Q&A: Meet MISA Ontario's New President
Sponsored by Municipal Information Systems Association, Ontario (MISA Ontario)
Morgan Calvert, Director of Information Technology Services for Middlesex County, has big plans as the new President for Municipal Information Systems Association, Ontario (MISA Ontario). You can feel his enthusiasm as we sit down to learn more about him, how he got involved, and the value MISA Ontario brings to Ontario municipalities.
Tell me how you first got involved with MISA Ontario and what was your first impression of the association?
Middlesex County has been a member for more than 10 years. During this time, I have been attending as many InfoSec and annual conferences as I am able. My first impression of the association was that it is represented by the most welcoming, friendly, and collaborative people I have ever had the opportunity to meet. I became more actively involved in MISA Ontario in 2015 when I was invited to co-chair the annual conference held in London, Ontario along with Grant Hopcroft from the City of London. The relationships I have been able to build through my involvement with MISA Ontario have provided me new perspectives, great friends, and some excellent memories.
I think it’s wonderful that you joined the Board of Directors at a younger age. What encouraged you to volunteer?
I was chatting with a great friend of mine – mentor and past MISA Ontario board member, Brian Whitelaw – who had mentioned that it would be an excellent opportunity and experience for me to get more involved in the association. So, I ran for one of the director roles and never looked back.
How have you been able to balance your full-time job, along with school and being a board member?
It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. However, taking on a full-time master’s program, maintaining the trajectory of a full-time career, while balancing my duties to the board and its members have been nothing but a positive and rewarding experience. You quickly realize how important the people closest to you are. My wife, family, friends, and colleagues have all supported me throughout this journey and I can’t thank them enough – especially my wife.
Preparing for the 2020-2025 strategic plan, do you have an idea of the initiatives MISA Ontario should focus on?
I’d like to encourage the development of additional alumni and youth programs to ensure the long-term and sustainable success of the association and its membership. My focus will be to ensure that relevant programs and services are being delivered to our membership through leading the development of our next strategic plan. Finally, I’d like to build new and stronger partnerships with our fellow municipal associations and partners. The more we can work together, the more successful we all can be.
What are you most excited about over the next five years?
The information technology landscape is continuing to evolve from what I would call “traditional IT,” where we have historically been responsible for maintaining the daily operations of the organization, to a more business-oriented, solution provider perspective. It is in this space where we can leverage our existing knowledge and abilities to better assist our organizations in strategically furthering their vision and goals through a more collaborative, communicative, and cooperative platform. MISA Ontario must work hard to develop strategies, frameworks, and tools to support and enable our members to be innovative within their municipalities through education and training, social networking, and other opportunities rooted in collaboration. MW
Read the full interview at http://misa.on.ca.
as published in Municipal World, June 2019
Jacqueline O’Hara is the Community Manager for MISA Ontario.
MISA Ontario is a strong member association comprising municipalities, vendors, partners, and other orders of government who are interested in furthering and improving the use of technology in municipal government.
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