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!

Be ready for the IDE Elections 2017

The process will begin shortly for the IDE Elections 2017 and all details for eligible voters will be sent to the Electoral Reform Services (ERS) who will be administering the Council elections again this year.

Nominations may be made by fully paid-up Fellows (FIDE, Hon FIDE), Full members (MIDE, Hon MIDE), Associates (AMIDE), and Technician Grade Members. If you are an eligible member, please keep an eye on your inbox for emails from the IDE and ERS inviting you to nominate candidates. Remember, your vote counts!

With that in mind, please check that you have provided your most current email and/or postal address to the IDE, and ensure these important emails aren't inadvertently ending up in your spam folder.

IDE Bus drops off and picks up this week

This week sees the last few IDE members going through their emails, finding the one from Electoral Reform Services with the voting details in it, and reading the biographies of those wishing to stand for election to the Council of Management and Vice President before they place an electronic tick in the relevant voting boxes and sit back and await the results at the AGM. They did this last year and probably the year before, but why is this year different?

This year is an important election and a major junction for IDE members getting full recognition in the construction industry as true "Engineers" as we head down the road to a Demolition Degree and Chartered Engineers.

During his Presidency, Duncan Rudall has steered the IDE bus along the road towards these goals and done a very good job in the driving seat. After the AGM he will sit behind the new driver, Dave Darsey, and Dave's assistant (either Gary Bishop or Richard Dolman) as the bus trundles along the route and he will make sure the bus gets to the destination.

When the bus stops at the AGM it will drop off a couple of passengers who have a few years of experience of IDE matters, Steve Jack & myself, and pick up a few passengers who will be new to it all having been given a travel ticket by the Membership. When you cast your votes you will be giving someone that ticket so please consider the following before you vote:-

• Will they be able to stay on the bus for the whole of the route?
• Will they concentrate on where the bus is going and the massive amount of work to get it there?
• In their application for travel on the bus did they tell the truth? As this bus does not want fare dodgers & wheeler dealers.
• Do they understand that the IDE is for individuals NOT corporate entities and that the IDE Council has a "duty to it's members"?

These are very exciting times at IDE as the degree is now a whisker away so if you haven't used your vote, and if not why not, use it NOW and use it well.

IDE Council elections are looming

This year sees changes at the top of the IDE with Duncan Rudall taking over the President's jewel from Steve Jack and five places on the Council available in the election.

The nomination process is now complete and all members will soon receive their voting papers via email along with full biographies of those standing for election.

The voting papers will indicate that you have UP TO 5 votes to use on your selections and I would urge you all to vote and to think carefully as to how you use those votes. If, for example, you really like three candidates then just vote for those three as if you cast your "spare" votes for others who are not your preferred choices then you could, inadvertently, end up voting candidates in to office who were not your preferred choice. As in effect using all of your five votes "dilutes" the election process.

Please remember that the IDE is an organisation for Individual Demolition Engineers and not company organisations and that the core membership is individuals working within our industry. During my time on the Council and during my Presidency I tried to make the IDE an institute for the people, please vote for individuals who want it to remain that way and who have the best interests of the IDE and it's core members in mind.

This election is crucial for the future of the IDE following the last two years of consolidation so please vote wisely and, please vote Woodward.