Register for ABI Conference Starting Next Week - Monday Memo 2/14/22
February 14, 2022
Registration for the Annual Conference Opens Next Week
You have read previously about ABI's 119th annual convention, the 2022 Taking Care of Business Conference. It will be held in Dubuque June 14-16. You do not want to miss this fantastic annual event.
At the conference, you will find not one, but three headline speakers. You will see fabulous venues, you will have access to terrific tours, historical sights, and great golf at the Dubuque Golf and Country Club (Home - dubuquegolf.org), and of course you will take part in the best business networking anywhere. Please register for the conference starting next Thursday (February 24th) by going to https://www.iowaabi.org/events/annual-conference/. In the meantime, finalize your plans now and we will look forward to seeing you in Dubuque in June!
Editor’s Note: The conference flagship hotel is the Hotel Julien and it is already sold-out. However, use the link above to connect to other lodging options, such as the Grand Harbor Resort. It is never too early to make your lodging arrangements.
Register NOW for 2022 ABI Day on the Hill
Be sure to register now for another popular event, the 2022 ABI Day on the Hill. The event will be held Tuesday, March 8. The day starts with registration at 8:30 a.m. at the ABI office in Des Moines' East Village.
You will want to be there to hear the latest news from the Iowa General Assembly. Following that you will be taken by private coach to the Capitol for meetings with legislators and other leaders. Register now at Summary - Day on the Hill 2022 (cvent.com). See you in March.
Annual Luncheon March 8; Watch for Speaker Announcement Soon
An invitation has gone out to a Statehouse leader to be the keynote speaker at the annual IIPAC Luncheon on March 8 (stay tuned for more information). The luncheon is open to IIPAC contributors. If you haven’t yet made your annual IIPAC contribution, you can do so here: https://www.iowaabi.org/public-policy/iipac/. You can also make your donation at the door on the 8th. Please join us then to support IIPAC.
ABI Board Will Meet March 8; Canadian Consul General to Speak
Members of the ABI Board of Directors will meet at the ABI office on March 8. ABI Chair Jack Hasken (Jackson Mfg., Maquoketa) will call the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.
The March meeting agenda will be a full one, with many important issues on tap. In fact, there will be a full day of ABI events on March 8. One highlight of the board meeting will be a brief address by The Honorable Ariel Delouya, Consul General of Canada. The Office of the Consul General is a longtime ABI member/partner and I believe you will enjoy Consul General Delouya’s remarks. Read more about him here: https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/us-eu/minneapolis-rep.aspx?lang=eng.
The day will start with the annual Day on the Hill program that morning and the IIPAC luncheon at noon, followed by the meeting of the ABI Board of Directors. Plan now to join your fellow ABI board members and past chairs at ABI in March.
Executive Committee Will Not Meet in March
You may recall that ABI does not typically hold an executive committee meeting in March. That is because the annual Day on the Hill activities are held throughout the morning, the annual IIPAC luncheon follows Day on the Hill, and then members move right in to the March board meeting in the afternoon. The day will still be a full one, so ABI Chair Jack Hasken (Jackson Mfg., Maquoketa) is keeping in place the usual practice of not holding an executive committee meeting in March. The board will meet at 1:30 p.m. on the 8th.
This Friday (2/18) is Date of Final ABI Legislative Update for February, Will be Held Bi-Weekly through the End of Session
This Friday, February 18th, at 8:00 a.m., ABI lobbyists Vice President Public Policy JD Davis and Director Public Policy Brad Hartkopf will host the next bi-weekly Zoom update to give you the very latest information from the Statehouse. Updates on bills, legislative proposals, state actions, and other matters are covered in each call. Your specific questions about those topics are also very much welcomed.
This session will mark the final update of February, with the next update taking place on March 4. The members-only update is free as a part of your ABI membership, but please register at Legislative Update (Members Only) | Iowa Association of Business and Industry (iowaabi.org).
Advisory Council Meeting February 17
Members of the ABI Advisory Council provide leadership in many ways. Certainly their financial support for ABI is important, but of even greater value are the people and information these great companies provide to ABI members.
The council will hold its monthly meeting on February 17. Please join me in thanking the members of the council. They are Anthologic, AssuredPartners, BCC Advisers, BrownWinick, CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC Insurance, Focus OneSource, Fredrikson & Byron, HDH Advisors, Principal® Financial Network of Central Iowa, The Iowa Clinic, and Wells Fargo.
Latest Business Record Iowa Now Out
The Des Moines Business Record is a great ABI member and partner. The business weekly covers central Iowa and, once a month when it publishes (in conjunction with ABI) Business Record Iowa, it is a statewide newspaper.
The latest edition of Business Record Iowa, ABI's monthly newsprint magazine, is now out and it should be in your mailbox by now. If you haven't received it, please contact me and we'll get another copy out to you right away.
In addition to the latest news about ABI members and programs, the focus of this edition is on the comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic and the optimism of ABI members for 2022. You will find a great photo of ABI Vice Chair Kim Augspurger (Pigott, Des Moines) and ABI Board Member Jack Carra (AssuredPartners, West Des Moines) on the cover.
DMACC Invites ABI Participation in Industry 4.0 Training; CIRAS, Other Community Colleges Involved
As you have read in previous editions of this memorandum, ABI is pleased to be working with our community college partners and the Center for Industrial Research and Service at Iowa State University (CIRAS) related to the state’s Industry 4.0 initiative (sometimes known as Manufacturing 4.0). In that regard, officials at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) are inviting ABI member manufacturers to participate in their Industry 4.0 Training Workshop. Join DMACC, other community colleges, and CIRAS for this two-session workshop on February 28 and March 10. This workshop is offered at NO CHARGE to participants and you can register here: Industry 4.0 Registration (office.com). Thank you to DMACC for the invitation!
ABI Pre-Employment Testing Seminar March 30 in Des Moines
ABI will host its biennial pre-employment testing seminar late in March. This is the place to find the latest information about drug testing and other pre-employment testing programs and to learn the best practices utilized by other companies. The seminar will be held at the ABI office on March 30 and you can find more information and register here: Summary - Pre-employment Seminar (cvent.com). We look forward to seeing your HR, risk management, and compliance teams at ABI on March 30th.
ABI Connecting Statewide Leaders Event in Council Bluffs on March 3
The next ABI Connecting Statewide Leaders event will be held March 3 in Council Bluffs. A high-value panel and networking will all be a part of the program, which is focused on economic development in Iowa. Click here for more information and to register: Summary - Connecting Statewide Leaders - Council Bluffs (cvent.com). These programs are ways to gain information and connect with your fellow ABI members, Leadership Iowa Class members, and others.
Leadership Iowa Board to Meet
This is a busy time for ABI and the ABI Foundation. The Foundation is in the middle of the 2021-2022 Leadership Iowa sessions and is now finalizing planning for the 2022 session of Business Horizons. Thankfully, just like ABI, the Foundation programs benefit from strong board leadership. In that regard, the Leadership Iowa Board of Governors meets Thursday. As for BH, Iowa’s premier summer entrepreneurial experience for high school students, it will again be held at Central College in Pella this summer.
Latest NAM Report: Manufacturing Sees Challenges
The latest edition of the Global Manufacturing Economic Update, published last Thursday by the National Association of Manufacturers, notes that the manufacturing economy is facing several challenges right now. Supply chain constraints, raw materials shortages, COVID variants, and other factors are slowing growth. That said, experts see improvement ahead. To read the report for yourself, reply to this message and I’ll get it to you at once.
ABI Salutes HNI Corporation for 75 Fabulous Years
Max Stanley and Clem Hanson were discussing the end of World War II. They saw a need for a business that would employ returning veterans and make quality products. Thus, in 1947 in Muscatine, Iowa, these two men and H. Wood Miller created the Home-O-Nize Company. 75 years of growth and success later, the company, now known as HNI Corporation, is celebrating a fabulous legacy. Read and watch more about this terrific story here: 75th anniversary | HNICorp. In the meantime ABI salutes HNI and send our warmest wishes to everyone at the company, including former ABI Chair Steven Bradford (HNI Corporation, Muscatine) – here’s to another fantastic 75 years to come!
John Riches, Charles Sukup Celebrate
Two ABI leaders are celebrating birthdays this week. ABI Board Member John Riches (Arconic, Davenport) celebrates his birthday Wednesday. Former ABI Chair Charles Sukup (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield) celebrates his birthday Thursday. Both John and Charles are terrific guys and terrific leaders and it is a pleasure to wish them happy birthday; best birthday wishes to John and Charles!