On March 18 and 19, the national executive council (NEC) met in Montreal for our first-quarter meeting.
It was a fruitful gathering—a time for us to take stock as this year’s NEC term winds down (it ends on June 30). We have a few more months to get things done before summer arrives and the new NEC takes the wheel.
Here are some highlights from the meeting:
Finances: We started with a look at the association’s finances. Treasurer Carolyn Brown gave us an update on our 2017 budget projections and some recommendations for the rest of the year. At this early point in the year, she is forecasting a deficit, but we believe that revenue-generating activities such as the conference and webinars will allow us to balance the budget. Also, the NEC is looking at ways to reduce the costs of its in-person meetings this year.
You can help us stay on track! Spread the word to your networks about what Editors Canada offers:
- webinars and recordings: we have some top-notch instructors and great topics available, and the prices are very affordable
- branch and twig seminars: lots of excellent seminars are being offered from sea to sea
- Editing Canadian English 3 (print edition) or the online edition
- annual conference
- awards that honour outstanding editors and students and promote our profession
- student affiliate program: only $50 a year
- professional certification tests: in 2017, these will be offered on computers for the first time!
We also encourage you to bring a colleague into the association. Being part of a national association of editors helps members connect, network, and develop new skills, and the association promotes the profession of editing, which helps all editors! Donations to Editors Canada initiatives are another great way to support the association, and are always welcome.
The strategic plan: The agenda made concrete links to the five priorities in the 2017–21 strategic plan, which kept us focused on these goals.
Invited guests: Sylvie Collin (Editors Quebec/Atlantic Canada) and Anne Fonteneau (Université Laval) joined us on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to offer us a francophone perspective. We were very glad to have their input and ideas as part of the conversation!
An update from Editors Quebec/Atlantic Canada: Sylvie Collin gave us an update on what’s happening in the branch—both challenges and successes. We enjoyed hearing the news from this part of the country and are grateful for all the hard work of branch volunteers.
Breakout groups and plenary discussion: To shake things up a little, we broke into three groups on Saturday afternoon (Needs of francophone members; In-house and remote members; and Technology and innovation). Two more local members came for the breakout session on francophone members’ needs and offered some great insights and suggestions. Also, the interim director of francophone affairs, Nancy Foran (and her cat), joined us via FaceTime! The three groups presented a summary of their ideas to the large group so we could all discuss them. The next step is to review the ideas that surfaced and think about how to move them forward.
Priority setting: With only three months left in our mandate, we needed to prioritize. We’ll concentrate on a few key revenue-generating or revenue-neutral projects between now and June. Because communications and marketing are an essential part of attracting and retaining members, this will also be a major focus in the months ahead.
And that’s not all: We also talked about revitalizing the members’ email lists (French and English), preparing for the next season of webinars, reaching out to post-secondary institutions, and more!
And of course we met up with some local members: It was fun to chat with a dozen or so local members over drinks on Friday and at dinner on Saturday. This has become a great tradition for NEC meetings.
Wishing you all a happy spring! Hope to see you at the conference in Ottawa-Gatineau in June! (Early-bird deadline is April 10.)
Anne Louise Mahoney
President, Editors Canada