After retiring from local government following forty years in the sector, former IPWEAvic President Maurice Stabb has been honoured with an IPWEA Emeritus Membership.
Emeritus Membership is the highest award that can be bestowed on any IWPEA member. To be eligible, the nominee must be a Fellow and have served the community for at least twenty years in the delivery of public works and services.
During his time with local government, Stabb worked for seven Victorian metropolitan councils. His final
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ten years were as the Director of Infrastructure at Wyndham Council, the fastest growing Victorian municipality and in the top three nationally.
For more than a decade, Stabb actively served on the IPWEAvic Board and the National Board, and took on the role as the Victorian President for five consecutive years.
During that time, Stabb led the successful reformation of IPWEAvic as a separate entity, growing the membership from zero to 240 in the first six months.
intouch spoke with Stabb about the challenges he faced bringing about these changes.
intouch: Why did you believe it was important that IPWEAVic formed as a separate entity?
Maurice Stabb: The technical and professional needs of Public Works Engineers were not being adequately met. Feedback from members and non-members across the state was clear – they needed technical training, workshops and forums to assist with responding to the challenges of the constantly changing public works environment.
They wanted a technical reference point. They needed access to and have a voice with government departments to inform technical debates and decisions on public works engineering matters that impacted their professional roles and responsibilities through representation on committees and working groups, and providing formal submissions in response to invitations.
Rural and regional areas were particularly disadvantaged. The private construction sector were also concerned that the skills of local government engineers was not keeping pace with the needs of the private sector.
intouch: What were some of the greatest challenges you faced?
Stabb: The challenges to achieve the successful reformation of IPWEAvic as a separate entity were significant.
The new entity started with no members, no assets or money, no staff, no database or corporate records and no official address. Communicating the reformation to all public works engineers across the state with a membership package offering was the first mountain to be scaled.
This was accompanied by the creation of regional groups across the state to facilitate the creation of networking opportunities, peer support opportunities and regional forums and workshops to share information.
It involved a massive effort by the Board members with great voluntary support from, and strategic alliances with the MWOA and other key industry groups plus leading figures like Bob Seiffert who accepted the role of interim honorary Chief Executive Officer.
In the first few months we signed up 240 members. This number quickly grew to over 400 in our first year. We continued to operate from a virtual office with volunteers making it all happen.
I made a number of early morning return road trips to regional meetings to share our vision and receive feedback on what rural and regional Public Works Engineers wanted from IPWEAvic. We scheduled a program of conferences, workshops and forums, often in partnership with the likes of the MWOA and the MAV.
The profit generated and the subscriptions we received allowed the appointment of our first part-time Chief Executive Officer.This major step allowed IPWEAvic to consolidate and set new strategic targets to take the organisation forward on behalf of its members.
intouch: When an association such as IPWEA and IPWEAVic is looking to grow its members, what do you think the most important factors are?
Stabb: The single most important factor is communication. IPWEA and IPWEAvic must listen to its existing and potential members to understand what they need from the organisation if it is to retain/attract their membership.
It must use all forms of communication to share its membership offerings, training programs, conferences and benefits to public and private sector public works engineers alike.
IPWEA and IPWEAvic are in a very competitive marketplace and must be able to constantly demonstrate the value for money membership offers.
Developing and maintaining strategic relationships across industry creates a high profile for the organisation and adds value for members.
IPWEA and IPWEAvic has and must continue to ‘box’ above its weight with the support of its strategic allies and share these outcomes with its members and potential members.
intouch: What are some of your proudest achievements during your time with IPWEA?
Stabb: Five achievements stand out in my mind that I take great pride in. The first was the reformation IPWEAvic as a separate entity during my period as State President.
The second was the overwhelming success of the 2009 IPWEA/IFME International Conference which attracted a record registration and generated a significant profit for IPWEA National and IPWEAvic.
The third was the receipt of the IPWEA/Engineers Australia 2009 National Public Works Medal for Public Works Leader of the Year.
The fourth was the Municipal Engineering Foundation Victoria award of the 2009 Cedric Tuxen Medal for excellence in Local Government Engineering and outstanding contribution to Local Government.
The final achievement was receipt of Emeritus Membership.
intouch: What does this Emeritus Membership mean to you, both personally and professionally?
Stabb: My award of IPWEA Emeritus Membership is a great personal honour. The involvement of my state peers and the approval of the National Board gives it a special significance. I cannot imagine a higher personal and professional award to receive.
My involvement in IPWEA has given me the opportunity to continuously grow personally and professionally through my engagement in a sector that I have been passionate about from the outset. I look forward to continuing my active involvement in IPWEAvic.