New chair of STEP Canada

Well, I arrived home this week after attending The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ (“STEP”) 11th National Conference.  The conference contained many leading edge technical topics that dealt with tax and estate planning for the private client.  Membership in STEP, for me personally, has proved to be invaluable over the years given the tremendous worldwide membership that STEP has and the depth of knowledge of such members.

STEP Canada was founded in 1998 and has almost 2,000 members with branches in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and a regional branch for Atlantic Canada.  It is a multidisciplinary organization with the most experienced and senior practitioners in the field including lawyers, accountants, financial planners, insurance advisors and trust professionals that provide domestic and international advice on trusts and estates, including planning and administration related taxes (this material plagiarized from the STEP Canada website at www.step.ca).

I am proud to have been associated (since its inception) with the Calgary branch of STEP and I have also been involved at the national level of STEP Canada for years.  At the recent STEP Canada board meetings which preceded the 11th National Conference, I was appointed the 4th Chair of STEP Canada and the first one from outside of Toronto.  I am personally humbled to be STEP Canada’s new chair but at the same time know that this position carries many challenges given the fact that STEP Canada is at a crucial point in its history.  STEP Canada is currently launching its new education program and is looking for new, experienced student members to supplement its membership.  Accordingly, while I am honored to be STEP Canada’s new chair, I know that this role will be challenging.

I would encourage you to learn more about STEP Canada by visiting the website.  For us here at Moodys, membership in STEP is like putting a hand in a glove… it’s a natural fit.  Our team actively participates in many STEP seminars.

I would be happy to chat with you about this exciting new role for me.  Please feel free to drop me a line or give me a call!