Loading...NECA Leadership – 2012
Hi everyone, welcome to another edition of Electric TV. I’m your host, Tom Green.
The beginning of 2012 is the beginning of a new Era for NECA, as President Rex Ferry rides off into the sunset and his replacement, Dennis Quebe, hits the ground running.
Mr. Quebe sat down with CEO John Grau and ETV’s Bob Mizke to talk about the NECA Show 2011, the agenda for NECA in 2012, and how NECA continues to provide value to not only their members, but also their customers.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Greetings from the stage in the grand ballroom here in San Diego at the 2011 NECA Convention and Show. I have the pleasure of being joined by NECA CEO John Grau and incoming President Dennis Quebe. Gentlemen, thanks for taking a moment.
John, how’s it going?
John Grau, Chief Executive Officer, NECA
It’s going incredibly well. We really got a bigger attendance this year, we added some square footage to the trade show, I think about 6,000 square feet more. People seem to be happy. We had a great opening reception dn we had a good program, speakers and educational programs. I can’t think of much that’s gone wrong, so it’s great.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Dennis, as a contractor, what do you and your peers look forward to getting out of a big event like this every year?
Dennis F. Quebe, President, NECA
Well, No. 1, as John addressed, is the educational component. And with the emerging technologies that we have, and the energy for them that we have put into them here, that’s one of the major strides that we’ve made. We’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about having the governors meeting on a Friday afternoon versus coming in and having it Saturday, and they’re not able to participate in some of these programs.
John Grau, Chief Executive Officer, NECA
The other nice thing is that is backs right up to cocktail hour, so I think everyone enjoyed it. You can finish the meeting and go off and enjoy your evening.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Speaking of cocktail hour, as you’ve had a chance to socialize with your colleagues and you’ve had a chance to sit and visit, what are you hearing? Are you hearing any sort of theme or consensus from your members as they look at their place in the industry and the economy right now?
John Grau, Chief Executive Officer, NECA
You know, to me, it’s getting work. I know that’s on the minds of electrical contractors everywhere. They look at NECA for different things, but getting work is a big thing on their mind. With NECA it’s also a labor relations thing all the time, that’s what they look at NECA to do. Help us work with our unions to get the right kind of agreements, flexible labor agreements.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Dennis, what’s on the top of your to-do list as you begin your term as President?
Dennis F. Quebe, President, NECA
Well, No. 1 would be, as John addressed, labor relations is our central mission. The economy highlights some of the cracks in our business model, so to speak. The inflexibility that we experience. Those are some of the things that we’re trying to overcome in our labor relations session, and dealing with our pension plans, and dealing with the health and welfare, that has come up. Those are two major items that our contractors are very concerned about, especially in today’s economy.
Bob Mizke, ETV
John, as you look down the road from your vantage point, moving forward, what do you see as NECA’s strengths, things that give you a hope and encouragement for the future, and what else do you think needs a little more attention?
John Grau, Chief Executive Officer, NECA
I think the nice thing is, NECA has been around a long time and we’ve built up this organization that I think is very powerful. We have a great staff who are experts in their field and we offer a full range of services and things for our members so I think that’s still there and we can use that to help us in the future.
Now we have challenges, of course, and one of the things the executive committee has charged me with is that we’re losing some membership. It’s for a lot of reasons, the economy and things changing, but they said we’ve got to build up out membership. Particularly we want to concentrate on services. Too many times we look at a certain type of contractor, the large contractor, and what we’re doing for somebody who’s a bigger operation but there are a lot of small contractors that need some very basic services. We have to provide those to them in the right way, and they can’t always come to a convention like this.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Dennis, do you have anything you’d like to add to that?
Dennis F. Quebe, President, NECA
The one thing that I would like to point out is the fact that it’s not like John and I are just coming in to this relationship together. I served as District 2 Vice President for four years, and I served as President Elect for a year, so John knows my agenda, he knows what page I’m on, and I know what page he’s on, so I look forward to the next three years and working with John because I know that together we can advance our industry.
John Grau, Chief Executive Officer, NECA
There’s always a little difference in transition, it’s not so much in philosophy or anything, but people are all different. Dennis is not Rex, and Rex is not Dennis. But, as he said, we’ve been working together for a while, and I think it’s going to be seamless. We’re just going to take off and get things done.
Bob Mizke, ETV
Gentlemen, thank you so much for your time. Good luck as we all go down this road together. Let’s go ahead and throw it back to the studio.
Thanks, Bob.
That’s it for this edition of Electric TV. Thanks for being with us. I’m Tom Green, see you soon.
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