The upcoming 2014 AGM in Ottawa will mark the end of my two-year term as Chair of the CIRI National Board. For those of you who, like me, wear corrective eyewear, serving as CIRI Chair is a little like getting one’s prescription updated; although you may have been able to see with your glasses, with a new set of lenses you suddenly discover what it is that you have been missing. I am therefore most thankful for the opportunity to serve in this role, as it has given me an entirely different perspective on the IR profession.

It has truly been a privilege and an honour to serve as CIRI’s Chair and I am pleased to ‘pass the gavel’ to the very talented and capable Meghan Brown. Meghan has a long history of service to CIRI with the BC Chapter and has been a member of the National Board since 2011. Meghan’s professional role is that of Director, Investor Relations at Endeavour Silver Corp. in Vancouver.

CIRI would not be the success it has become without the dedication of the CIRI National and Chapter Boards, the CIRI staff so capably led by Yvette Lokker, and the numerous volunteers who continually step up with their time and talent. Over the past two years there have been a number of accomplishments, many of them built upon the leadership of previous boards. The third class of CPIR candidates commenced in the fall of 2013 and we expect to be able to announce a new group of CPIR designation holders in the fall of 2014.

During the fall/winter of 2013/2014 a major initiative was launched to revamp the CIRI National By-laws and the newly named Chapter Operational Standards in order to ensure conformity with the new Canadian Not-for-profit (NFP) Corporations Act, which goes into effect in October 2014. A small, committed group of volunteers, including Ernie Stapleton, Karen Taylor, and David Carey, with their efforts coordinated by Yvette Lokker and Jane Maciel, spent countless hours to ensure CIRI’s new by-laws complied with the NFP Act.

Over the past two years there has been an explosion of proposed regulatory changes and CIRI has responded on behalf of its membership. Numerous submissions have been made on behalf of CIRI to regulators and although you may tire of seeing online surveys from CIRI, they are necessary to ensure we correctly portray the broad perspective of  our members.  

CIRI’s members have elected an exceptionally talented group of individuals to the National and Chapter Boards and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their support during my tenure as Chair. My thanks as well to Yvette Lokker and the CIRI National staff for their hard work and ongoing dedication to serving  CIRI’s membership. 

Finally, don’t forget to register for the upcoming Annual Conference, where I look forward to seeing you.