January 2008 Issue
NEWS
Assistant Directors Hired
to Meet Demand in Regulatory Roles
New Members of APEGGA Management Team Cite
Association’s Reputation
as Drawing Card
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Frank Perich, P.Eng. |
Park Powell, P.Eng. |
Two longtime APEGGA members and former civil servants are rounding out their careers with key positions on the Association management team. And after only a few weeks in the Edmonton office, both had gained respect for an organization they already admired.
“I knew this was a great organization beforehand,” said Frank Perich, P.Eng., Assistant Director, Compliance. “But I’m surprised by how much greater an organization it is than I thought.” APEGGA stands out in its professionalism, camaraderie, and national and international leadership, he said.
Adds Park Powell, P.Eng., Assistant Director, Registration: “Everyone I’ve met here has been professional and positive. The people are just tremendous and the atmosphere is great. It’s just a delight.
“I thought I had a dream job before, but this is even better.”
Unprecedented growth in membership applications, the hot Alberta economy and the strategies of Council combine to make the two new positions necessary.
The Compliance Department focuses on non-member companies and individuals — those that practice or hold themselves out as practicing but aren’t actually licensed. It enforces right-to-practice and right-to-title provisions in the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act.
Mr. Perich joins Dave Todd, P.Eng., Director, Compliance. When fully staffed, the department also has two investigators and four support staff.
Mr. Todd said: “The economic boom means huge numbers of new people are working and setting up shop in Alberta, and we have to be more vigilant than ever in making sure those who practice or claim to practice our professions are actually licensed.
“Frank has a great appreciation for how important compliance is, and he brings a knowledge and skill set that’s perfect for this new position.”
More Eyes, More Ears
Council has set the staff target at 100 per cent compliance in Alberta. “I have always felt that our members need to be the eyes and ears of APEGGA, making sure that those who claim to be engineers and geoscientists are actually in compliance,” said Mr. Perich, a transportation engineer who’s worked for the province, the City of Calgary and the City of Edmonton.
He believes members should use their designations with pride, to help build a greater public understanding that engineers, geoscientists and practicing companies need to be licensed and permitted.
“Members of the public have the right to ask whether you’re a member of APEGGA. And if you’re a bit shoddy about it when you answer, they can go on the website and find out the truth,” said Mr. Perich.
“I would ideally like to see the day when people are lined up at our doors to make sure they’re in compliance.”
Mr. Perich’s compliance connection goes back to the early 1980s, when, as branch chair for Yellowhead, he helped devise Enforcement Review Committee procedures that are still being used today.
Mr. Perich grew up in Picture Butte and in 1973 graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He worked for a number of consultants in Western Canada before earning his master’s degree in transportation engineering in 1977.
For nearly 20 years after that, Mr. Perich worked in transportation engineering for the Alberta Government, first in Edson and then in Edmonton. Government downsizing in 1996 ended that career, so Mr. Perich launched a company focused on forensic transportation engineering, which he continues to own and operate. Along the way, he raised two sons and one stepdaughter.
Most recently, he’s held positions with the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary.
After leaving his job in Calgary in 2002, Mr. Perich made his own company his sole job.
“But I really did miss the social aspect of being around fellow employees. And after being a member for 30-plus years of an organization that’s been good to me and my profession, I wanted to give something back. This is a good opportunity to do that.”
With experience as an auxiliary police constable, Mr. Perich is accustomed to being diplomatic and giving people the benefit of the doubt. But he’ll be tough when he needs to be and won’t have sympathy for those who continue to flout the law.
There is one set of skills he won’t use on the job, however. Mr. Perich has fourth-degree black belt in judo, a sport he’s been involved in for 50 years. He’s even helped the RCMP K Division deliver courses in women’s self-defence.
Record Registration Levels
Like Compliance, the Registration Department faces volume pressures. Registration deals with applications and licensing for the various APEGGA designations. The department is in the middle of streamlining and improving its processes, while professionals from other jurisdictions and new graduates keep choosing Alberta in record numbers.
In 2006, applications in all membership categories increased more than 30 per cent to 6,399. Membership itself reached 47,051 last year and has already passed 50,000 this year.
Mr. Powell becomes the second assistant director in Registration, joining Director Mark Tokarik, P.Eng., LL.B., and Assistant Director Bill Santo, P.Eng. Also on the team are a supervisor and nine support staff.
Mr. Tokarik said: “We need a second assistant director to help to meet demand. There’s been a dramatic increase in the number of applications we’re receiving. Mr. Powell’s past regulatory experience with Alberta Environment is a bonus, and we also like the positive, helpful attitude he brings to the workplace.”
Helping that constant flow of applicants, said Mr. Powell, is similar to dealing with stakeholders at Alberta Environment. “Sometimes all you have to do is take the five or 10 minutes to explain something, face to face, that can help people. You do that, and they may not have to keep coming back, getting angrier each time.”
It takes coaching and honesty, says Mr. Powell, a 1973 University of Alberta graduate. “If you honestly do what you can to help, people will instinctively know you’re being sincere. They can tell. They can see it in your eyes.
“And if you do that, you can go back home at the end of the day a happy person.”
Mr. Powell’s happy, out-of-office life involves motorcycling. He also loves cars and has lost count of the number he’s enjoyed, over the years.
Work has never been drudgery, however. His memories are fond ones of the 34 years he spent with Alberta Environment, working his way up from a project engineer in 1974 to regional director of environmental services and, most recently, approvals manager.
He’s never been the kind of person who pines for the weekend by 9:15 on Monday. “I like getting up in the morning and going to work,” Mr. Powell says.