Happy New Year! I hope you are able to start 2017 feeling fresh and ready for what will come. What will AMC do for you in 2017? Engage! Advocate! Support!
As communicated at the annual general meeting, the theme for 2017 is engagement and expansion.
A Stronger Foundation
We have a refreshed website where we post information about our industry and latest events. If you have not yet done so, please set up your member profile so you can manage your contact information but also access industry briefings, meeting reports, and other tools meant to support your business. We established a social media strategy (including Twitter and LinkedIn) to engage with federal and provincial decision makers (politicians and public servants) as well as agriculture equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
As we did in June 2015, we will be employing Nanos Research to do a membership survey in the spring/summer. The results of the survey will identify what areas you value, how AMC is delivering to your needs and what may require further consideration. The results of this survey will allow us to continue evolving our services and programs. The response rate in June 2015 was ~20% and given the discussions I have had with members since, I’m confident we can get a higher response. To be clear, we provide benefits based on your input, so it is not just important, but it is the foundation on which we evaluate and evolve our services and programs.
A Stronger Voice
Another new activity in 2017 is the establishment of advisory committees in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The chairs you will recall are: Geof Gray (Salford Industries), Gary Anderson (founder of AGI), Gavin Semple (Brandt Industries) and Mel Svendsen (formerly of Standens Industries). Each chair is a key leader in our industry and has accepted the role to help grow our overall industry. AMC is being consulted and invited to attend key meetings with the federal and provincial governments – I will be working with the chairs to validate our industry positions but to ensure we are addressing and managing issues proactively.
Preparing For A Great Year
As of April 1, AMC’s office will cease to be at the Stockmen’s Arena. Since coming on board in March 2015, I have evaluated our overhead costs and with the board’s support, AMC will operate virtually as of April 1, 2017. Given the amount of time and physical location of our members, this means that the dollars coming into AMC are being used to provide you value versus paying for office space.
Last but not least, after 13 years of our membership fees remaining the same, we made the decision to increase them in 2017. The increase was done considering the new benefits being offered members and the strategic plan. For those who have paid their 2017 membership fees – thank you.
In closing, there are various ways to engage and expand our industry voice in 2017:
Wishing you a productive, happy and prosperous 2017.
Leah
Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada