Happy Winter Solstice from SEI
Posted by: chris
December 18, 2013
Winter has officially arrived in Paonia, Colorado. Our solar PV training campus is covered with a thick, fluffy blanket of snow. Well except for our PV systems which have been faithfully kept clean so that production is not sacrificed!
We often get asked the question, “So what do you do in the winter? Does SEI just shut down?” December is our busiest planning month of the year. Our PV Team is in the planning process for 2014 NEC updates, additions to our online and in-person classes to improve the learning experience, and new courses to develop. Joe Villacci and Kris Sutton are actively developing the improvements to the PV training campus. Our Student Services and Marketing teams are formulating our new website, and discussing how to continually improve the student experience. Jess Finnigan, our Workshop Coordinator, is actively planning our spring trainings and conferences.
As an organization, we’ve been actively involved in our strategic planning process for the coming years. As part of this process, we revisited SEI’s 22 year old mission and vision statements and asked: Do they still reflect who we are as an organization and why we exist? In the end, we decided that both statements needed to be updated and refreshed.
SEI’s vision is complexly simple. We envision a world powered by renewable energy. As an organization we realize that it doesn’t matter to us why people come to us for training. Whether it’s a career change, to start a business, to combat global warming, to be self-reliant, to be on the cusp of a new technology or expand upon an existing skill set. Renewable energy is neither Republican or Democrat or Tea Party or Green Party, though it may be played as such. For us, the ultimate end goal is a world powered by renewable energy.
And to reach this vision, SEI’s mission is to provide industry-leading technical training in renewable energy to empower people, communities and businesses worldwide. To reach our vision, we have to have systems that are properly sold, designed, installed, and maintained to avoid repeating the lessons of previous decades. In this rapidly evolving industry, it’s our mission to provide people with the training that they need, no matter what size or type of system they specialize in. This training, as our alumni know first-hand, is empowering. Whether you become a more knowledgeable homeowner or start a new career, develop or grow a business, or work with a community in the developing world – SEI’s training is designed to serve you.
What we want to know from you, our 30,000+ alumni…how have you been empowered through SEI’s training? Go to our facebook page, or email me at kswartz@solarenergy.org. Tell us your story and send us pictures. We’ll have a drawing and award a $ 795 scholarship to the winner!
As this year quickly comes to a close, on behalf of all of us at Solar Energy International, we wish you a Happy 2014. May your year be sunny, your systems trouble-free, and your work fulfilling. Thank you for being an alumni and friend of SEI.
Sincerely,
Kathy Swartz
Executive Director
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