An update from the ACA National Executive Committee
The ACA National Executive met in February for a highly productive day of discussion and planning. John Held reports on the day.
The National Executive met for two days in Melbourne this month. It is four years since the ACA launched its new strategic plan and embarked on a new strategic direction that focused on the “Business of Architecture”. It was therefore fitting that the meeting measured progress, looked to the future and decided on a number of changes to structures to meet our future needs. We are pleased to report that progress has been strong, with many new and highly successful initiatives developed in recent years.
On the second day we were joined by the state Executive Officers, along with the team who regularly work with us on website, editing, industrial relations, webinars and IT. It is the first time the whole group has met face-to-face and it was a most productive day, with a number of excellent outcomes.
The committee has appointed Sascha Byrne, the SA Executive Officer, as national projects coordinator to allow better management of deadlines and release dates. This will ensure that project-based work can remain the responsibility of state branches, while also ensuring a coherent and timely approach at a national level. Sascha is also working with Jeff Beach to implement a new member management system nationally.
Katherine Ygosse, who manages the ACA Webinar series, has also agreed to take on the role of sponsorship coordinator. Susie Ashworth, who currently assists Justine Clark with editing and website, will now also take on more writing duties.
The NEC also looked at constitution, and proposed to increase the size of the National Executive by having two representatives from each branch on the executive – the branch president and one other nominee. This will assist in the transition between officeholders and allow more diversity within the group.
A special thanks goes to Steve Kennedy for chairing this complex and exciting meeting!