It was reaffirmed that in addition to socializing, important as that is, the right path for us to follow is to offer ourselves as a resource for Sections to support them in their programming. In short it is “give back time”. All LMs have enjoyed the benefits of IEEE membership over the years and some of us are in a position to repay those blessings with further service. So how would we do that?

1.0 Recognition Of Our Role

We concluded that LM Chapters operating independent of the local Section activity would be a retrogressive step. The best use of LMs time and effort will be when they are used in close collaboration with the plans of the Section and their various committees. To do that we need to know that the local Section in an area is receptive to this offer.

Action: Starting with the Winnipeg meetings of IEEE Canada, convince the Section attendees of the merits of this proposal by indicating potential projects where we can be of assistance. Indicate to the Section Chairs that a positive recognition of their support would be to have an LM sit as a non-voting member of their Executive Committee.

2.0 Life Member Chapter Formation

We addressed a second and more onerous task which is to design the most effective local structure in which the LMs can function effectively. A few statistics will demonstrate this difficulty. Out of the 30,000 LMs in the world, 849 are located in Canada. Approximately 60% of these (512) are affiliated with just four major Sections, Toronto (211), Ottawa (151), Montreal (144) and Vancouver (106). The remaining LMs are scattered across the country in the other sixteen Sections which make up Region 7.

Action: Extend the successful efforts of Chair Potts in contacting LMs in Central Canada with respect to establishing self-sustaining LM Chapters. Concentrate on doing this in the heavily populated Sections starting with Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. For all other Sections, unable to sustain a full blown LM Chapter, initiate an LM liaison contact to pursue those programs beneficial to the local Section.

3.0 Potential Activity

We discussed the areas in which we might be able to be of assistance to Sections in furthering their programs. Obviously, depending on our recruitment of LMs willing to serve, the list of potential projects is endless. We decided to suggest three areas of activity as a start:

3.1 Senior Member Campaign

The percentage of Senior Members to our total membership has dropped in recent years from 20% to 10%. We suggest that LMs in conjunction with Section Membership Development Chairs can mount a proactive campaign to restore previous levels.

3.2 Critique And Promote Virtual Museum

The History Committee has mounted on the WEB a virtual museum at
www.ieee-virtual-museum.org

It went live in January of this year. Its purpose is to create a greater awareness of engineering as a career. The target audiences are students aged 10 to 18 years, educators and the general public. LMs can help first by visiting the WEB site and critiquing the presentation. Later there is the potential for LMs to undertake visits to local schools to promote its use in the classrooms.

3.3 Identification Of Engineering Milestones

The History Committee also has a very active Milestone Program whereby sites worldwide, which have significance for great achievements in our technologies, are marked. Since its inauguration during our Centennial year (1984), forty such events and sites have been identified and so honoured. For sure there are more yet worthy to be designated. A Section must be the sponsor of these and we suggest that it is an ideal project in which LMs can assist the Section in identifying candidates.

Action: Discuss these opportunities with the Section executives and offer LM resources to help advance these three projects.

Finally, Chair Ron and myself availed of the opportunity of being in Winnipeg to meet with John Plant, the Executive Director of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), (a close sister organization) and Leonard Bateman the Chair of the EIC's Life Member Committee. The object was to explore the possibility of joint meetings where and when it would be of benefit to both parties.

All you LMs out there, look for an early contact from one of us as we set things in motion at the local level. Ron Potts potts@mail.caninet.com will continue to guide this program in Central Canada and because of the geographical closeness to him of the Montreal and Ottawa Sections, he will take them under his wing as well. David Kemp of Winnipeg has offered his services to direct the effort in Western Canada. Wally Read w.read@ieee.org will continue to push the program in Eastern Canada. We look forward to your participation. Until next time enjoy your “pay back time”.

Wally Read, IEEE Life Fellow
Newfoundland, Canada.