May Board Meeting This Week - Monday Memo 5/1/17

May 1, 2017

ABI Board Events Tomorrow and Wednesday in Fairfield; Agri Tours Conclude Activities

As you know, ABI Chair Lori Schaefer-Weaton (Agri-Industrial Plastics Company, Fairfield) will convene the May meeting of the ABI Board of Directors the day after tomorrow, on Wednesday, May 3.  The meeting will begin with lunch at 11:00 a.m. and will follow the May meeting of the ABI Executive Committee.  Both meetings will be held at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center in downtown Fairfield.  

All board members and past chairs of the board should have received the usual packet of meeting materials in your email in-basket last Wednesday.  If you did not, please reply to this message and I will re-send the packet at once.  Should you have questions or comments about anything related to the packet or the meeting, please contact me.  And by the way, I hope to be able to send you the usual monthly financial report later today. 

The May board session actually begins with dinner tomorrow night, compliments of Lori and Nate Weaton and ABI, for those of you who are in Fairfield.  If you plan to attend and haven't yet registered, simply reply to this email and let me know.  Then, we'll see you tomorrow evening at the Fairfield Golf & Country Club.  The Fairfield Golf & Country Club is one of Iowa’s great private clubs. 

Following the meeting, all board members are invited to tour Agri-Industrial Plastics Company’s newly expanded manufacturing campus on the west side of Fairfield.  You won’t want to miss this tour, which should begin by 1:30 (and participants can expect to be on the road by 2:30) that afternoon.  Many thanks to Lori for making the tour possible. 

Wednesday's meeting marks the last ABI board meeting prior to next month’s annual convention.  This has been a very busy spring for the association and on behalf of Lori and our other officers, I look forward to seeing you in Fairfield. 

ABI Regional Policy Meetings Being Held Around Iowa Throughout the Month; In Muscatine, Fairfield Tomorrow

With adjournment of the 2017 session of the Iowa General Assembly the Saturday before last, ABI's focus turns to 1) letting you know how the actions of the legislature impacted your business and 2) the 2018 session of the Assembly.  ABI will be traveling the state throughout the month to meet with members about these topics. 

You can register for one or more of the sessions by going to the Events Page on the ABI website.  You will find that site here: https://www.iowaabi.org/events/.  The ABI public policy staff and I look forward to seeing you and your employees at the upcoming meetings. 

Things start right away with the first regional meetings tomorrow in SE Iowa. A meeting in Muscatine at Kent Corporation will be followed by a second meeting later in the day in Fairfield.  

A Month to Go Until 2017 Convention

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2017 ABI Taking Care of Business Conference, the 114th Annual ABI Convention, begins in a month.  The event will be held in Dubuque June 6, 7, and 8.  Make your reservations NOW for the convention by going to www.iowaabi.com. Over 300 people have already registered! 

This conference will be an ABI convention you do NOT want to miss.  High-Value breakout sessions, dynamic speakers, and the very best business networking in Iowa will again make the conference something not to be missed. 

Don’t wait; register NOW!  If you don't want to click on the link above, reply to this message and let us take care of it for you.  Don't miss this conference! 

Nominating Committee to Meet in a Week

As Immediate past Chair of ABI, Paul Gregoire (Emerson Fisher, Marshalltown) also serves as Chair of the 2017 ABI Nominating Committee.  The committee will meet one week from today. 

The committee includes representatives of each of ABI’s five Iowa districts.  Thank you to Paul and to these ABI leaders for serving on the association's 2017 Nominating Committee: Drew Larson (RAM Pattern, Le Claire), Rich Phelan (LyondellBasell, Clinton), Paul Drey (Brick Gentry, West Des Moines), Kellan Longenecker (General Mills, Carlisle), and Bob Bocken (Farner Bocken, Fort Dodge).  

If you wish to nominate someone for board service (and self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged), please contact one of the committee members or me.  All ABI members will vote on the slate of nominees at the 2017 Annual Convention in Dubuque in June. 

Leadership Iowa Class Heads to Burlington; Nominate Someone for LI TODAY

There are two sessions left for the 2016-2017 Leadership Iowa Class.  One will be held later this week in Burlington and then the class will graduate at a ceremony held in conjunction with next month's ABI annual conference. 

Beginning with some voluntary activities Wednesday and continuing through Thursday and Friday, the class will meet for a session focused on advanced manufacturing and transportation.  As usual, a terrific program has been developed for LI members and you will learn more at the May board meeting. 

In other news, please remember that today is the deadline to make your Leadership Iowa nominations for the 017-2018 class. There was some confusion about the deadline, which some believe passed Friday of last week.  TODAY is the deadline, so please know your nominations will still be accepted.  Click on this link for more information: http://www.leadershipiowa.com/nominations/nominate_a_candidate.cfm

Latest Elevate Newsletter Published

Friday, the latest edition of the newsletter published by ABI’s Elevate Advanced Manufacturing initiative was distributed.  In this edition, you can read about the latest news about Elevate, including information about the winners of the 2017 Elevate scholarships.  

The newsletter also includes information and resources to help connect workers to training and to your business. If you didn’t receive the newsletter, reply to this message and I’ll get it to you at once. 

Final Call: Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference

ABI is one of the sponsors of the Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference.  The conference will be held on May 17-18.  This is the last call for you to finalize your plans to attend the conference at the Overland Park Marriott in Overland Park, Kansas.  

The agenda for the conference is packed full of high-value information.  Your compliance staff will find the very latest in environmental regulatory information and ABI receives financial support for every Iowa participant that registers for the conference.  Find out more information and register by clicking on http://mecconference.com/kansas-city/.  

Mark Your Calendars for ABI Executive Open

One of ABI's most popular events each year is the annual Executive Open.  This year's open will again be played at one of Iowa's truly fabulous private courses, Des Moines Golf and Country Club (http://www.dmgcc.org/).  If you are not a member, it can be difficult to get the opportunity to play it.  Well, here's your chance. 

Registration will soon be open for this event, which will be held on August 28.  For now, please save the date on your calendar.   This event sells out every year, so make your plans now and look for registration information in an upcoming edition of this memorandum. 

Schaefer-Weaton, Lockwood Featured in Governor’s Weekly Press Conference

Each Monday morning, Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds meet with the media to discuss issues facing Iowa. A week ago today, the press conference featured two ABI leaders.  

ABI Chair Lori Schaefer-Weaton (Agri-Industrial Plastics Company, Fairfield) and Dr. Maureen Lockwood (Thombert, Newton) joined the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to talk about the importance of manufacturing in Iowa.  Governor Branstad has declared this year the “Year of Manufacturing” in our state.  Lori and Mo were terrific representatives of Iowa manufacturing and there was extensive press coverage. 

Read just two pieces of that coverage for yourself here: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/workforce-innovation-priorities-during-iowa-year-of-manufacturing-20170424 and here: http://www.radioiowa.com/2017/04/24/workforce-worries-keep-iowa-manufacturers-up-at-night/.  Thank you and congratulations to Lori and Mo! 

Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Moves to TechWorks Campus

Last week, longtime ABI member the Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber moved to brand new offices in Waterloo’s TechWorks Campus (http://techworkscampus.com/).  The move was planned for many months and it is exciting to see it take place. 

ABI members are familiar with TechWorks and the very cool things taking place there. Congratulations to the Alliance and especially to its President and CEO, ABI Board Member Steve Dust (Cedar valley Alliance & Chamber, Waterloo)

Steve Jacobs Pens In-Depth M&A Analysis

You know that we enjoy your company newsletters here at ABI and one that is always full of great information is Baton, the company newsletter for longtime member BCC Advisers.  The latest edition is no exception. 

Perhaps the highlight of the newsletter was the business lines column written by the company’s President, ABI Board Member Steve Jacobs (BCC Advisers, Des Moines).  This month, Steve wrote a fascinating, in-depth analysis of the current state of the mergers and acquisitions market.  If you wish to read it for yourself, you can click here: https://www.bccadvisers.com/media/cms/BCC_Advisers__Baton_14_819B61A2CBDA4.pdf - I promise you will find the essay of interest.  Thank you, Steve, for the great insights.