Partners For Excellence

Oct. 29, 2011

IECA’s Partners for Excellence Chapter awards program is designed to strengthen the value of membership in the association by strengthening its heart—the 16 regional IECA Chapters.

It features an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding achievements by individual chapters in the areas of member services, chapter management and education and outreach.

“The program encourages chapters to work together with IECA for the benefit of the erosion and sediment control profession,” says Meg Tully, CAE, association development director.  “It helps chapter officers with managing the chapter and its various program activities; making and implementing strategic plans; communicating with members, the industry, and the public; and working with members and recognizing their contributions to IECA and the industry.”

To win one of these awards, a chapter must complete a variety of activities throughout the year. Here, chapter leaders explain some of the factors that contributed to their accomplishments in earning their Partners for Excellence award.

Willing and Able Members
“Sometimes it sounds like a broken record, but ever since our chapter was established, we’ve been fortunate to have members who understand what IECA and our chapter are all about and want to promote the chapter as the industry’s venue for professional development and service in the region,” says Charles Riling, immediate past president of the Mid-Atlantic US Chapter.“ Even though our members may compete against one another in business, when it comes to IECA and chapter activities, we become one brotherhood, sharing common interests and goals.”

Teaming Up

One of the Southeast US Chapter’s goals last year was to present training workshops and educational events in each of the nine states within the chapter’s region. “The financial costs and workload to do that was a big hurdle for us,” says Beth Chesson, CPESC, CPSWQ, president of the Southeast US Chapter.  “Our members, especially our state representatives, worked hard to achieve that goal. But we’ve also established strong networks in each state and were able to team up with government agencies and private companies with interests similar to ours to help sponsor those events. It’s been a good strategy.”

The Northeast US Chapter used that same strategy to expand its educational program from an annual conference in 2006 to six events in three states in 2008. “Partnership. Partnership. Partnership. Joining forces,” says Christine Odiaga, CPESC, president of the chapter. “That’s what our members asked for, so that’s what we’re doing. Last year, we worked with several groups, include the Rhode Island Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. This year, we’re teaming up with the Northeast Shore and Beach Preservation Association on a coastal conference at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in September.  For our 2009 annual conference (October 27–28 in Hartford, Connecticut), we’re getting input from the Connecticut conservation districts, and we’re looking into other partnerships as well for events in other states.”

Better Educational Opportunities
One of the goals of the Western US Chapter last year was to strengthen its professional development opportunities by putting on a pair of two-day technology transfer workshops on native revegetation techniques. “Instead of a typical series of case study presentations and/or how-to training lectures, we experimented with a new debate format designed to challenge conventional seeding practices,” reports chapter president Peter McRae. “It was a little scary because no formal agenda of speaker topics was featured on the second day of the workshops. However, we encouraged participants to challenge what had been presented and to contribute their own topics and technology solutions for discussion. The format was very well received.”

Meanwhile, the Australasia Chapter is focused on improving the value of its newsletter, which is published three times a year. Last year the chapter began offering an electronic version in addition to a print version.  “Also, we’re trying to include more case studies and technical information in each issue,” says Michael Frankcombe, president of the chapter. “We want to provide the kind of information that members can use in their work.”

Reaching out to Members
The Australasia Chapter notifies members in its far-flung regions of Australia and New Zealand by e-mail of upcoming training opportunities, such as a field day, conference, or short-course sponsored by the chapter or other erosion control–related organizations. “We don’t want to bug people,”  Frankcombe says.  “But, we want to stay in touch with our members regularly so that they know our chapter is here, offering information that may help them.”

At the same time, the chapter’s directors also contact new members in their individual areas to explain the chapter’s programs and activities and to provide a personal touch.

The Western Chapter has ambassadors in various areas of its region with the goal of encouraging members in those areas to become more active in the chapter by meeting regularly on an informal basis.

Serving the Industry
Last year, the Western Chapter sent two of its members to present courses at an international erosion control conference in Brazil, sponsored by its sister chapter, the Iberoamerican Chapter. The Western Chapter also funded a dinner where Western Chapter members met with leaders of its sister chapter to discuss ideas for future Iberoamerican Chapter programs and
activities.

In 2008, the Australasia Chapter began publishing a new four-part manual, Best Practices Erosion and Sediment Control. Developed by Grant Witheridge, the author of the original Institute of Engineers Erosion and Sediment Control Guidelines for Queensland, this information will be referenced in the state of Queensland legislation, Frankcombe notes. “It’s the most comprehensive guidelines for controlling erosion and sediment available in our region today,” he says. “The fact sheets that go with Volume 4 will be available from our Web site, and these will be updated regularly as new information comes to hand.”

In December 2008, the Malaysia Chapter organized and presented a three-day workshop on community participation in mangrove eco-engineering. It was sponsored by the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia. Noraini Tamin, president of the chapter, discussed the principles of mangrove eco-engineering, while Roslan Hashim, chapter secretary, explained coastal engineering practices. Following these presentations, members of the local community received hands-on training in applying these principles and practices. The participants collected seedlings and made plant plugs, which they used to prepare vegetated coir logs for controlling erosion in the mangrove stands. In the final step, they actually installed the coir logs. Following the fieldwork and a written exam,  the community members received certificates for their participation in the workshop.

The Mid-Atlantic Chapter continues to serve the industry by helping to organize and provide speakers as a partner or sponsor with other erosion-related organizations in workshops, conferences, and other educational activities. “We offer our chapter as a service group to others who want to learn about erosion and sediment control and improving water quality,” Riling says.

The Southeast Chapter uses some of the money generated by its workshops to provide scholarships for college students and erosion control professionals. Last year, it awarded two $1,500 college scholarships to two students pursuing erosion-related studies and provided $1,000 to each of three erosion control professionals to help defray the costs of attending the annual IECA Environmental Connection conference.

Administrative Help
In addition to Australasia, which has had a paid administrative staff member for several years, two of the 2009 award-winning chapters established similar positions.

“This part-time position frees chapter directors from routine administrative tasks, which none of us were doing well, to spend time in planning our programs,” McRae says. “The idea is to have someone who can spend some time each month on administration and who can handle most of the details involved with putting on a workshop or regional conference from time to time.”

The Northeast Chapter also has hired an administrative assistant on a part-time basis. “There are a lot of things that our chapter could have been doing better,” says Odiaga. “But our leaders haven’t had the time to do so. This assistant will help us get better organized and improve our services.”

Thinking Big
The first step to achieving a goal is deciding to do so in the first place. “It’s amazing how much our volunteers have been able to accomplish, including several previous Partners for Excellence awards,” says Chesson. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it. However, the top prize, the Rick Granard Award of Distinction, is still very much our goal. We’re a bit competitive. We want that award!”