ABI Heads Back to Okoboji - Monday Memo 7/30/18
July 30, 2018
Leaders Event Wednesday, Thursday in Iowa Great Lakes Area
As you know and in response to your requests, ABI will return to the Iowa Great Lakes for a member event in the popular series of Connecting Statewide Leaders events. It is not too late to make your plans to join us later this week for great programming, networking, and venues.
Former ABI Chair Toby Shine (Shine Bros. Corp., Spencer) will start things off this Wednesday (August 1) by hosting attendees at his business in Spencer. It is a fabulous tour and one you will enjoy. That will be followed by a reception and dinner at The Barn in Okoboji, a fun lakes-area venue.
The next day (Thursday August 2), a program will be held featuring Immediate past ABI Chair David Zrostlik (Stellar Industries, Garner) and ABI members John Mickelson (Midwest Growth Partners, West Des Moines), Paul Juffer (LWBJ, West Des Moines), and Sheldon Ohringer (Caleris, West Des Moines). A panel, focused on Generational Succession, with former ABI Chair Frederick V. Buie (Keystone Electrical Manufacturing Company, Des Moines) and honorary board member and Leadership Iowa representative Molly Varangkounh (Hy-Capacity, Humboldt), will be led by ABI Board Member Steve Jacobs (BCC Advisers, Des Moines).
The program wraps up Thursday morning with remarks about adaptability in business by former Iowa State basketball player Paul Shirley. Find more information and register now at: http://www.cvent.com/events/connecting-statewide-leaders-bringing-boji-back/event-summary-fdc283cb22ec41a2abb45c3527f13328.aspx. See you in Okoboji later this week!
Policy Development Meetings Start Next Week
ABI's annual policy development process is overseen this year by ABI Vice Chair John Krogman (Connect-A-Dock, Atlantic) and it will begin with a meeting of the ABI Employment and Workforce Committee a week from tomorrow. Thank you to ABI member Amy Larsen (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly), who chairs the committee.
Over a hundred ABI members have already registered to attend one or more of the five committee meetings. If you haven't already done so, there is still plenty of time for you and your employees to register. Simply go to https://www.iowaabi.org/events/ to register for the committee meetings of interest to you. The ABI Board of Directors will act on the recommendations of these committees at the September board meeting.
August ABI Executive Committee Teleconference Two Weeks from Wednesday
Members of the ABI Executive Committee will convene for their monthly teleconference on August 15. ABI Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City) and committee members will work through a full agenda in advance of next month’s meeting of the ABI Board of Directors.
As you know, the first ABI Board Meeting of the 2018 fiscal year will be held on September 12. Please mark your calendars now and finalize your plans to participate in this important meeting.
Leadership Iowa University to Begin Tenth Annual Class Sunday
Next Sunday (August 5), the tenth annual session of the ABI Foundation’s Leadership Iowa University program will convene at ABI. ABI board members and former Chairs are invited to meet and interact with LIU students.
You can help LIU by participating in a business leader roundtable discussion on Wednesday, August 8 at EMC Insurance in downtown Des Moines. The roundtable comes with a free lunch and will take place from 12:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Thank you to ABI Board Member Jason Gross EMC Insurance, Des Moines) for hosting. Please reply to this memo for more information.
Chief Justice Seeks ABI Feedback about Iowa Business Specialty Court
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady addressed the ABI Board of Directors some years ago. One of the primary components of his remarks was information related to the creation of the Iowa Business Specialty Court. The Court was established in 2012 to expeditiously move business or complex commercial litigation through the court system. As of 2018, 57 cases have utilized the business court. You can find more information here: https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/district-court/iowa-business-specialty-court/.
The court is considering a change in the criteria by which a case can move to the business court. The current criteria can be found here: https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/cms/MemorandumOfOperation_51AB39E424F52.pdf. The proposed change would allow one party (instead of all parties) to file an application to transfer the case to the business court.
The Chief Justice in interested in feedback from ABI members on this proposed change. If you have comments to share, please contact Molly Kottmeyer, Counsel to the Chief Justice, at molly.kottmeyer@iowacourts.gov, or at (515) 348-4965. Should you have questions or comments before submitting comments to the court, please don’t hesitate to contact me by replying to this memorandum or call (515) 235-0562.
ABI Advisory Council Meets August 16
Members of the ABI Advisory Council provide significant support for the association. Certainly their financial investment is important and appreciated, but even more valuable is the programming and resource support they provide for ABI members. The council will hold its August meeting two weeks from Thursday in Des Moines. Thank you to the members of the ABI Advisory Council. The Council includes 21st Century Rehab, BCC Advisers, Brick Gentry P.C., BrownWinick, CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC, Far Reach, Focus OneSource, Global Reach, HDH Advisors, LMC Insurance and Risk Management, Principal, Shift Interactive, Tero International, The Iowa Clinic, Wellmark, and Wells Fargo.
Tenth Annual ABI Executive Open in Four Weeks
Register now for the tenth annual ABI Executive Open Best Ball, which will be held four weeks from today, on August 27, at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines. Golf, networking, and a reception will highlight the day. Registration has been open for a couple of weeks and golf is nearly sold-out! To register right now for the remaining spots, go to http://www.cvent.com/events/abi-executive-open-2018/event-summary-5649dbb1599a4a19b881d3714e7303ca.aspx. We look forward to seeing you there.
Annual Manufacturing Conference, Legends Dinner October 2, 3
The annual ABI Manufacturing Conference and the fourth annual Legends in Manufacturing Dinner will be held in Greater Des Moines on October 2nd and 3rd. You can find more information and register here: http://www.cvent.com/events/legends-in-manufacturing-awards-dinner-and-or-advanced-manufacturing-conference/event-summary-de211e47fb134bf5ad05f7564b050780.aspx. See you there!
YPIowa Conference September 21
The ABI Foundation provides administrative support for Young Professionals of Iowa, our state's largest group for young professionals. YPIowa is now getting ready for its annual conference, to be held September 21st in Spencer. Find more information at YPIowa Annual Conference.
ABI Members Continue Tornado Recovery
Many ABI members have offered assistance to those association members in Marshalltown and Pella that are working hard to recover from damage inflicted by the tornadoes that struck Iowa recently. Thank you to all who have stepped forward with storage capacity, manufacturing capacity, and in other ways.
If you have some resource that might be helpful but haven’t yet come forward and you want to do so, please reply to this memorandum and we’ll get you connected at once. In the meantime, we continue to keep members, especially Lennox and Vermeer Corporation, in our thoughts and prayers.
New Board Member Orientations Continue Tomorrow
Meetings with new members of the ABI Board of Directors continue. Tomorrow, I’ll be meeting with the honorary Leadership Iowa board member, Molly Varangkounh (Hy-Capacity, Humboldt).
You’ll meet Molly and the other new board members at the meeting on September 12. In addition to Molly, other newly-elected board members include Matt Ahmann (Principal, Des Moines), Brett Bosworth (R&R Equity Partners, West Des Moines), Connor Deering (CemenTech, Indianola), Rich Dwyer (Kent Corporation, Muscatine), Phil Jones (Rada Manufacturing, Waverly), Nick Gerhart (FBL Financial Group, West Des Moines), Randy Moore (Iowa American Water, Davenport), Mindi VandenBosch (Vermeer Corporation, Pella).
New ABI Foundation Websites Now Live
You will recall that ABI’s website was redesigned a little over a year ago. Better graphics, stronger content, easier navigation, and other benefits have been the result. Well, the websites related to the ABI Foundation (and all its various programs) have also now all been redesigned. Click http://www.iowaabi.org/abi-foundation/foundation-programs/ to see the new website(s) for yourselves. Applications for Foundation programs should now be much easier, among other benefits. Thank you to ABI Foundation staff members for their work with the new websites!
Kent Corporation featured at White House
Longtime ABI member company Kent Corporation was featured in product showcase at the White House in Washington, DC early last week. A number of the company’s terrific animal nutrition products were highlighted. Click here to read more: https://www.radioiowa.com/2018/07/24/muscatine-company-showcased-in-white-house-business-event/. Congratulations to everyone at Kent on the great attention, including ABI Board Member Rich Dwyer (Kent Corporation, Muscatine)!
Forbes Ranks Principal Best Employer for Women
Each year, Forbes magazine publishes an annual listing of the companies that represent the best employers for women. This year, longtime ABI member Principal earned the very top spot on the list.
Forbes cited flexible work schedules, prenatal care programs, onsite child care, and especially the company’s commitment to equality as chief factors in the lofty ranking. Read the article for yourself by clicking on: https://www.forbes.com/sites/vickyvalet/2018/07/24/americas-best-employers-for-women-2018/#14b1f21d6161. Congratulations to everyone at Principal for this terrific achievement, including ABI Board Member Matt Ahmann (Principal, Des Moines)!