Educational Commitment — 1977

May 3, 2021 

Faced with meagre enrolment and rising cost, Seneca College cancelled the Electrical Distribution Course. The Directors, undeterred in their commitment to education, began a serious look at courses of shorter duration.

CEDA had been working closely with the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) on the promotion of CIPH educational programs. Executive Director Richard Taylor reported that members were enthusiastic about the courses and that CEDA participation in four courses totalled 58 students. The CIPH courses were being offered across Canada, and the topics included Inside Sales, Sales Management and Creative Selling. In response to member participation in these programs, the Board agreed to continue actively co-operating with CIPH, particularly in programs designed for sales and quotations staff.

At the July 1977 Board meeting, President Gerry Dunnigan reviewed some of the ongoing problems being experienced with suppliers. These included:

1. Across the board discounting

2. Cash discounts (they should be 10th proximo rather than 10 days)

3. Price squeezing in time of recession

4. The chaotic pricing structure of cable

The Board concurred that these and other matters were indeed troubling and decided to set up a new supplier relations committee under the chairmanship of Past President Jeannine Wood (shown in photo) to study areas of conflict with suppliers and to recommend ways on how to resolve those conflicts.

Source: CEDA: Fifty Years of Service – An Historical Review of the Canadian Electrical Distributors Association, 1934 to 1984, Kerrwil Publications. Please feel free to reach out to us any time if you have great photos, historical anecdotes or perspectives. We would love to hear from you; linegoyette@kerrwil.com.