EESF Annual General Meeting

Foundation focuses on future and overcoming challenges.

On February 9, the first Thursday of the Mardi Gras season, the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation (EESF) board members met at the historic Admiral Hotel in Mobile, Alabama, for the Annual General Meeting (AGM). With the hotel lobby decorated in Mardi Gras colors, EESF board members from across North America gathered in Ballroom A to talk about the foundation’s activities, mission, budget and even some struggles over the last few years.

Chairman Cornelius Walls opened and ran the meeting, which was his last before handing the reins over to Vice Chair Sheila Swett, with the Swett & Associate and International Association of Elevator Consultants. There were 15 attendees, including your author, in person and one on zoom.

The meeting began right at 9 a.m. with the group reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before the swearing in of new members: Molly Cruz, National Sales & Process manager for Adams Elevator, and Ryan Coley, owner of Right Way Elevator Maintenance. The minutes from the 2022 meeting were approved, and introductions were made around the room.

Walls, who became chairman at the 2020 AGM right before the pandemic, then gave his chair report, giving his perspective on “some of the challenges we endured over the past few years.” He first gave a summary of what EESF has accomplished in maintaining its financial position and its relationships with founding members. He said:

“A lot of people don’t understand the legacy of what goes on here. I’m tremendously excited that I can look around and see a lot of new, young, fresh faces that can lead us in the new chapter. We have to have an eye on the future. We’re not in the greatest position, but we’re not in the worst position, and I think we have a lot of opportunity for the future.”

He reminded the group that the foundation’s mission is to educate and said that he hopes EESF can “get back to some of what makes us who we are.”

The foundation’s struggles include turnover of the executive director (ED) position more than once in the past three years — with Jason Fisher resigning in late 2022 after taking the role in December 2021. The need for a new ED was a main focus of the discussion of the day’s meeting.

The financial report, strategic plan and marketing plan were reviewed, but a number of the specifics and work toward an action plan were tabled with the group agreeing that hiring an ED needs to happen first. A hiring committee was formed, and a hiring timeline was set. The main qualification for the role was agreed on: “We need to find someone who is as passionate about this as we are.” There was also discussion around hiring a person focused on marketing and fundraising.

The group discussed the fundraising activities already planned for 2023, and updates were given on EESF’s programs. The founding members also gave their reports, and the EESF Canada Liaison Gord Pattison, CEO of Alberta Elevating Devices & Amusement Rides Safety, showed off the new Canadian logo. Additionally, he said the Canada chapter members are trying to get back into the schools in Canada, and the chapter is in good standing financially.

In looking at the U.S. financials, contributions were down, but expenses were down as well. “Getting continuity back at the ED position and getting a dedicated fundraising effort is extremely important for the association with the shortfalls we’ve had on our fundraising campaigns,” Walls said. The group discussed ways of strengthening its corporate and workforce campaigns, among others.

New business included looking at ways to use the foundation’s money wisely through short-term investments or other options. A committee was formed to look more into this. Other new business included creating a fundraising committee and possibly finding a fundraising chair through a nomination and election campaign. Committees were also formed to take advantage of the networking and fundraising opportunities at the Elevator Conference of New York (ECNY) Supplier Showcase event in New York this month and to come up with a way to designate board members as being a part of EESF at all events – by having something like a T-shirt or badge, etc.

Another theme of the day was communication and what was discussed as a lack of communication to the industry. T. Bruce MacKinnon, founding board member and president of Elevator World Inc., offered support in the way of a monthly newsletter, as well as other communication initiatives, as chair of the marketing committee.

To close the meeting, the new officers were sworn in: Swett as chair, Joe McAnulty from Liberty Elevator Experts as vice chair, Emerald Kuhns with NAESA International as treasurer and MacKinnon as secretary. The next EESF AGM meeting is set for February 2024 in Tampa with dates to be determined.

Evening Festivities

Meeting attendees were invited to participate in the Order of Polka Dots later in the evening on February 9. Dinner and drinks were provided beforehand, and a cold and dreary day cleared up in time for the ladies’ parade to roll through the streets of downtown Mobile. According to the Mobile Mask, “the Order of Polka Dots was founded by 20 women in May 1949 and in 1950 was the first ladies’ organization to parade in Mobile. According to Mardi Gras historian Emily Hearin, the ladies chose the name (which, for the first year, was written Polkadots) ‘because they liked the sound of it.’” Moon pies, beads, foam footballs, cups and more were caught by the participants as a fun way to close out the day.