Holy heart failure Batman, what just happened to my retirement account?

Thousands of variations of this statement have likely been gasped in the past few weeks. At the time of writing the stock market is down, our dollar is down, the economy is down and Stephen Harper spent $300 million of our money to take the country on a roller coaster ride that ended up exactly where we started. And that was just the month of October.

On a positive note, the Edmonton conference was an unqualified success. The agenda balanced business and social activities well, and though I'm sure that behind the scenes the organizing committee was scrambling at times, any challenges it had were invisible to attendees. I would like to thank co-chairs David Reburn and Mark Trevors, and the rest of the conference committee for their efforts in hosting an enjoyable event.

I would also like to recognize two board members whose terms expired at the conference. Michel Robert was Manufacturers Chairman and Korey Haun was Distributors Chairman. On behalf of the board I would like to thank both of you for your contributions to this organization.

Replacing Michel is Philippe Champagne and his alternate is David Lawlor. Replacing Korey is Ross Wilson and his alternate is Murray Wedhorn. I would like to thank each of you for volunteering your time to our industry.

Susan Ryan from The Willow Group was at the conference and I know a number of members had an opportunity to meet with her. I am confident Susan and her team will be valuable assets to TIAC as we move forward. The board is currently reviewing suggestions on how to better utilize additional services offered by The Willow Group.

One area we want to improve upon is the TIAC website. We hope to have an updated version available early in the New Year. By now you should have received notification of the new "members section" on the site. This is a secure area where we can store important TIAC information such as bylaws and financial statements within easy access to members. This website update is an important part of our commitment to improving communication and transparency.

Steve Clayman has been doing contract work for the association in having LEED points awarded specifically for efficiently insulated mechanical systems and in having the TIAC standards incorporated into the National Building Code. Steve is making progress on both fronts, and each contact Steve makes provides information or suggestions about other organizations that may be of interest to us, and that have a great interest in our services. We have made initial contact with some of these organizations and identified opportunities for promoting our services, which could form an important part of our industry growth.

As the economy slows, new work will be delayed or cancelled and as an industry we need to find other areas of opportunity. To me the greatest area of opportunity lies in retrofitting existing buildings. Energy costs will not stay low for long. Our conventional energy supplies are diminishing and new, economically viable technologies are not being established at a fast enough rate to replace fossil fuels. In the medium term, high energy costs will be a fact of life, resulting in an opportunity for our industry. TIAC is committed to promoting our services at the retrofit market. We are working on presentations for all regions of the country to highlight how we can save people money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Each of us promotes our own company within grassroots circles, but those efforts need to be complemented by a strong, national promotion. TIAC is striving to be that national voice that we hope can open doors of opportunity at the grassroots level. Your continued support is needed to achieve these goals.

Don't forget to register early for the 2009 conference in Newfoundland. Check the TIAC website (www.tiac.ca) in the coming weeks for the opportunity to register online and pay by credit card.

Best regards

Chris Ishkanian
TIAC President