With 2012’s annual and 2013’s first quarter reporting seasons behind most of us; we are in the midst of AGM season, which from a calendar perspective reminds us of the upcoming CIRI Annual Conference to be held June 2-4 in beautiful Whistler, B.C. The Annual Conference is not only an opportunity to network with fellow IR practitioners and vendors, it is also a forum for us to discuss what it is we do, why it is we do it and how perhaps we could do it better. The theme of this year’s Conference is Rise to the Challenge: A Higher Standard of IR and the conference organizing committee has put together a dynamite agenda of sessions and social events.

The Annual Conference is an opportunity for IR practitioners to connect with others who support the best of IR practices and empathize with the challenges we face daily. There is, among our membership, a wealth of expertise and the Annual Conference is the largest forum to gain exposure to this expertise, as well as many external experts in ancillary and related fields. 

Tom Enright used to extol the virtues of participation and not merely attendance at the Annual Conference. After attending numerous conferences, I think I understand what Tom means. I encourage you to actively participate in and not merely observe the Annual Conference, not only in the sessions and with your fellow practitioners, but also in the exhibit hall. In addition to providing valuable IR related services, many in the vendor community support CIRI through direct and indirect sponsorship, and a vendor may just provide you with a creative solution to an IR-related challenge that your organization faces.    

I look forward to participating with you in the CIRI Annual Conference in Whistler in early June.