FOR COUNCIL Ross Plecash, P.Eng., M.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon.)
In 1988, I graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering. While an undergraduate student, I began my long history of service to the profession by participating on the executive of the Mechanical Engineering Student Society. I continued my education through joining the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, an organization relevant to my employment, where I
My involvement with APEGA started, as it did with many of us, with the Iron Ring Workshop on professional ethics. Though interested in the topic, my career and family obligations prevented any serious involvement with the Association until I was able to begin volunteering with the Continuing Professional Development Committee. My passion for life- long learning intersected with my interest in professional regulation, making this the perfect opportunity to reconnect with my Association in a meaningful way. Working with Len Shrimpton, P.Eng., a long-time APEGA staff member, as well as with his support staff, gave me an appreciation of the depth and complexity of professional regulation, and prompted me to join APEGA’s staff when the opportunity arose. While working at APEGA, I had the good fortune of working with several committees, including the APEGA Education Foundation, the Insurance and Risk Management Task Force, the Communications Advisory Committee, the various Branches across the province, the Investigative Committee, and, of course, Council. I served as Council’s Parliamentarian, introduced the means to broadcast the APEGA Annual General Meeting to Members, regardless of their location, prepared the APEGA annual salary survey, introduced numerous Member Benefits programs, and was involved in many other programs. Most rewarding, though, was the delivery of the APEGA Permit to Practice Seminar series, an honour I had for 12 years. My work with APEGA prompted me to become involved further in professional regulation, and I was appointed to serve as a public member on the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards, the Practice Review General Panel under the Teachers Regulation, and on the College and Association of Respiratory Therapists of Alberta. I also had the opportunity to work with Alberta Computers for Schools, an organization that takes used computers from government and industry, refurbishes them, and distributes them, free of charge, to schools, libraries, and other learning organizations across Alberta. Over 200,000 computers have been distributed to date, over half of them during my tenure as Chair of this wonderful organization. My work with Alberta Computers for Schools was recognized in 2010 by APEGA when it awarded me with the Community Service Summit Award, one of my proudest moments. I believe that it is my profession that has provided me with these opportunities and experiences, and I am committed to giving back by serving as an APEGA Councillor.
volunteered as a member of the Alberta Section Executive, as the Registrar for the STLE Education Symposium, a presenter at the symposium, and as a contributing author to the STLE Alberta Section Lubrication Handbook . After taking some courses from the U of A Faculty of Extension towards a certificate in Management Development, I decided to pursue the more formal Master of Engineering in Engineering Management. Taking courses while I worked full time, I graduated from the M.Eng. program in 2006. My capstone project was a comparison of experience requirements for professional engineering licensure among Washington Accord signatories as a basis for mutual recognition agreements. My work experience in the field of engineering has been quite broad, working in the oil and gas, pulp and paper, electrical utility, manufacturing, and transportation industries in largely supporting roles. After working with EPCOR through the deregulation of the Alberta electrical market, an opportunity arose to work with APEGA. I had, at the time, been volunteering on the Continuing Professional Development Committee and serving as the liaison between engineers at EPCOR and the Association. I joined APEGA’s staff in January of 2002, and worked there for approximately half of my career, holding the positions of Assistant Director, Communications and Public Affairs; Director, Corporate and Member Affairs; and Director, Corporate Affairs and Investigations. Upon leaving APEGA in 2015, I worked temporarily at the U of A Faculty of Engineering and at a commercial lube oil analysis and reliability company before taking on my present role as Engineering Governance Manager at Enbridge Pipelines Inc., one of Alberta’s largest employers of Professional Engineers. In my current role, I work to ensure that Enbridge practises engineering in accordance with professional engineering legislation in numerous jurisdictions across Canada and the U.S.
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