MEMBER Q&A
Do SHCA members have business advantages over
non-members?
TN: If you look at it, being a member of SHCA isn’t the end-all, be-all. But
it’s what you make of it, just like anything. It’s another tool that you could
have in your arsenal to help you achieve success. AECON needed the opportunity
for our company to be engaged in the industry to help our business
grow, despite challenges we faced.
SHCA membership is a great conduit for us to be able to access the government
when we need to voice our concerns. The association is a great advocate
that non-members might not understand.
If someone in the industry in Saskatchewan wasn’t
participating in SHCA because they didn’t think it
would benefit them, what would you tell them?
TN: Honestly, I’d tell them that’s a short-sighted, narrow point of view. I
come from Saskatchewan; I was born and raised here. The province is very
much a “mom ’n’ pop” province; they are resistant to accept big business
and the cost of an SHCA membership might be considered a lot of money
to those individuals.
But you need to take more of a big-picture, forward-looking stance on
how you’re going to operate your business. SHCA operates without bias;
they’re dedicated to serving the interest of the industry as a whole. If for no
other reason, join because of the access that SHCA provides to members
of government, the Ministry of Highways staff. Be part of that interaction
and dialogue. After all, they’re the other partner in this partnership that a
large amount of this industry’s business is based on.
What’s the single greatest benefit of belonging
to SHCA?
TN: I’m a former member of the SHCA board for three years; I stepped off
last year but one of my colleagues is now on the board. The main reason we
feel it’s so important to be active in the association is because of the conduit
that’s there to the people that you’re doing work for. We do a large portion
of work, as lots of contractors do, for the government. SHCA provides
access to be able to work with the government on policies, including overarching
big issues that affect the entire industry to specific committees that
deal with specifications or challenges or contracts.
And personally, I enjoy being involved. I think it’s a great industry with
a great group of folks.
Interested in learning more about becoming a member
and putting SHCA to work for you? Call the SHCA office
at 306-586-1805 or visit www.saskheavy.ca.
DOTSHOCK/123RF
“If for no other reason, join because
of the access that SHCA provides
to members of government, the
Ministry of Highways staff.”
10 | Quarter 1 2020 | saskheavy.ca
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/www.saskheavy.ca
/saskheavy.ca