With the winning success of the 1st ABAA Conference & Trade Show behind us, the ABAA Board of Directors would like to thank all who were involved in making this first ABAA Conference & Trade Show a tremendous success! Even though this was the first conference of its kind, the overwhelming response from the industry indicates that this won't be the last. With professionals from all aspects of the Air Barrier industry gathered together, the conference was able to educate, inform and offer high quality knowledge to all attendees. Many thanks to all who helped organize the event, and more importantly, to all of you who attended and took advantage of this one-of-a-kind conference. The many highlights of the three-day conference are detailed through various articles in this newsletter. One such highlight was the "Your ABAA & Its Plan" session on Tuesday, April 10. This session reviewed the new ABAA Strategic Plan 2012-2014 in detail. For example, the new Vision & Mission for ABAA was revealed, which we'd like to share here as well for any who were not able to be present:

• Vision = We do Air Barriers right for energy efficiency, better buildings, and healthier communities
• Mission = To work together with our membership, industry, and trade to be the recognized voice for Air Barrier knowledge.

What does this mean for you? That ABAA is aiming to become the voice that represents all things related to Air Barriers. We will be the center hub and go-to source for news, information and resources for Air Barriers. In order to accomplish this mission, ABAA board members developed the 5 Pillars of Focus:

• Credibility & Quality: Ensure continuous improvement and promotion of all education, training and quality assurance programs.
• Membership: Provide more active venues of participation in order to retain existing members and attract new members.
• Voice: Become recognized by the U.S. building construction industry as the authority on all things air barrier by 2014.
• Governance: Adopt, implement, and review nonprofit governance best practices on an annual basis, and formalize a new committee structure by 2012.
• Finance & Administration: Provide the organization with the financial and administrative resources to fulfill ABAA's strategic goals.

If you are interested in the summary of the ABAA Strategic Plan 2012-2014, it is available on the 'Members Only' section of the ABAA website, under the 'Board of Directors' subheading.

As well, during this same seminar, the new ABAA Committees organizational structure was disclosed, which is discussed in great detail in this Newsletter under the article 'Sign Up! New Committees Need Your Help!' Make sure to read through this part of the newsletter to see where you can get involved!

Another highlight during this session was the chance for members to give us their feedback. The article 'We're Listening: Feedback from You and Other ABAA Members' will give you a sample of what you and others are telling us.

Thank you for your ongoing support and stay tuned for exciting new growth happening within ABAA!

Alec Minné
Chair, ABAA