IEOA Connects Heavy Machinery Industry
The 2019 IEOA volunteer bursary committee
VICTORIA – Like most organizations, the Island Equipment Owners’ Association (IEOA) felt the impact of the pandemic drastically alter its ability to not only connect its members but also serve its communities.
However, as the country experiences relief from COVID-19 and industries begin to build back, the association and its purpose has be-come more important than ever.
Wendy Watt, IEOA Manager, and Ashley Rogers, IEOA Director, September 2021.
“There has been a lot of local challenges in the last couple years and we have seen a really big influx of new members,” said Wendy Watt, office manager at the IEOA. “It has always been a steady increase, but the last six months have been even more so.”
The IEOA was first started in 1964 by a handful of contractors on Vancouver Island looking for a way to link individuals in the heavy machinery industry and create a communal space to discuss and solve sector challenges.
Now, the association has over 185 members across Vancouver Island and the lower main-land, and its numbers continue to grow as new obstacles emerge like supply chain delays, fuel comes into play – from the generous mixture of industry players all sharing information that can benefit each other and the sector as a whole, even while some compete for the same projects.
No matter what the issue or subject, the IEOA provides a place for members to gather and tackle the major disruptions happening in the industry at any given time and an open forum to discuss all important matters.
The December 2019 IEOA Truck Light Convoy
But that’s not all it does. The IEOA prides it-self on being heavily involved in community projects from non-profits that improve local people’s lives and have a wider positive influence in society.
“Once a year, the IEOA will put a call out to our membership and solicit applications from within the community that need help,” said Watt.
The IEOA reviews all applications and chooses one that will fit best for members to donate machinery, operator time and materials. The membership then coordinates a time to go on-site and help that non-profit complete their project.
The assignments always vary but some of the projects the membership has helped with include things like building parking lots, walking trails, parks, recreational space and much more. Most recently, the IEOA received an ap-plication from Camp Bernard to help upgrade its exterior structures.
“[Camp Bernard] wanted to move existing cabins to another location on-site in order to expand and improve upon its kitchen facilities and offerings,” said Watt.
“The IEOA donated some of its crane trucks and operators as well as flatbed trucks, all the things the camp doesn’t have, and we were able to go on-site and help them complete the job to create an even better experience for campers.”
This is just one way the IEOA gives back.
The association also has a bursary program that organizes things like golf tournaments, dinners and barbeques in order to raise money and annually distribute funds to where they are needed within its membership.
“The bursary program is an internal pro-gram where we solicit applications from our membership who have employees or staff or dependents within their families doing secondary education,” said Watt. “We have a volunteer committee from the membership that go over the applications, create a short-list, and then do interviews with shortlisted students.”
Vic City Crane and Tuf Turf volunteer time to move cabins at Camp Barnard, 2022
Once a year, the association gives bursary money to those selected students ranging from$25,000 to $85,000. Generally, it is split be-tween secondary students and trades training. The bursary money comes from a number of different sources but mainly from the annual IEOA golf tournament and game day events.
The IEOA also organizes is its annual Truck Light Convoy and Food Drive each December to raise money for local food banks and other worthwhile projects.
While the industry faces many uphill battles and the world continues to change, the IEOA continues to believe in the importance and resilience of people.
“It’s the true blue, the blue-collar workers that have families and multi-generational families running the business, those are the people that deserve the representation,” said Watt.
“We are in a people business and that’s what the IEOA is, it is all about its members.”
