ABI Work Comp Seminar Today - Monday Memo 3/27/19

March 27, 2019

ABI Executive Committee to Meet in Two Weeks; Board Will Meet in May in Iowa City

ABI Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City) and members of the association’s Executive Committee will meet by teleconference in two weeks.  The April EC teleconference takes place the morning of April 10 and committee members can expect to see the usual packet of meeting materials in their email in-basket next week. 

As for the ABI Board of Directors, that body will meet again on May 8.  The meeting will be held in Iowa City and I hope you make plans now to join your ABI colleagues at MERGE (http://mergeic.com/).  The board meeting will be followed by a tour of Bankers Advertising/Tru Art.  I guarantee you will enjoy these events.  See you in Iowa City in May! 

Biennial ABI Program on Workers Compensation TODAY

Every two years, ABI presents a program designed to share the latest information about workers compensation programs.  The 2019 edition will be held today, Wednesday (March 27) at the ABI office in Des Moines.  One of the largest crowds in years is expected. 

Your HR, risk management, and compliance staff will find the latest in rulings, best practice-sharing, and other items related to workers comp at the meeting.  To register, please click on this link: http://www.cvent.com/events/workers-compensation-best-practices-and-lessons-learned/event-summary-be96531bb7a54282b237b7d3236e9286.aspx.    

ABI Programs in Cedar Valley on April 4

ABI is hosting two high-value programs in Cedar Falls and Waterloo on April 4.  A Connecting Statewide Leaders event and a business value seminar are both on tap.  Both will be great programs.  Please click here for more information: https://www.iowaabi.org/events/2019-04-04/.  

Transformational Sales Program at ABI April 9th

ABI member company Sandler Training is producing a sales program on April 9th.  This 90-minute seminar will take place at ABI, which is co-sponsoring the event.  

You will want to send your sales team to this high-value event.  Overcoming price objections, closing more business at higher margins, controlling the sales call, and learning the winning sales behavior are just a few of the strategic sales components that will be covered in the program.  Go now to https://www.karlschaphorst.sandler.com/events to find more information and register.  

Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference in a Month

ABI and a number of other organizations partner each year in producing the Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference.  The 2019 conference will be held on April 23-24 at the Kansas City Convention Center in downtown Kansas City.  The agenda for the conference is packed full of information and your compliance team members who attend will receive the very latest in environmental regulatory information. 

ABI receives financial support for every Iowa participant that registers for the conference.  While that is a great incentive, the real reason to attend is for the high-value program.  Please consider sending your staff to the conference, which is being held about a month earlier than usual.  Find more information and register by clicking on http://mecconference.com/.    

ABI Legislative Update Teleconference April 5

Get ready for the next ABI Legislative Update Teleconference.  That call will be held Friday, April 5 at 8:00 a.m.  The call is free as a part of your ABI membership, but please register at https://www.iowaabi.org/events/detail/140-abi-members-only-legislative-conference-call/.  This is a busy time at the Statehouse; don’t miss your opportunity to hear the very latest information. 

Great Foundation Auction Items Requested

As the time for the annual conference (including the annual auction benefitting the programs of the ABI Foundation) nears, you will recall that the ABI Foundation staff is calling for your donations for terrific auction items.  Foundation staffers are looking for packages/donations for both the live and silent auction.  If you have donated in the past, please do so again.  If you haven’t donated items to the auction, please take a moment to think about how you or your business can contribute. 

One hundred percent of the proceeds of the auction go to Foundation programs.  To make arrangements, please contact Becky Coady at (515) 235-0569 or at rcoady@iowaabi.org.  Thank you for your consideration. 

Convention Sponsorships Going Fast

As you know, ABI's 116th Annual Convention, the 2019 Taking Care of Business Conference, will be held in Ames in June.  You can click here http://www.cvent.com/events/2019-abi-taking-care-of-business-conference/event-summary-ec071db43f184150bfe139920e29c6d8.aspx to register or to find more information. 

Related to the convention, sponsorship opportunities are now being reserved and they are going fast.  The convention just gets bigger and better each year and sponsors want to be a part of Iowa’s most important business networking event.  You can find sponsorship information on the convention website, but you can always contact ABI directly with your questions or comments.  Thank you to all of the many companies who have already made their sponsorship reservations!

Leadership Iowa Class to Converge on Cedar Valley Next Week

The 2018-2019 Class of the ABI Foundation’s Leadership Iowa program has been another in a string of terrific groups.  Class members have been strongly engaged in the LI sessions and they will have an opportunity to come together again next week. 

Beginning with an informal session next Wednesday evening, the class will convene in Cedar Falls and Waterloo through Friday, April 5.  This session will focus on education.  A wonderful slate of speakers has been developed to address the LI class.  Look for a full report at the next meeting of the ABI Board of Directors. 

Get Real-Time Updates from ABI via Twitter

ABI members tell me all the time how much they value the up-to-the-minute news they receive from ABI.  Quite a few ABI staffers tweet information all day long.  

At this time of the year, the real-time updates from the ABI Public Policy team of Nicole Crain, Brad Hartkopf, and Drew Wynes are particularly valuable.  You can get news AS IT IS HAPPENING directly from the floor of the General Assembly or from a committee room.   As you know, just a few years ago, Nicole was ago ranked as one of Iowa's top tweeters for business news by the Des Moines Register

If you are already familiar with Twitter, follow Nicole, Brad, Drew, Kathy Anderson, David Hildahl, Kay Neumann-Thomas, and Michelle Vollstedt, me, and various ABI and ABI Foundation program feeds.  If you aren't a Tweeter or need assistance, just reply to this email and we'll get you set up. 

Nominate Students for Leadership Iowa and Business Horizons

Leadership Iowa and Business Horizons desire your nominations.  It’s easy to nominate and you can do so by going to https://www.iowaabi.org/abi-foundation/about/ and clicking on the program links.  Thank you in advance for nominating participants for each of these important programs. 

ABI Members Can Golf at Two Fantastic Courses in the Weeks Ahead; Conference Outing June 4; Executive Open August 26

You'll have the opportunity to play two great golf courses in the coming months.  Ames Golf and Country Club (https://www.amesgolfcc.com/), the site of the annual conference golf outing on June 4, is a beautiful private course minutes away from the main conference hotels in Ames.  You will really enjoy this award-winning course.    

You will also again have the opportunity to play the gorgeous Des Moines Golf and Country Club (https://www.dmgcc.org/) in West Des Moines, one of Iowa's most exclusive private golf clubs.  This fall, the association will host the tenth annual Executive Open at the club.  A huge crowd is expected for the event, which routinely sells-out.  Please mark your calendars for August 26 and make plans to join your ABI colleagues for a terrific time. 

Ames Venues for 2019 Iowa Taking Care of Business Conference are Spectacular

Every year at this time, I admit to being given to a bit of hyperbole when describing things related to the annual conference.  In my own defense, however, every year I am right. 

ABI Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/True Art, Iowa City), members of the conference planning committee, chaired by Lisa Patterson (Bankers Advertising/True Art, Iowa City), and several of us on staff have made many visits to Ames and you will be amazed at the venues to be experienced there.  

From the fabulous hotels and conference center, to the terrific restaurants, and to historic Jack Trice Stadium and Hilton Coliseum, you will be enchanted.  Use this link: http://www.cvent.com/events/2019-abi-taking-care-of-business-conference/event-summary-ec071db43f184150bfe139920e29c6d8.aspx and register now for the annual conference. 

NAM Report: Manufacturing Expands

Last week’s Monday Economic Report, published by the National Association of Manufacturers, was a strong one.  The report outlined several positive data points and noted that manufacturing activity is expanding.  If you wish to read the report for yourself, please reply to this memo and I will forward it to you at once.