ABI’s Busy Start to Autumn: Executive Open, Manufacturing Awards, Leadership Iowa, and More!

Autumn has only just begun, but it has already been a very busy late summer and early fall at ABI. A few weeks ago, hundreds of members converged on Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines to participate in ABI’s Executive Open, one of our most popular (and always fun) annual events. 

Another key fall event is the Legends in Manufacturing Awards ceremony that coincides with the annual Iowa Manufacturing Conference. Held in Ankeny, both the awards luncheon and the conference were well attended and received.

Fall also heralds the kickoff for another highly successful program with Leadership Iowa. The ABI Foundation recently announced the 2023-2024 Leadership Iowa Class. These 40 participants will engage in a series of meetings, workshops and activities over the next eight months that will provide a wide range of educational enhancement, enrichment, and networking opportunities. The program will culminate with the class graduation at ABI’s Taking Care of Business Conference in June 2024. 

Legislative awareness and engagement is a great value-added component of ABI membership. Later this month, twelve ABI members and leaders will participate in ABI’s biennial DC Fly-In. During this event, participants will engage in meaningful discussions with members of our Iowa Congressional delegation, as well as key figures from organizations such as BIPAC, a nonpartisan entity committed to fostering private sector involvement in the political arena, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

This engagement at the national level provides opportunities to share topics, issues and concerns that are important to ABI members and get direct feedback from our legislatures and national business organizations. If you have comments or thoughts on legislative issues that you would like to share with the DC Fly-In team, please contact Brad Hartkopf, ABI’s Senior Director, Public Policy. 

Each of these events we’ve listed provide great value. But my personal favorite was the recent September ABI Board of Directors meeting. This is the first meeting of our fiscal year and in addition to normal activities, we welcomed newly elected board members. The Board represents the membership in directing and overseeing the organization, and it is a privilege to be around this talented and dedicated group. 

One of the issues discussed at the board meeting was community partnerships. You can read about that and more in this month’s ABI Business Monthly, and I hope you find it of interest. In closing, I would like to note that ABI is off to a very strong start for FY24. For that, and for your consistent strong support, THANK YOU. Pratt