Quebec Wins Division of the Year Award

The Quebec Division of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada has been named as the association’s Division of the Year.

To celebrate best practices, the AIA Division of the Year Award is presented annually to the division that has been the most successful and active over the past year.

“AIA volunteers are the spark that starts the Association engine, the gas that keeps the AIA engine going, the filters that let us see through the smoke, and the brakes that stop us at appropriate times,” said AIA chair Ken Coulter. “Without volunteers, the association would not enjoy the success that it does today – and that fact has become very clear to me this past year.

“The tabulations for the Division of the Year were very close this year, very competitive,” said Coulter. “Indeed I would like to note that the Manitoba Division, Southern Alberta, and Northern Alberta divisions came very close to Quebec in the total number of points they were awarded.”

Division chairman Michael Paul thanked the companies that employ those volunteers, allowing the individuals the time to take on division duties and tasks.

In being named as the award recipient, the Quebec Division was noted for being proactive on the government relations front in Quebec. It participated in a number of government meetings dealing with a variety of topics, from attracting skilled youth to the industry, to the sector labour committees and negotiations, to a number of environmental issues.

The Quebec Division also had a very active Opportunities Unlimited presentation program, giving at least eight presentations to students in 2003, including customizing the presentation for Quebec.

The division generously supported the Marion Roberts and Arthur Paulin scholarships, and has developed its own scholarship program, awarding three new scholarships in 2003.

The Quebec Division also held a very successful forum in Drummondville, Quebec, with close to 200 participants.

Finally, the division held several networking opportunities throughout the year, including its annual golf tournament in June and the Sugar Shack event in April 2003.

“Overall, division activities ensured that members had access to a variety of resources and networking opportunities,” said Coulter.

“Part of our success this year is that we allocated clear responsibilities to each member of the Division,” said Paul, who was thanked along with fellow division members Michel Bourgeois, Magella Boutin, Denis Brault, Carol Chartrand, Mauro Cifelli, Yvon Domingue, Gaetan Dussault, Jean-Marc Laroche, Jacques Parent, Raymond Savard, and Bert Tardif.

“I would also thank Claude Robitaille and Michel Tremblay of MTA services [which provides administrative support for the division], as well as Ray Datt and Marc Brazeau of the Ottawa team,” concluded Paul.