Hello CACEE friends,

National Conference 2015 is just around the corner and things in our world are getting very exciting. We are expecting well over 200 delegates to join us in Ottawa June 7 – 10. If you’re thinking about coming, but haven’t registered yet, let me urge you to do so ASAP - the deadline is May 29 (but if you want to register after that e-mail me at pauls@cacee.com – we’ll see you’re covered).

We will hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM) at lunchtime on Tuesday June 9, and I encourage CACEE members to stay for the proceedings. Our AGM is when CACEE does the business that allows us to operate, business that is required by statute. It’s also when members get their chance to vote upon the direction the Board is taking the Association. Every year has its important issues, and 2015 is no different.

The legislation that governs not-for-profit associations requires that all full members be eligible to stand for at large positions like President. The Board has acknowledged this requirement, and Affiliate members are permitted to stand for President in their turn, but there’s the catch. As you may know, CACEE historically alternates the Presidency between the two full member categories of Employer and Educator. With Affiliate members eligible to seek the Presidency, we need to slot them into the rotation.  

Educators make up the largest portion of our membership (over 60%) followed by Employers (25 - 30%). In the alternation of the Presidency, this has placed an uneven burden on our Employer members, requiring them to come up with a candidate from a pool that is less than half the size of the Educators. Meanwhile, our Affiliate members make up a little less than 10% of our membership. Given this, the Board reasoned that it made sense to add Affiliate members to the years when Employers might seek the Presidency. When Affiliates are combined with Employers that pool of members will number between 30% – 40% of the total, thereby sharing the burden a little more evenly. That’s the logic, anyway.

This is an important developments that will help CACEE be more sustainable and stable in the future. Join us at the AGM to find out more.

Paul D. Smith
Executive Director