By W. Bruce Robinson, President and CEO (bruce.robinson@skipatrol.ca)
I have been on the job for just five weeks and I am continually amazed by the commitment, dedication, and passion shown by the members of the Canadian Ski Patrol. I spent two weeks at the end of October on the road meeting with a wide range of CSP members: board of directors; national office staff; national management committee and their portfolio committee members; zone and division presidents; and regular CSP members. It was a great two weeks and I learned a lot.
The story I hear most from members is that they joined the CSP to help people and serve their communities, 365 days of the year. What I see is a tight knit family, filled with people who helped build the CSP over the last 77 years. They volunteer hundreds, if not thousands, of hours each year guiding and managing the charity. This high level of volunteerism is a strength of the organization.
The CSP is, however, facing significant challenges. The regulatory environment is more complicated as each province individually determines the standard of advanced first aid training. There is competition, private companies that provide the same services to the ski resorts as the CSP. Volunteers are being stretched to manage the organization, to keep up with the constantly changing internal and external environments, working hard to increase the level of professionalism within the CSP while balancing the volunteer time with family, friends, and their “real” work.
I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. My goal as president and CEO is to address these challenges and guide the organization to a bright future with your input, experience, and support. For the CSP to grow and remain successful in the future, four things need to happen. We must:
- Define and nurture a shared sense of purpose for the entire Canadian Ski Patrol, a sense of purpose owned jointly by the zone, division, and national levels.
- Define the roles, responsibilities, expectations, and accountabilities for each level of the organization.
- Engage the membership and partners in meaningful consultation and discussion to understand the needs of our customers and members so we deliver services to best of our ability.
- Share revenue to support the growth and development of our organization, our brand, and our systems.
I want to thank all whom I have met for the warm welcome. I look forward to meeting more of you over this winter. It is my honour to work for and with you as the CSP president and CEO.
Think snow!
This post is also available in: French