After many years of working in schools for the Department of Education (DoE) I noticed many technical staff felt they were isolated in their role; that they would love the opportunity to collaborate with their peers. So I posted an expression of interest message to all technical staff I could find in the DoE address book. I got an overwhelming response, for which I thank you all. From my e-mails about fourteen technicians turned up to ICT by the Sea, which is primarily aimed at private schools in WA. None-the-less we all managed to sit down and talk about DoE school issues with the standard operating environment. From that day, a small committee was created with the goal of making an Association happen by the end of 2018, and now here we are!