topical subject or
to host a key note speaker for a significant conference elsewhere in
New Zealand
, and to provide the opportunity for members to network.
The REAAA is unique in that our membership
is drawn from Contractors, Road Controlling Authorities and Consultants and the
feedback on the breakfast forums as an informative and time effective networking
opportunity has been extremely positive.
Including a short presentation and forum opportunity around the AGM follows this
successful format.
We will continue this initiative throughout
the next year and member’s active participation through attendance and in suggesting
subjects of interest and/or possible speakers will be welcomed by the Committee.
Thanks and Welcome
Thanks are due to all of last year’s committee
but especially to
Janice Brass
who is standing down as from this AGM.
Janice has been instrumental in securing much of NZTA’s participation in our Roadshows
and she will be a loss to the Committee.
I am delighted she will continue her involvement with the Low Volume Roads conference,
at least for 2009.
A welcome to
Chris Scott
and
Ewan Hunter
who joined the Committee in 2008 and who have been active contributors throughout
and to all other committee members, namely; Brendan Bisley,
Chris Olsen
,
Peter Mortimer
,
Allan Tuck
,
Bill Caradus
, Chris Parkman, Rob Napier and
Tony Brennand.
Finally I would like to thank Lisa Pallister
our hard working and exceptionally well organised Secretary.
With the demands on committee member’s time we rely on Lisa being our collective
PA and “squeaky wheel”.
REAAA Parent Organisation
Demands on time have meant that it has not
been possible for me to attend the two Council meetings since the last AGM but our
Chapter has been represented through the parent organisation’s Hon Treasurer
Brent Johnston
. I am hoping to attend the REAAA Conference on
Korea
in September this year and have been nominated to succeed
Brent Johnston
who is stepping down from the position of Treasurer.
Plans and Challenges for the
next Year
The Low Volume Roads Workshop
This bi-annual event will be held in Napier
this year and REAAA is delighted to sponsor the conference again in 2009 and the
workshop committee are already well advanced with planning for the 2009 event. This conference represents very good
value for money, and at a time when all organisations are conscious of where best
to spend the “corporate dollar” I can recommend this as an event that is worthy
of the investment.
2009 Roadshow
The dates for the 2009 Roadshow
have been set and planning is well underway.
We are targeting to at least maintain attendance at last years levels through your
active support for what is an extremely cost effective industry event.
As a general observation
I think it is important that industry organisations maintain an attendance at a
good range of relevant industry events and where necessary reduce expenditure by
limiting the numbers of attendees.
Most conferences and seminars fulfil specific industry needs and maintaining continuity
and currency of knowledge is arguably more important now than when funding less
constrained.
Richard Steel
Chairperson REAAA NZ Chapter