Executive Committee to Meet Wednesday - Monday Memo 10/8/18
October 8, 2018
Next Board Meeting a Month Away; Executive Committee Meets Wednesday
ABI Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City) is inviting all former chairs and members of the board to join him for the final board meeting of 2018. The board will meet at ABI headquarters in Des Moines' East Village on Wednesday, November 7. To register, simply reply to this message. You can expect a very full agenda.
Again, this will be the final board meeting of the calendar year; I hope you can attend. As for this month, the ABI Executive Committee will hold its monthly teleconference the day after tomorrow.
Be watching for BIG Conference Speaker Announcement
Believe me when I tell you that you do not want to miss the 2019 ABI Taking Care of Business Conference. Plans are shaping up to make this event truly spectacular.
Making sure that is the case is a great conference planning committee, chaired by Lisa Patterson (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City). Lisa, ABI Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City), and the committee are putting together a terrific conference and the keynote speaker will be one of the very best ever presented by ABI. Watch for an announcement in the coming weeks and I assure you it will be exciting! In the meantime, mark your calendars now for June 4-6 and we'll see you in Ames for a fabulous conference!
2018-2019 Leadership Iowa Class to Meet
The initial session of the 2018-2019 Leadership Iowa class will be held next week at the Honey Creek Resort and Conference Center in southern Iowa. The 37th annual class will hear from terrific speakers, such ABI Board Member Jason Gross (EMC Insurance, Des Moines) and former ABI Board Member Tom McMahon (Barker Company, Keosauqua), and get to know each other. The class will meet again in November.
As members of the board, you will have multiple opportunities to meet the LI class during the coming months. In the meantime, thank you for your support of the LI program.
New Location for 2019 ABI Legislative Reception; Registration Open Soon
ABI’s award-winning public policy advocacy is successful for many reasons. One is a terrific staff. Another is a sophisticated array of tools and programs in place to support that work. But the critical reason for our success is you. Your personal relationship with your legislator is vital to ABI’s success.
The association’s second largest event held each year is a great tool to use to help in maintaining that personal relationship. The annual ABI Legislative Reception is always a terrific event. You will be able to register soon for the 2019 Reception, which will be held January 16th.
In the meantime, the big news related to the event is that it will be held at an exciting new location. Feedback from the 2018 event was clear… ABI members enjoyed the Iowa Tap Room, but wanted a larger venue to accommodate such a large crowd. Well, the venue in January will be able to do just that. The 2019 reception will be held at Des Moines’ Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center. The convention center is spacious and is connected by skywalk to the brand new Hilton Hotel. And, parking is plentiful and convenient. Please make plans now to attend.
Friday is Deadline for ABI Directory Updates
This is the time of year that ABI's member database is being updated. Information from the database will be checked, formatted, and put in to hard copy form for inclusion in the 2019 ABI Resource Guide. The guide, in addition to including member data, includes information on the association's people, programs, and events.
If there are no changes in your personnel or company information, you need do nothing. If you have updates, simply send an email to Dorothy Knowles at dknowles@iowaabi.org. The deadline to receive updates is the end of the week. Thank you for helping ensure accurate information.
Last week’s Events Celebrated Iowa Manufacturing
Last week, ABI held the annual Iowa Advanced manufacturing Conference. A great crowd was on hand to hear terrific speakers, attend high-value workshops, and share best practice ideas with each other. At a ceremony during lunch, ABI Board Member Kim Augspurger (Saxton, Des Moines) was honored with the ABI Advocacy in Action Award; congratulations to Kim!
The evening before, Iowa manufacturers were celebrated at the fourth annual ABI/Elevate Legends in Iowa Manufacturing Awards Dinner. Congratulations to these ABI leaders and others who were recognized at the Legends Dinner: Tim Greene (Quality Machine, Audubon), Dick Davidson (Thombert, Newton), Jim and Kirk Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines), Roger Brown (Precision Pulley and Idler, Pella), West Delaware Community Schools (Manchester), and Kelly Mitchell (DMACC, Ankeny). Iowa manufacturing icon Eugene Sukup (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield) was honored posthumously and former ABI Chair Charles Sukup (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield) shared remarks on behalf of the family. Congratulations to all the awardees and thanks to all who attended!
UEA to Host Manufacturing Night for Parents and Students
Speaking of manufacturing events, more ABI member companies are hosting a Manufacturing Night designed to let students and their parents know about terrific manufacturing careers. GMT Corporation, United Equipment Accessories, and others (in conjunction with Waverly-Shell Rock High School and Hawkeye Community College) will host the event on the evening of October 30.
Food, tours, information, and even a drawing for a scholarship are all on tap at the event. Congratulations to everyone involved, including former ABI Chair Mark Hanawalt (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly), company HR Manager Amy Larsen (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly), and former ABI Board Member Jared Graening (GMT Corporation, Waverly). For more information, reply to this message and I will provide you with it right away.
Governor Reynolds Visits Arconic
You may get tired of hearing me say it, but one of the most important things you can do to advance ABI’s public policy agenda is to invite policy-makers into your plant or office. Longtime ABI member Arconic is one of the best at getting elected officials to visit.
Last Tuesday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds again visit Arconic’s sprawling Davenport operations. Congratulations and thank you to longtime ABI Board Member John Riches (Arconic, Davenport)!
Roger Hargens Honored
A longtime ABI leader was honored last Tuesday evening. ABI Board Member Roger Hargens (Accumold, Ankeny) was awarded the Person of Vision Award by the Ankeny Economic Development Corporation. The name of the award certainly applies to Roger; Congratulations, Roger!
Norplex-Micarta Recognized for Workforce Partnership
Longtime ABI member Norplex-Micarta is just one example of a great company working with its local community college to develop and upskill Iowa’s workforce. The sort of work is vital to Iowa.
The company was recently recognized by Northeast Iowa Community College for its leadership in partnering on workforce initiatives. You can read more about it here: https://www.nicc.edu/aboutnicc/news/norplex-partnership-nicc.html?upid=15833120&ebid=16114010&ebslid=1245068&eblid=154. ABI salutes everyone at the college and at the company on this terrific partnership, including ABI Board Member Alan Johnson (Norplex-Micarta, Postville)!
Jim Tyler Recuperating; Atlantic Bottling Supplier of the Year
At church, when it is time for joys and concerns, the concerns are shared first, so that things can end on a good note. Well, there was a concern last week. Former ABI Chair Jim Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Atlantic) was hospitalized at the beginning of the week. Thankfully, Jim was released and he is now doing well. That’s a joy and best wishes, Jim!
More good news came when Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company was named the 2018 Supplier of the Year by the Iowa Grocery Industry Association. The company will officially receive the award at the IGIA Annual Awards Dinner to be held later this fall. Congratulations to everyone at Atlantic Bottling, including Jim and former ABI Chair Kirk Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines)!