NECA

Future Leaders Gather At Reinvigorated Conference In Chicago

The Future Leaders Conference held last month reflects our efforts to reinvigorate our program for the development of the younger generation for executive positions in NECA-member companies and possible leadership roles within our association. Evaluations for the conference were very positive about NECA’s renewed interest in its Future Leaders – reflected by the fact that every single participant indicated interest in attending subsequent meetings.

This meeting began with a Welcome Reception in the evening. The next two days afforded participants the op- portunity to network with their peers, attend stimulating educational programs on financial planning, and learn about a new website being created to attract the younger generation to the electrical contracting industry.

Participants also broke into small groups to brainstorm about some of the emerging trends that will impact the electrical contracting industry in the next five to ten years. In addition, NECA President Ben Cook and CEO John Grau answered questions about how our organization could be more responsive to the needs of the younger generation, and the Future Leaders offered their opinions about policies and programs that could assist them in being more successful contractors and also cultivate the next generation of NECA leaders.

CEO John Grau was very pleased with the outcome of the conference, noting that “We are confident that this meeting met the needs of most of the Future Leaders since the agenda and schedule of events were created by a Future Leaders Task Force with representation from different regions of the country.”

The Task Force Members are Ed Witt, Jr. (Miller Electric, Jacksonville, FL) from NECA’s Southern Region; Jay Bruce (Bruce & Merrilees Electric, New Castle, PA) from the Eastern Region; David Witz (Continental Electrical Construction, Skokie, IL) from the Midwestern Region; and Karl Jensen (West Side Electric, Portland, OR) from the Western Region.

What’s Next? The Future Leaders will next meet at our Convention in Los Angeles for an informal reception, and plans are already underway for the 2005 Future Leaders Conference, which will be held in the spring in Jacksonville, Florida. Anyone interested in being placed on the mailing list to be notified about future events for Future Leaders should call Stuart Binstock, executive director of NECA’s Management Education Institute, at 301-215-4523, or e-mail him at sbinstock@necanet.org