BICSI (www.bicsi.org) president John Payseur gave his annual address to the membership on Wednesday, January 15 during the organization's Winter Conference. Payseur addressed the year just passed, and explained how BICSI fared during tumultuous 2002.
BICSI saw a decline in membership, by 96, worldwide. The organization's U.S. membership fell by 563, while international membership climbed by 467 to almost make up the difference. "U.S. membership fell 3%, and international membership grew by 12% in 2002," Payseur said.
He said that BICSI was "not immune from the telecommunications industry's problems," pointing out that half a million telecommunications jobs disappeared last year and telecom was the single largest industry contributor to the nation's unemployment rate. BICSI cut its contract positions, some of them long-term, and also trimmed its full-time staff in order to cut expenses.
He said that BICSI took on debt in the middle of the year to cover some operating expenses, but by the end of the year paid the loans back in full and had $1 million in the bank. Payseur said the goal is to have three months worth of operating expenses in reserve at all times, and believes the organization will soon reach that goal.
On the positive side, he said all regions and districts are financially self-sufficient. Additionally, efforts to translate manuals and some exams were successful in 2002. The Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual and the Registered Communications Distribution Designer exam both are available in Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese.
Also at BICSI's annual membership meeting, Registration and Specialties Supervision Committee chair Bob Erickson reported that currently there are 6,166 RCDDs, 678 LAN Specialists, and 181 OSP Specialists, as well as 2,772 Level 1 Installers, 4,064 Level 2 Installers, and 2,767 Technicians-bringing the total number of professionals in BICSI's Registered Installer program to 9,512. In 2002, he said, 1,413 individuals took the RCDD exam and 549 passed; 158 took the LAN Specialist exam and 71 passed; 152 took the OSP Specialist exam and 100 passed.
The president of BICSI addresses the organization's membership every year at the annual meeting, which is held on the Wednesday of the Winter Conference.
