A note from Jackie Osti, 2023 OPBA Conference Chair on the 65th Annual Conference.
This year’s OPBA Conference theme was Reconnect, Reimagine, Reunite ~Mission accomplished! Not only did 225 procurement professionals attend this event, but more than half were 1st time conference attendees. Our maximum attendance including our speakers and sponsors was a whopping 294!
Peter Katz did an excellent job of kicking off the conference and setting a positive tone for things to come and a special thank you to Mayor Diodati for addressing our group and making us feel welcome in the Falls.
OPBA re-imagined our conference by incorporating vendors into the mix, hosting a trade show between sessions, and having vendors introduce speakers. Key sponsorship from Kinetic GPO (Visionary sponsor) not only elevated the possibility of expanding our social events but made the conference more affordable. We greatly appreciate the positive partnerships that were forged with the vendor community and the support of our membership.
OPBA offered a pre-conference Principles course for Advanced Procurement in Construction instructed by our past Chair, Tina Iacoe, which was a new twist on our “traditional” way of doing things. Great attendance by the way!
The Conference Committee worked very hard to create a dynamic conference program that included excellent education sessions presented by our peers and other industry experts. It was an absolute pleasure working with the Conference Committee, and I thank all of you personally for your contributions, this was truly a team effort. Our amazing team was Dave Butyniec, City of Niagara Falls, Eric Gervais, Niagara Parks Conservation Authority, Marie Kavanagh, Region of York, Michelle Rasiulis, Niagara Region, Lisa Scheffler, Town of Lincoln, Jazz Thandi, Toronto Transit Commission, Kelly-Ann Wingate and Eric Williams, County of Wellington, Reina Dingman – OPBA Co-op Student, , and of course, our amazing Executive Director, Rozalyn Werner-Arcé, and Tracy Blyth – OPBA Conference Coordinator who kept us all on track. The staff at the Crowne Plaza and AV Canada were incredible!
A big thank you to Reina, as she was instrumental in setting up the Event Mobi conference app and for her and Igor’s tireless work during the conference, staffing the registration desk, and so much more!
The Caveat Emptor Cup was OPBA’s highest-attending golf challenge. I want to thank Jazz Thandi and Eric Williams for organizing this. The Legends on Niagara course did not disappoint, nor did the 30 degree sunny day, or the amazing golf prizes.
Congratulations to the Caveat Cup winners: Eric Williams, Colin Smith, Tony Commisso, and Sandra Clement. With an overwhelming response from our “Call for Speakers” we had an incredible variety of educational sessions for all levels of experience in our membership. Not to mention endless networking opportunities throughout the conference.
Wednesday night at Table Rock House (amazing cuisine) followed by the Power Station-Tunnel Tour (and fireworks) made for an epic event. Having Paul Sapounzi from the Ventin Group Architects share the history of the project before our tour was a bonus. I would like to thank the Ventin Group and Kinetic GPO for their sponsorship which delivered an exclusive and unique experience to our group.
Thursday’s gala was such a treat, having a seated dinner, DJ and photo booth. I want to thank Gordian for sponsoring this event and treating us to some delicious Hershey chocolate! And I would be remiss for not thanking Intact Public Entities for sponsoring our pre-gala cocktail reception.
We raised over $2,500 for “ProjectSHARE”, this year’s charity. In addition to the proceeds from the conference t-shirts (thanks Dave for creating such a perfect logo), OPBA made donations in our speaker’s names to thank them for supporting our conference.
Our conference ended on a high note with a wellness theme thanks to Cecilia Marie Roberts and Marc Forgette. My personal favourite was making medicine bags together and listening to Marc speak so openly, sharing his knowledge of Indigenous people in Canada.
We had some great prizes too! A free 2024 Conference Registration was won by Eva Cislo, and a 1st timers draw for a $25 Amazon Gift card was won by Karl Nana Payong and a gift basket from Port Colborne was won by Sherri Ward.
On behalf of the OPBA board and the 2023 Conference Committee I want to thank everyone who attended our conference and making our time together so special after too many years apart! I am really looking forward to September 25-27 in Ottawa! See your smiling faces there!
Sincerely, Jackie 🙂