AOSAA has been undergoing some BIG changes in recent months, and the website will better portray who we are as an organization, and provide added value to our members through notifications of safety related events across Alberta and beyond, articles of interest, direct links to Certifying Partner sites, and much, much more. As AOSAA continues to evolve and grow, the website will reflect this journey and evolve and grow with us.
2020 has brought some very unique challenges. In February, AOSAA was proud to be part of the Alberta Health and Safety Conference in Banff, Alberta. With a new Board of Directors, a new vision and a new sense of direction we knew AOSAA was headed for success. There was a strong interest in membership, and we welcomed 10 new members to the association, with a number of companies expressing interest in group membership.
Then, the world tipped…
Fast forward to August 2020. The global pandemic known as COVID-19 has decimated the economy, caused unimaginable strife and anguish, and resulted in tragic loss of life and livelihood. No one anticipated this, and we are all struggling to rebuild and move forward as we anxiously await a vaccine for this terrible virus. Many of AOSAA’s membership have lost their jobs, and others have seen a significant decline in their earnings. When the focus is on putting food on the table, other non-essentials such as membership fees must be pushed aside for the immediate future. In recognition of these very real struggles, AOSAA suspended membership fees for all new and existing members for 2020.
In recognition of these very real struggles, AOSAA suspended membership fees for all new and existing members for 2020.
We recognize that there are many, many competing organizations and priorities, and we are grateful to our membership for their continued support. We will continue to strive to strengthen our organization, and to bring value-add to the membership through educational and training opportunities, professional resources, and collaboration with Certifying Partners to recognize and promote auditing as a profession.
Stay safe, stay sane and stay healthy.
Cori Thiessen
Chair