Page 56 - GBC winter 2015

Associate Publisher • Nathalie Lavallée
I was recently speaking to a friend who works at a national trade association in Ottawa, and she mentioned that they are restructuring some of their benefits because their membership is asking for more education. As we head into our annual Conference, one of our key educational pillars for members, it got me wondering if we are providing enough, too much or just the right amount of education to our membership.
We have several national and regional educational opportunities but are we hitting the mark for you?
Take our Regional Chapter Meetings for starters. These are held in all of our chapters at various times throughout the year with a main focus on sharing what’s new in your region. From government legislation updates, to health and safety guides, to energy efficient tips and so much more. Guest speakers are often invited to address these topics and almost always on the agenda is a round table discussion that allows attendees to discuss issues of the day and work collectively at making the industry stronger in that region.
Continuing with our regional focus is our Chapter Spring Warm Up Events which are held between February and April each year in our eight chapters. Some of the more central chapters will host one large event, whereas other more geographically spread out chapters have adopted the ‘travelling road show’ concept to try and connect with as many members as possible in that chapter.
Although the agendas change each year, the educational focus of these events is to get you ready for the upcoming season. A few of the larger events have a mini trade show where our Golfmax suppliers present solutions for your season and offer fantastic ‘day only’ specials.
Education Is Key
Our award-winning publication, Golf Business Canada (voted best association magazine by the Canadian Society of Association Executives) aims to provide you with non-commercial articles to help you grow your business. Regardless of the department, we strive to provide you with how to’s, guides, and tools to help propel your business to greater success.
As you open up this issue of the magazine, the 15th edition of the Golf Business Canada Conference & Trade Show will be in full swing in Toronto. I hope that you are reading this while at the Conference but if you weren’t able to join us or have never been to the Conference, here is what it’s all about: three days of formal and informal education.
We bring in expert speakers that give you the tools to do things better or differently in the future and they provide expense management and revenue generation ideas. We have round table discussions where operators exchange proven ideas that have been successful at their course (why re-invent the wheel?). The ‘informal’ education happens during the social hours. I like to describe it as tens of thousands of dollars in free consulting.
I have really just skimmed the surface on describing all of these educational opportunities but I’m a true believer that if we aren’t learning, we aren’t growing! I would love to hear from you about how we can best address your educational needs. Are we doing enough? Would you like to see more education from us and if so, what would that be? Please email me at nlavallee@ngcoa.ca or
call me at 866-626-4262.
Please make sure to say hello if you are in Toronto for the Conference.
Nathalie Lavallée Chief Operating Officer NGCOA Canada nlavallee@ngcoa.ca
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