Upfront Emerging from the maelstrom In an issue acknowledging the achievements of members and the challenges they face, BPA President John McArdle reminds us of the importance of seizing the opportunity to embrace change The bulk of this edition will be looking backwards to celebrate and rightly so the achievements of 50 years of the BPA, and the brilliant, positive way our members and staff have faced up to the challenges of 2020. But I want to look forward; forward to the new BPA that will emerge from the maelstrom to carry us through the third decade of this century. As the old ways of business are turned upside down by the whoosh of remote working and online collaboration, we enter a brave new world. Insert your own numbers here, but we might have made five years of progress in five months. We can see that the world will never be the same again. There will be losers, and were sorry for them, but there will be winners too, and Im confident that the BPA will be in that category. Our online offer has resulted in members being represented at events by staff from top to bottom of their organisation. Whereas, once, only a director or senior manager would block a day in their schedule and fork out on rail fares to attend a conference or serve on a board, now anyone can join in. This presents a tremendous opportunity for the Association to become far more diverse across a whole load of characteristics, protected or otherwise. We can increase representation on our boards by women, black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues, youngsters, and disabled people, to give just a few examples. The BPA has an image of being run by old white men and its not totally unwarranted. I have no doubt this will change over time, but lets not take that time and, instead, push for change now. There are a number of things we can do. First, us old white men can stop hogging the positions and move over to make space for newcomers. This might sound rich coming from someone in his second year as President, but Im pleased to see a young woman preparing to take over in 2022. Second, we can encourage people within our organisations to get involved, providing space for them to take on roles within the BPA. This neednt be entirely out of altruism; broadening their experience and widening their network will bring real benefits back to the company it might even ease the task of providing them with a stretch objective. So, those are two actions which is more than you normally get from a piece such as this. Lets steady that ladder rather than pull it up behind us. This presents a tremendous opportunity for the Association to become far more diverse... lets push for this change now John McArdle President of the British Parking Association info@britishparking.co.uk cdergroup.co.uk britishparking.co.uk 3 CDER Tall Ad 60x266.indd 1 PN Dec 2020 pp02-03 Upfront.indd 3 20/07/2020 12:53 23/11/2020 13:00