During December, elections took place for three places on PLASA's Executive Committee - the body elected by the membership to work alongside the PLASA organisation in setting its strategic objectives.Six candidates from across the membership put themselves forward for the three places, generating an election campaign which saw one of the highest number of votes cast in the organisation's history.
Joining the Executive for the first time is Tim Roberts of The Event Safety Shop who takes a seat on the committee following the departure of Ric Salzedo of Avolites, who stepped down in December after serving three years.
Existing committee members Rob Lingfield representing Martin Audio and Bob Mundy of Adam Hall both renewed their nominations and return to the committee to serve further three-year terms. They each continue in their roles of Chair and Vice-Chair respectively, with David Hopkins remaining in the role of Treasurer.
2009 will also see some structural changes to the way the Executive operates. In addition to four main Executive Committee meetings, the first part of the year will see the formalisation of six Advisory Groups to focus on the development of specific strategic areas and the introduction of four regional Members meetings to create an opportunity for wider discussion of PLASA's aims and objectives.
PLASA is working to an ambitious strategy at present: its membership is growing, its political policy is influencing Government, conversations are underway with a number of strategic partners and it is set to announce the next stage in its skills strategy, focusing on the development of a portfolio of qualifications designed to enhance the skills-base of the sector.
The organisation is also just a few months away from the launch of PLASA Focus - a new regional event taking place in Leeds in April, designed to generate new commercial opportunities for businesses and individuals in the area.
Further details on the work of PLASA can be found at www.plasa.org