February 1, 2017 – You may be familiar with the following electrical groups operating in Alberta: Capital Region Electric Club (Edmonton), Calgary Electric Club (CEC) and, of course, Alberta Electrical League (AEL).

A big change is coming this year to these groups, as AEL, CREC and CEC join forces under one banner as the Alberta Electrical Association (AEA).

“Associations are no different than companies in that we need to change and adapt for the future,” explained AEL’s executive director, Tara Ternes, when I spoke with her. “For years, members have given us feedback and suggestions and, finally, it’s happening.”

The decision to unite was, in fact, driven by the members themselves, as all three groups offered great events and networking but, to participate, you had to have membership in each. So I asked Tara what, if anything, stays the same, and what will change.

Quite simply, with greater membership numbers comes strength, which translates into several benefits. For starters, AEA offers discounts on all AEA events, group benefits & discounts (e.g. healthcare, and home & auto), discounts in both educational and social events throughout the province, and scholarships available to all members.

AEA will continue to promote regional scholarships, and all monies raised in a particular region will stay in that region, supporting local university, college and member’s scholarships.

I asked Tara how she would defend this decision to unite under a common banner to someone who stood opposed, but she could not think of a single person who didn’t think it was a good idea. After all, the decision to become one group was initiated by the members themselves.

“While we were conducting solar seminars in both Calgary and Edmonton recently, it became so clear that our decision to unite was the right decision.” That said, she believes the benefits and simplicity speak for themselves.

Popular CEC and CREC events will continue as before. “Why fix what isn’t broken? The events of each group will not change; they will just get stronger.” And all events are now available at a discounted rate to all members.

“Bringing these three strong groups together is simply a case of giving everyone more benefits, simplicity and stronger voice,” Tara says.

By the time you read this, AEA’s new website should be live (scheduled for end of January 2017), with a new URL and new email addresses. Stay tuned to EBMag so you can update your bookmarks and contacts when the time comes.

Meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact Tara at info@elecleague.ab.ca or 800-642-5508.

— Anthony Capkun, Editor • acapkun@annexweb.com •