COMMUNITY AWARENESS COMMITTEE
2018 was an exceptionally busy and exciting year for the Community Awareness Committee!
A number of initiatives were completed through the year. These included:
- The hiring of a second Community Awareness Ambassador – Terry Emslie; Terry started in June and this position was completed in partnership on a cost sharing basis with Alberta One Call;
- The participation of a number of special events and trade shows;
- The establishment of a new EAPUOC website;
- The establishment of six fact sheets for distribution at the various event types we attend;
- The establishment/launch/coordination of a Twitter account;
- The establishment of a new power point presentation, inclusive of new photographs;
- The establishment of a new, fresh GRONK appearance;
- The establishment of a new letterhead;
- The creation and acquisition of a new display unit and table skirt for use at the events we attend;
- The running of website ads;
- The running of website good news stories;
- The launch of an e-manual application (app);
- Established/built synergies with Alberta One-Call Corporation, the Alberta Common Ground Alliance and other organizations;
- The execution of a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta Common Ground Alliance (ABCGA) in March; through the year EAPUOC has supported several legislative initiatives in conjunction with ABCGA;
- Bill S-229 (Underground Infrastructure Safety Enhancement Act that will create a federal notification system);
- Bill 211 (Alberta Underground Infrastructure Notification System Consultation Act);
- The agreement of a reduction in the charge of digital or e-manuals from $4.50 to $2.00 with ABCGA (effective January 1st, 2019). This reduction was based on feedback from ABCGA Training Standards Committee;
Kent Taylor struck and spearheaded a Manual Review and HDD Guidelines Committee who, for the past twelve months, has been diligently working towards revising and updating the verbiage in the current Manual and the insertion of much needed HDD information.
Judy McBride is currently busy coordinating the April 16th, 2019 Safety Seminar and Trade Show. The Theme of the event “40 Years Later…….” is in recognition of the March 2nd, 1979 Millwoods explosion which subsequently resulted in the establishment of EAPUOC. I encourage the members to assist in spreading the word of this event so it is well attended. If you’d like to obtain further information on the function, order tickets or set up a booth in the trade show, please contact Judy directly.
The Community Awareness Committee will be addressing a number of items in 2019 that were started this year. These include updating the GRONK coloring book, the acquisition of a new mascot costume and the continuation of social media activities such as the good new stories, ads and the promotion of the Safety Seminar and Trade Show to name a few. In looking towards new activities in 2019, we will be looking at the creation of a new video, the establishment of short you-tube videos, the completion of EAPUOC’s map and the continuation of social media campaigns. A major undertaking that will take place early in the year will be contributing to a “learning manual exercise” for Ground Disturbance 201 material with ABCGA. The EAPOUC manual will be compared to other materials currently used in the course. An outcome of this exercise will be a recommendation on the training materials that will be used for this course in the future.
In closing I’d like to thank Torque Communications for their assistance over the past sixteen months with our branding and marketing initiatives and also recognize the Members of the Community Awareness and Manual Review and HDD Guidelines Committees for all their time, hard work and dedication through 2018.
Respectfully Submitted
Lee Fisher, Chair
Community Awareness Committee