Secretary Note | January
As I plan my year ahead for 2021 it dawns on me of the mountain of tasks, I have in front of me – and I am thinking …. is it scaring me to the point I have no idea what to do first or where to begin, or does it make me feel excited about accomplishing good things for the industry, and creating that buzz of excitement of new beginnings? Well, I think I am all about the buzz, the change, and the connecting, so bring on all those challenges for 2021 and let the hard work begin.
The last four months of 2020, I travelled around most of the South Island visiting our active and loyal members plus also some potential non-member’s that we would like to encourage to join the association simply because they are making great impressions in their local communities for their exceptional service, quality, and creativity. Therefore, in January I will be continuing my visits and successfully ticking off the South Island as I travel to the West Coast, Tasman and Marlborough regions. I am equally looking forward to seeing the members and informing them of our plans and actions for 2021 as I am for the potential non-member’s, as I give them an insight into our vision for the industry and our goals as an Association.
Last year I talked a lot about our plans on sustainability, technology, and branding, and so this year is where action will take place as we continue with the planning, start on the execution, and hopefully deliver on most of these goals for 2021. However, not forgetting we also have three big events on this year, so continuing with the organisation of the NZ Sign Expo, NZSDA Conference and the NZ Sign Awards of Excellence is also high on our list of priorities to action!
All our events were rebooked for July and will remain in Auckland. Details and programme of the NZ Sign Expo will be released in the coming weeks. Our bookings for the Expo are still looking extremely positive with 85% of the exhibitors re-confirming their bookings for 2021. However, we still do have some sites available all at very reasonable prices. The NZ Sign Expo will be open to invited guests on Thursday evening, 8th July, and then open to industry and public from Friday 9th July – Saturday, 10th July. It is complimentary to attend, but you must register for ticket entry, so head along to the Expo page on the website to find out how.
We will kick start the NZSDA Conference with our Annual General Meeting on Thursday afternoon, 8th July. Friday morning is packed with industry specific learning sessions, before we head to the NZ Sign Expo for the afternoon, followed by a Friday night evening dinner.
The NZ Sign Awards for Excellence will be held at The Cordis Hotel on Saturday, 10th July. It is looking to be an extremely popular event this year, with just on 2 years’ worth of entries to be judged and only 65 awards handed out. You will not want to miss this event, so get your ticket orders in now as seats are limited.
So, as I sign off for this month and looking ahead, I am in for one hell of a ride and would welcome any assist along the way, so just get in touch and let me know your one attribute that could be my game changer for 2021!