IDE Elections are upon us so use your vote wisely!

The IDE elections for Council of Management are now upon us with members receiving voting emails as we speak.

If you are a member eligible to vote you are being asked to vote in two contests as follows:-

1. Re-election of Stuart Accleton as Honorary Treasurer
You may think that as Stuart holds the position and is the only name on the ballot paper then you do not need to vote for him. This is wrong, he must be re-elected to the position as he is the best man for the job and can only be re-elected if the members vote for him so please DO NOT IGNORE this section.

2. Election to Council of Management
This year there are three places on the Council available and we have seven candidates to choose from when casting your three votes. I would ask that before you cast your votes you read the "manifestos" of the candidates to see which of the seven have the members' interests at heart and that is where you should cast your vote. It would be unethical of me as a Past President to tell you who I think you should, or should not vote for, but I will say that Mike Kehoe of C&D Consultancy is a candidate and Mike follows my own line of thinking with regard to the IDE.

The IDE, I believe, has always been an Institute for its members whoever they work for and whatever their position within demolition and that should not change. Demolition is not just for the privileged few, it is for everyone, so vote for those candidates that will ensure that IDE continues to put the needs of the individual members first, rather than the needs of companies.

And remember that even though you have three votes that you can cast you can use one, two, or all three of those votes. So if there are only two people that you feel meet your requirements for helping to run the IDE then vote for those two only. A "throw away" vote on a third candidate who you are not so keen on could, in fact, vote them into office before the ones you want to be in office.

The IDE has come a long way in the last ten years and this vote could be crucial in shaping it's future. Please VOTE but VOTE WISELY!

Toby Comley throws his hat into the ring that is the IDE Election process

Toby Comley, managing director of Comley Demolition, has decided to stand for election to the IDE Council of Management.

Speaking of the decision, Toby said:

"Although young in years and comparatively new to the Institute, I am passionate about the Industry which I have been involved in all my life – a third generation professional having been taught well – the Industry and associated Industries will have to adapt in the future as environments and the type of structures requiring demolition change."

You can read his full statement regarding his intention to stand for election over on the Comley Demolition website.

IDE Council elections: John Woodward is hoping to be re-elected to the Council Of Management

John has now completed his two years in the position of Immediate Past President of the IDE, which means that in the upcoming elections he needs to stand for re-election to the Council of Management and he needs to get sufficient votes to win a seat.

Admittedly this election is not the General Election and there are no political parties and coalitions to consider, but all IDE members do need to vote and really consider which candidates to vote for as this year is crucial for the future of the IDE as we know it.

Bearing all this in mind, John has prepared the following election manifesto that we are happy to reproduce here:

"I have been a full member of IDE since 2000, a Council of Management member since 2004 and I was awarded a Fellowship of IDE in December 2008 in recognition of my work for the institute.

I am a Former President of IDE, holding the office from November 2010 until November 2012.

During my time in the IDE from 2000 to 2012 I attended every IDE Seminar and every IDE Regional meeting (including the one in Bristol when 5 people attended) as I firmly believe that the IDE is unique in the World and I love the exchange of views that we get from IDE meetings.

During my Vice Presidency I worked with Terry Quarmby to lift the profile of the IDE in the Construction industry and I continued to do that during my Presidency. The introduction of CPD was not universally popular but I believe that it demonstrated to the world that the IDE was an organization for people who wanted to improve their knowledge and wanted to prove that they were supremely skilled and fully competent.

The IDE core membership is made up of engineers in all sorts of companies carrying out their daily business of turning client's dreams into reality and clearing the past to make way for the future and I want those engineers to be recognized as problem solvers and innovators.

This time around there will be many candidates up for election to council, so I ask you to consider carefully whether others will have the best interests of the membership at heart as I do and I would urge you to not only ensure that you cast your vote, but to give a great deal of thought as to how you cast your vote.

I am fully committed to restoring the IDE profile to its former level and to make the construction industry and private developers fully aware of what IDE membership stands for and what IDE members can do for their projects.

Remember that IDE membership is for individuals not companies and if you want your IDE to continue to grow and recognition of your skills to be universal then vote for a candidate who will work tirelessly to promote IDE and ensure that your voice is heard.

It would be an honour to be re-elected to Council.

John"