Page 67 - IEC Insights Nov-Dec19

GROWING IEC

Merit Shop contractors

expand to Greater

Nashville area

BY LUISA REYES, IEC NATIONAL CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

EC adds Middle Tennessee to get together with some contractors to as well as getting the apprenticeship
growing membership & services come and meet with IEC at a place called standards together. We also hosted
for merit shop electrical & systems Wild Horse. We went to the meeting a couple events to raise awareness.
contractors. Boasting an initial and listened to a presentation from IEC. We had a successful foreman class
Iroster nearly a dozen top contractor The more I listened, the more I knew and made plans for other professional
member companies and 65 1st year that this was something we needed to development classes. In the end we all
apprentices from across the Greater have an IEC chapter here (in Nashville). decided together that the most important
Nashville area, the IEC Middle Tennessee The group planned another meeting to thing for us, at that point, was to focus
will continue the mission of the national begin the process of starting a chapter. on starting the apprenticeship school.
organization by providing networking
opportunities and fostering career and Q: Did everyone know each other Q: IECMT enrolled nearly 70 students in
leadership development to members prior to the first meeting with IEC? its inaugural year 1 class this September.
who work in and around the electrical That’s quite an achievement. What plans
industry. I had the opportunity to sit A: No. Most of us had not met before. are in place to continue the success
down with Perry Patterson, Chapter There were about eight of us that met of the apprenticeship program?
Board President from Team Electrical at Wild Horse. I was amazed that so
Contracting, Inc to learn about what many people showed an interest. A: Well right now, we have a couple
motivated them to create a chapter. places we can go, but we found out a
Q: What was the primary goal that week before class started, that they had
Q: How did the idea of forming an the initial leaders wanted to achieve sold the building and that we had until
IEC chapter in Middle Tennessee with establishing an IEC chapter? March 31 to find somewhere else. Right
come about? How did the group of now, our biggest challenge is to find a
board members come together? A: Once the board members were place that we can hold class plus look into
selected, we started hashing out a plan. the future. We’re going to be finishing
A: We had received an email from John We knew we had students that wanted up this year and within the month we’ll
Mackey, who at the time was the General to go to school this year and we needed be starting the second year and another
Manager of CED here in Nashville, to to get our 501©6 status (from the IRS) first year. We’ll be looking for two

www.ieci.org | November/December 2019 | Insights Magazine 65