PRESIDENT'S REPORT:                                           March 2010

2009 has been a very challenging year for the transportation industry.  Companies in our industry have had to seriously evaluate core strengths, focus and reconfigure to meet these challenging times in order to survive.  Many companies have not survived and job loss has been high.  We are fortunate in Vancouver to be hosting the 2010 Olympic Games and this has provided some transition and insulation to our industry and many other industries in British Columbia in comparison to our colleagues across the country.  It now appears that our economy is on the move forward again and the games may well have provided that base to start to build and grow once again.

Over the past year the club has been fortunate to have had a good selection of senior industry key note speakers, and I am sure that you will agree, that all our speakers gave excellent presentations and educational value. I feel confident that we will continue this trend in the coming year.

Member programs used a variety of locations and travel destinations in order to provide our members with choice, including return to the Stanley Park Pavilion.  The feedback on movement of our programs around the city appears to be positive and we will be continuing to look at new and exciting venues for our meetings through 2010. 

The Annual Golf Tournament was a great success.  Many thanks to our Director of Special Events, Gerry Lyon and his team for a job well done! 

Membership retention has been good despite the challenges our members and member companies have experienced, and we have seen a modest increase in our membership numbers to which we are very pleased.

Our Foundation continues to work hard and has had a good year, providing scholarship awards to 11 deserving students.

After a year in this recession which saw our industry hit new lows, thankfully we do now seem to be on the road back up.  It may not be as quick of a recovery as we would all like, so please do support your fellow members and buy from club members when you can to help us all build strength together. 

As I close my year of Presidency for the club, I would like to express my appreciation to all the members of the club for your continued support of our club and membership.  Without all of us together, the club certainly would not have the strength that it has been able to maintain.  I would also like to sincerely thank all my directors and other members of the board for their personal commitment, support and guidance during this past year. 

Yours truly,

John S. White