New Initiatives

by Jason Seanger
President, MEA Board of Directors

I am honored to be taking on the role of President of the MEA Board of Directors for the upcoming year and I want to thank Tony Enger for doing a great job during his term.

The association has undergone a few fairly large transitions and is gearing up to find new and improved ways to serve the electrical industry. We had a great set of meetings at our past April Conference and I wanted to share with you a few items as we head into the busy construction season:

Safety

Keep safety at the forefront of your mind while juggling multiple projects and busy schedules. I find that providing safe work environments for my employees and communicating it to them often helps me retain those star employees who value good company business practices.

Code Changing in July

With a new code comes a new exam. I know how much we are all looking for great talent especially licensed electricians. If you have apprentices who are close to testing for their JW exam, now would be the time to encourage them to do so. If they need any prep prior to testing, MEA can definitely help. The exam has recently been revised – questions that previously required multiple answers were removed and the test now only contains one-answer questions.

Online Contractor’s Webinars

When I don’t have the time to search numerous websites or call multiple companies for the answer that I need to run my business, I turn to MEA. They have a library of webinars available 24/7 on a wide variety of topics from Lien Rights or Energy Code Training to Employment Law and FLSA Regulations. If there are additional topics that you want advice on, they will search for an industry expert and get you the information that you need.

At the April business conference, the MEA staff also shared a few key projects that are in the works. We are hoping to roll out some of these new initiatives in the next couple of months. A database for our registered apprenticeship program and completion of an auto-dues system through our website top the list of priorities. MEA members are invited to join us in June for the Annual Building Day (more details soon). We have a great time doing small projects around the building while sharing stories over lunch.

I am fortunate to have an excellent team of contractors leading the association with me. Keep an eye out for the new and exciting initiatives that we have in the works.