IABC BC Chapter Beginnings
What we all know today as the BC chapter of IABC has an even longer history. Many of the early members of what is now known as IABC/BC were originally members of the BC chapter of the Industrial Editors Association, an organization for in-house writers. The International Association of Business Communicators was formed in 1970, and some BC writers and public relations professionals were members of both associations. By 1973, the Industrial Editors group had wound down and local communicators generally became IABC members.
Fun Fact:
The first BC members were attached to US District 6 which included the US Pacific Northwest and Hawaii! The records are not 100 per cent clear on when the separate BC Chapter was recognized by IABC International. Fred Morley, who was a member of both associations, remembers returning to BC from Manitoba in 1975 and joining the IABC/BC chapter board. In 1980, Toronto joined IABC and the new Canada District One and District Two were formed. However, to the best of Fred’s memory, IABC/BC was the inaugural Canadian chapter! For more on the chapter’s early days, read Fred Morley’s blog post.
