In a letter to members, Dave Brown, board chair of the Canadian Oil Heat Association (COHA) announced that on January 13, 2017, the COHA National Board decided to re-organize COHA along the following lines:
• Provincial chapters will take on primary responsibility for collecting dues, administering and servicing their members, as well as leading initiatives that provide value for membership;
• National COHA members will be approached by provincial chapters for membership as appropriate;
• Provincial chapters will continue to be represented by their representative on the COHA National Board;
• The National Board will administer COHA as an umbrella organization in order to provide leadership and direction on issues of national significance. This will ensure that provincial chapters have a co-ordinated national voice. Issues of a national nature will be elevated by the provincial chapters through their respective COHA National Board representative(s); and
• The administrative cost of maintaining a national office will be greatly reduced. This will reduce the upward pressure on membership dues and give provincial chapters additional resources to pursue local initiatives.
The COHA National Board, working with the provincial chapters, will effect this reorganization over the first quarter of 2017.
He noted that the past several years have brought significant changes to the Canadian oil heat industry. At the same time, experience has shown that COHA members have different needs depending on the region of Canada in which they do business. In order to be more responsive to the needs of members in each province, and therefore add additional value to membership, the COHA National Board of Directors has voted to move operational and administrative responsibilities to the provincial chapters.
Stephen Koch has resigned as president of COHA.
Brown suggested that questions or comments be directed to the appropriate provincial representative on the National Board.
