By / Joey Fabing
As the incoming president of TIAC, I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself for those members I’ve not met. I took over Custom Insulation Systems Ltd. in Toronto from my father five years ago, and I have been in the insulation business for nearly 32 years. I am married to my business partner, Carolyn, and we have two children—Emily, 16, and Cameron, 13.
I step into the president’s role with big shoes to fill. Our immediate past-president, Shaun Ekert, is a great leader and I was honoured to serve as his vice-president. He carried this team through the last 22 months with the objective to keep us on task and to complete the items we wanted to complete—and we did. I have the utmost respect for Shaun, and I feel grateful to the membership for their trust in me to pick up where Shaun left off.
It was so nice to see and be with friends in Niagara Falls for the conference this past September. Although we haven’t been able to see one another for so long, the family feeling I felt at this conference seem to be even stronger than usual, and it was incredible to experience. There was a certain energy in the air, and I wasn’t the only person who noticed. This is truly a family.
We had Jessica Holmes from Royal Canadian Air Farce who started the conference with laughs and some tears, which I believe opened people up and encouraged them to show and feel emotions we do not normally express. It was a great way to start our conference.
We heard from our friends in the United States—Michele Jones and David Cox from National Insulation Association (NIA) on “Hidden Resources in Plain Sight”. We also shared some laughs and good stories with them.
We had Dr. Robyn Hanly-Dafoe who spoke about Resiliency & Wellness in Times of Uncertainty. This was a very informative and well done presentation on the characteristics of resilient people, ways to encourage resilience in our teams, and some great tips on how to manage strong and low feelings throughout difficult days. Dr. Hanly-Dafoe ended her presentation with a mind-blowing story that demonstrated just how much of an expert in resilience she is. The audience shed a few more tears, and this brought us all a little closer.
Then we heard from Tim Bieri of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers International about corrosion under insulation (CUI)
Our meetings were full of spirit and excitement because the people involved had great ideas and a ton of passion for this industry. I am always impressed by the way our membership can come together and work out difficult issues in collaborative, respectful ways as we all set our eye on the same prize—a better, more productive industry for all. We as a team are going to keep that momentum rolling.
I am very honoured to be able to lead this great team, and I look forward to continuing that momentum of ideas and passion as we move forward into the coming year. I am a collaborative leader. I am open to and encourage others’ opinion and thoughts on how to improve our industry and TIAC’s contributions to the industry as we move forward.
The next 12 months promise to be pivotal for our membership as the (nearly) post-pandemic business climate unfolds and the new normal becomes clearer for us all. No matter what comes our way, I am 100% confident our group has the passion, the commitment, and the business acumen to succeed. ▪
