2010 Council Election

Since graduating a UK engineering apprenticeship program as a manufacturing production engineer, I have worked exclusively in the engineering consulting field (since 1981 in Calgary).

Based out of Calgary, I have filled most engineering team roles, including designer, discipline specialist, engineering lead, project manager and now manager of projects for Worley Parsons Heavy Oil Business Unit.

My wife Sue and I have two children, both born here in Calgary. Our son is a process engineer at WorleyParsons, and our daughter works with troubled youth in the health services field and is taking her youth counseling degree at Mount Royal University.

My ASET Membership   

I challenged a negative evaluation of my application for ASET membership in 1990 on the basis of documented overseas and Canadian engineering experience, successfully writing my R.E.T exams in 1992. 

In 1999, with the advent of the R.P.T. (Eng.) category of APEGGA membership, and with the encouragement of then ASET Registrar Don Byers, I volunteered for the ASET R.P.T. (Eng.) Nominating Committee, which I now chair.

In 2006 I let my name stand as an ASET councillor, and would like to thank members for their vote of confidence in me then and now. Since joining council I have worked to assist in setting the direction of the association so as to deliver solid professional service in the registration of Technology professionals and stewarding the interests of the public, government, industry and our members, and via CCCT membership the interests of Technology within Canada and our International relationships. 

The coming year   

I look forward to taking on the presidency this year and leading the organization and our membership into the brave new world of being a functioning professional association. It will not be easy, in fact the heavy lifting is still ahead of us, executing our responsibilities as a professional organization and providing leadership and assistance to our membership to transition from voluntary society membership to their new professional membership responsibilities. 

I believe that council and your association's staff have many activities and initiatives planned or in the early stages of execution that will be rolled out this year to keep our members out in front when it comes to providing technology services to others within the province and across Canada.  This is a debt owed by us all to the efforts of past council members, staff and volunteers, and as a member I truly wish to thank the efforts put in by others so that I now find myself taking over the reins of a very well run team.

Where you the membership can help, I encourage young and old members alike to put their names forward to volunteer for ASET in whatever role you may have interest in, likewise I ask you to provide contact information to ASET of colleagues you think makes a difference in your workplace, this as we must continue to mine our membership for those who make things happen (quietly in the back room as well as on the front page) and get them into the family of volunteers that really make our association run.

I am honoured by my nomination for the position of First Vice President for ASET. I have served on Council for the last 3 years, and prior to my election as a Councillor and Second Vice President I served on the Registration Board for four years. During my tenure on Council, I have had the opportunity to participate on the Legislation Committee and the National Environment Committee.

Since graduating from NAIT, I worked in the engineering consulting field for 17 years with the majority of my experience in the environmental area. I am currently the Area Environmental Manager for the Western Canadian Division of Peter Kiewit Sons Co. with responsibilities associated with environmental management for major construction projects in Alberta. Prior to my position with Kiewit I was the Corporate Environmental Manager for Lilydale Inc. with responsibility for environmental issues for six primary poultry manufacturing facilities and three hatcheries across western Canada. Over the course of my career I have gained invaluable experience working on a wide variety of projects including construction materials engineering projects, project management of environmental site assessments/remediation, regulatory affairs and design of environmental management systems . Each project has had challenges, both fiscal and technical, and it has been a source of great satisfaction to successfully meet each new challenge and to accumulate many new skills through working with individuals from a wide variety of disciplines.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the process culminating in proclamation of the legislation enacting ASET to be a self regulatory professional association.

In 2010 I would be honoured to represent the membership to the best of my ability as First Vice President and will strive to be an effective advocate for our members as we transition to our new roles under the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Amendment Act.

I was surprised and honoured to be nominated for a position on the ASET Council Executive as Second Vice President. As a councillor for the previous two years and almost 12 years as a Chapter Chair in both Grande Prairie and Yellowknife, I have become very familiar with the current issues facing ASET and its members, and look forward to continuing this challenging opportunity. Having been a part of Council I believe I can bring strong support and knowledge in providing a new direction for the association now that ASET is Premier Regulator of Technology Professionals in Alberta.

Since graduating from the from Civil Engineering Technology (Municipal/Water Resources) from Lethbridge Community College in 1986, I have worked for a variety of consultants, contractors and two levels of government which has given me insight into the issues facing different technical areas. This has also allowed me to work with a large number of technologists and technicians in varying capacities and disciplines. I have been certified since 1990 with OACETT and then subsequently in 1995 with ASET. In 2005 I obtained my R.E.T. designation and my Professional Licensee (Eng) with APEGGA in 2009.

In my current position with Alberta’s first regional utility operator (Aquatera Utilities Ltd), I have been able to continue my professional development while also being involved in the challenges of a new utility servicing model within the province. This has also allowed me to interact directly with the development, consulting and contracting businesses on numerous varied issues, giving me a greater appreciation of the long term planning and goal setting, which are strengths I will be able to bring to the ASET Council.

Additionally through my most recent work with both the City of Grande Prairie and Aquatera I have received recognition for both dedication and implementation of existing and new technologies. Dedication and a strong work ethic are additional strengths I believe I can provide to ASET members as Second Vice President.

In closing I look forward to serving both the Association and its members for the value ASET members bring to industry and the professionalism the members bring to the public. Thank you for your support and if elected I will strive to continue the good work of all the previous ASET Councils.

After immigrating to Canada from India in 1967, I have spent a total of 36 years in the oil and gas industry. I worked with the Alberta Government Services in Alberta, Toronto, and NWT, before joining Imperial Oil in Norman Wells. In 1984, I moved to Cold Lake where I worked as a Shift Engineer/Shift Leader with Imperial Oil until retirement in 2003. Currently I’m a Director of Accounting Plus Ltd. and have taken up volunteering on a full-time basis.

Volunteering has always been an important part of my life—I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be able to give back. Since 1996, I have been the Chapter Chair for the Cold Lake chapter of ASET where I coordinate the association’s efforts with events, trade shows, and school presentations. I also invigilate examinations for ASET and administer the presentations of bursaries and scholarships. In addition, I re-initiated the ASET Silver Jubilee Awards which are presented to top technicians at 4 Wing Cold Lake and Aeronautical Engineering Test Establishment. I also served as ASET Councillor in 2007.

Volunteering with ASET is only one aspect of my activities. In the Cold Lake community, I am the current President of the Lakeland United Way, the President of Islamic Society of Cold Lake, the Chair and Treasurer of Victim Services, the Chair and Treasurer of Cold Lake Community Learning, a Board Member of the Wild Rose Foundation, a member of the Selection Committee for the Alberta Volunteer Award, and a Director with the Cold Lake Regional Chamber Of Commerce. I am also a Director of the Friends of the Lakeland Alberta Winter Games, scheduled for 2010.

I have received some recognitions including being inducted into the Volunteer Wall of Fame at the Alberta Legislature in 2001, receiving the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award in 2003, the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005, the City of Cold Lake Ambassador award in 2006, the Human Rights Award in 2007 and was a finalist for the Direct Energy Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award in 2007.

I am honored to be nominated for Councillor, to serve on the ASET Council. As a member of ASET, I have been recognized as an R.E.T. since 1992. Most recently, I was the Edmonton Chapter Chair for the 2007-2009 period and continue to be involved with the Chapter. I served on the Joint ASET/APEGGA Golf Committee for the Edmonton Chapter for the past two years and will be the committee chair for the 2010 Joint Charity Tournament. Over the past two years this charity golf tournament has helped raise more than $15,000 for ETSFA and the APEGGA Education Foundation.

In addition, I volunteer as the ASET representative on two Alberta Education’s Diploma Examination Advisory Committees, one for English Language Arts/ Social Studies and the other for Mathematics/ Sciences. I also enjoy meeting and talking to people at career fairs when staffing the ASET display.

I am extremely interested in how the Continuous Development Program will be rolled out and used by our members. I am sure that I can help our members in this area. I feel I can contribute and help ASET Council achieve its goals by serving on your Council.

I have been in the telecommunications industry for over 33 years and reached my 30^th Service Year milestone in October, 2009 with TELUS Communications. Now that is both a shared commitment and a fantastic career.

For the past 10 years, I have been a member of TELUS’ Technology Strategy team where I am responsible for voice messaging system design standards, architectures, and first office applications. I have been leading multi-discipline, cross-departmental technical teams responsible for implementing and integrating an IP Messaging system into TELUS’ network. Almost one million residential, small business and large enterprise voice mail customers are presently being served through this system.

The skills I have learned in such a large and successful organization are easily transferable to the public area with ASET. I humbly ask for your support as a Councillor for ASET.

I graduated from Instrumentation Technology at NAIT in 1972, and worked for ESSO Resources for the next 18 years. After a "Golden Hand Shake " from them I incorporated my company Electro Spection Polytechnics Corporation (ESP) and obtained service contracts with: Novacor Chemical at Red Deer's Engineering and Construction services (E&CS); Gulf Canada at Zama; Shell at Caroline; Amerada Hess at Rocky Mountain House; Apache at Leaf Land; Husky at Ram River and Black Stone Plants; and with the Red Deer Remand Centre (Electrical contract).

Health problems forced my retirement four years ago but I stay active in the community. This year I finished six years as Chair of the Red Deer chapter of ASET and still serve as Treasurer. I also finished a two-year term as President of the EIAA (Electrical Inspectors Association) and was elected Vice President of the AEL (Alberta Electrical League).

During my time with ESSO I worked as maintenance technician, construction Supervisor, Quality assurance Technologist, and Computer Systems Specialist on many of ESSO's highest profile, leading edge projects of the time.

I am dual certified as R.E.T. in Instrumentation and C.E.T. in Electrical. In addition, in the late 1980s, I co-authored a CSA standard that is still in effect today.

Having been a member of ASET for 34 years as well as an active volunteer, I believe in the importance of a strong professional association. I have the dedication and time to commit to this job, at this important time in ASET history.

George Al Haddad is a R.E.T. who is currently working as an Automation Technologist/ Electronic Team Leader at UT Technology, an Edmonton based company that researches, develops and manufactures ultrasound inspection instruments for pipelines. He works in depth with PXI equipment and is versed in both LabVIEW and text-based programming languages. George has a Diploma in Industrial Computers from Lebanon, and achieved the second highest grade in Lebanon in 2004. George moved to Edmonton in 2004 to further his education in Canada and started a position with UT Technology just 4 months after arriving in Canada. Since starting with UT Technology in 2005, George has received the highest level of NI certification (Certified LabVIEW Architect certificate). George is also currently enrolled at NAIT in the BTech course.

As an ASET Member since 2008, George has volunteered for ASET trade shows and was recently involved in the Edmonton chapter. George has also been involved at NAIT on the advisory board for electronic and electrical school and implementing curriculum for a new program. For the past two years George has volunteered for the Alberta First Lego League, last year as a judge and this year as part of the organization committee.

George currently lives in Edmonton with his wife and one and a half year old daughter, who he loves spending time with whenever he can. He likes to play golf and hunt in his spare time. He has also been the president of the Condominium board that he currently resides in for the past three years.

Why am I running for Council? Perhaps it is my passion, or curiosity, or a relentless desire to be involved, or the nudge from my fellow ASET members. I thrive on contributing my time, skills and energy to leading positive change and I’m eager to take on this new challenge. 

I grew up on a farm near Barrhead, Alberta and graduated from NAIT as a Mechanical Engineering Technologist and ASET Scholarship winner. As a member of ASET, my career has been diverse working in central, eastern and northern Alberta in upstream oil and gas, manufacturing, plant maintenance, and environmental management. In 2005, I followed my passion for continual learning to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario where I completed my engineering degree in a program specifically designed for technologists wishing to expand their knowledge in engineering and science. I met technologists from across Canada and gained a tremendous insight into how our sister associations in other provinces handle issues that impact their members. As winner of the 2007 TD Meloche Monnex scholarship, I enjoy giving back to the organization that has been so supportive of me. Currently, I am a Pipeline Integrity Project Manager at Enbridge Pipelines in Edmonton, working with a team of Technologists and Engineers.

My ‘relentless desire to be involved’ is clearly visible through my voluntary contributions; Secretary of the ASET Edmonton Chapter for the past 2-1/2 years; member of the ASET Awards Committee for the past 3 years; member of APEGGA’s Edmonton Branch in 2008-09; key-note speaker for the GoEngGirl event at Lakehead University in 2007, and Manager of a Women’s hockey team for 5 years. Involvement in a variety of organizations has allowed me to build strong networks and increase my accessibility to you, the members, and to the public.     

As an ASET Councillor, I would serve you with honesty and integrity. Being a member of both ASET and APEGGA gives me a bilateral perspective that I can contribute as ASET takes its first steps into the world of self-regulation. I’m a proponent of diversity and strongly believe in the words of Dr. Linus Pauling: “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” Thus, I am an advocate of both ASET and APEGGA and believe each organization has vital roles to play in Alberta’s success. I am enthusiastic and proud to have this opportunity ahead of me.

Born in Edmonton and raised in Leduc, Alberta, I am a native Albertan with most of my working career in Edmonton and Calgary. My post secondary education began with two years of science at the University of Alberta followed by a two-year Engineering Design and Drafting Technology Diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. I embrace life long learning and have followed up the NAIT program with continuing education from NAIT, SAIT, and Mount Royal College in the subjects of design, computer technology, world wide web, and technical writing. I’m currently working on project management training. I gained ASET’s C.E.T. status in 1981, the R.E.T. designation in 1988, and have worked as an engineering technologist and project co-ordinator my whole career.

As a long time ASET member, I have been an avid supporter of technologists in the workplace.  My contributions to ASET and its members include:

• Exam development for C.E.T. candidates.
• Served three years on the R.E.T. Joint Registration Board (ASET & APEGGA).
• Served two periods as committee member with C.C.T.T.’s Canadian Technology Accreditation Board (C.T.A.B.) reviewing SAIT’s application and subsequent review of one of its technology programs.
• Represented ASET at trade shows.
• Served four years as Chair of Calgary Chapter, where I developed the current structure of Director portfolios and support roles.
• Serving seventh year as Director for Technical Tours for Calgary Chapter with ninety three tours organized to date.
• Worked with various activities in Calgary Chapter such as the annual golf tournament (photographer/MC), curling bonspiel, and MC of the AGM volunteer reception.
• Recipient of the ASET ‘Inukshuk’ Volunteer of the Year Award, 2006.

I feel very flattered to have received the nomination nod for the role of ASET Councillor. My strengths are planning, organizing, communicating, and decision making. If elected to this position, I will strive to support all progress that has been made to date by the Association, and to think outside of the box to keep ASET moving forward as a leader in Canada.

Specific initiatives that I support include:

• Equal pay and equal opportunities for women technologists.
• Support and opportunities for First Nations people entering the field of science and engineering technology.
• Assistance programs for new Canadian technologists integrating into the Alberta workplace.
• Relevant professional development for technologists.
• Leadership training for technologists assuming higher levels of responsibility.
• Canada wide standardization of technologist’s education and professional certification.
• More progress for technologists’ legal and professional recognition in the engineering and science professions.
• Further improvement of relationships between ASET and other professional organizations.

I have held leadership positions in other organizations, the most recent of which is Commander and Executive Officer of the Calgary squadron of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons. I’ve also been a canoe instructor, fitness leader, fitness appraiser, lifeguard, and swim instructor. In my leisure time, you will find me pursuing sailing, bicycle touring, mountain biking, canoe & kayak touring, SCUBA diving, back packing, back country skiing, photography, reading, and travelling the world.

I hope that my fellow technologists see me as a leader who strikes a healthy balance between a professional career and personal life, and will show their support by placing their ‘X’ beside my name on the ballot.