Two Weeks Until May Board Meeting - Monday Memo 4/16/18
April 16, 2018
May Board Meeting in Two Weeks; Register Now
The final pre-annual conference meeting of the ABI Board of Directors will be held May 2 in Garner. ABI Chair David Zrostlik (Stellar Industries, Garner) and board members will meet at the Garner Golf Club (http://www.garnergolfcourse.com/) in Garner. If you haven’t already registered, please reply to this message and we’ll take care of that for you.
The night before, ABI will host a dinner for board members arriving in town early. The dinner will be held at the beautiful Surf District Grill http://www.surfdistrictgrill.com/), located next to the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. If you will be attending the dinner, please reply to this message and let me know. There is nothing else you need do than that. Again, dinner is Tuesday evening, May 1.
If you are arriving in Garner the evening prior to the meeting and joining your ABI colleagues for dinner, you'll need a place to stay the night. Use this link to make your lodging reservation at the Garner Inn and Suites (http://www.garnerinn.com/) on the west side of town.
The board meeting will begin at noon on the 2nd and lunch will be served. On behalf of Dave, who will host tours of Stellar Industries following the board meeting, and our other officers, I look forward to seeing you in Garner.
Regional Policy Meeting in Garner May 2
At 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 2nd, right before the May ABI board meeting and at the same location, the ABI public policy team will present one in a series of meetings focused on the results of the 2018 Iowa General Assembly. Attend the meeting to get the most complete information about business issues and the Iowa Legislature. In addition, ABI staff members will discuss the coming election and even address the 2019 legislative session. Click here for more information and to register: http://www.iowaabi.org/events/detail/107-2018-regional-public-policy-meeting-garner/.
Register Now for ABI Regional Policy Meetings
Speaking of the annual regional policy meetings, please make your plans to attend the ABI Regional Public Policy meeting coming to your area of the state next month. At the meeting, you will hear the latest report on the 2018 Iowa Legislative Session, the impact actions of legislators had on your business, and you will receive a preview of the upcoming ABI policy and member events. You will also have the opportunity to share input about legislative issues that you and your employees believe should be the focus of ABI in 2019.
You can register for one or more of the sessions by going to the Events Page on the ABI website. You will find that site here: https://www.iowaabi.org/events/. Simply click on the calendar or scroll down on the page for the meeting nearest you. I hope to see you at one of the policy meetings next month.
Final ABI Legislative Call Friday
What is expected to be the final in a series of teleconferences related to the happenings of the Iowa General Assembly’s 2018 Session will occur this Friday. The call is free and open to ABI members only. Register now at http://www.iowaabi.org/events/detail/95-abi-members-only-legislative-conference-calls/. Participate in the call and hear the latest in happenings at the Statehouse from ABI’s public policy team.
Take Annual ABI CEO Survey Now
Each year, ABI surveys member CEOs regarding issues important to them and their businesses. The survey is available now and your participation is encouraged and desired. You will be able to find the results in the June edition of Business Record Iowa.
Register Now for ABI Productivity Workshop to be Held Next Week
ABI will host well-known time management expert Randall Dean for a seminar on productivity and making the most of your time. This 90-minute seminar will begin at 2:00 p.m. on April 25 at ABI in Des Moines. Please click here: http://www.cvent.com/events/from-distracted-to-productive-finding-your-productivity-and-focus-in-a-hyper-interrupted-world/event-summary-8bfd469e9800433790351398313df1ed.aspx to find more information or to register.
Nominating Committee Work to Begin
With a little more than a month to go to the 2018 ABI Convention, it is the time of year that the annual board member nominating process is conducted. As Immediate Past Chair of the ABI Board of Directors, Lori Schaefer-Weaton (Agri-Industrial Plastics Company, Fairfield), will serve as Nominating Committee Chair.
Lori and I connected last week to review the nominations process. Look for information regarding the composition and activities of the committee in future editions of this memorandum.
ABI Advisory Council to Hold April Meeting
Members of the ABI Advisory Council will hold their regular April Thursday afternoon at LMC. Making note of this allows me to again thank the ABI Advisory Council members for their support and leadership. Thank you to 21st Century Rehab, BCC Advisers, Brick Gentry P.C., BrownWinick, CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC Insurance, Far Reach, Focus OneSource, HDH Advisors, LMC Insurance and Risk Management, Principal Midwest Business Center, Shift Interactive, Tero International , The Iowa Clinic, Wellmark, and Wells Fargo.
CFO Roundtable Meets Thursday
The ABI CFO Roundtable will also meet this coming Thursday at Shive-Hattery in West Des Moines. The Roundtable is one the association’s newest value-added panels, with speakers and programs of special interest to your company’s finance staff. The CFO programs have received high marks from participants and you and your CFO are also invited. Reply to this message for more information.
Million Women Mentors Board to Meet at ABI
Some years ago, at the request of then-Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, ABI agreed to play a leading role in development of Million Women Mentors-Iowa. Since that time, MWM has grown.
MWM seeks to encourage and foster the participation of girls and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. ABI has played a large role in helping develop mentors for Iowa MWM participants. The MWM-IA Board of Directors will meet at ABI tomorrow.
Elevate Parents Night at Agri a Week from Tomorrow
One of the most successful things ABI’s Elevate Advanced Manufacturing initiative has done to get students (potential employees) in to your plant or office is to create Parent’s and Student’s Night events. These events involve a panel discussion about your company and the great careers available there, tours, and fun, food, and prizes. They give parents and students an opportunity to see first-hand what kind of great careers are in store right in their area.
The next event in this series will be hosted by Agri-Industrial Plastics in Fairfield next Tuesday, April 24. Thank you to Immediate Past ABI Chair Lori Schaefer-Weaton (Agri-Industrial Plastics Company, Fairfield) and the team at Agri for hosting!
Latest Edition of Business Record Iowa Now Out
Each month, in partnership with the Des Moines Business Record, ABI publishes Business Record Iowa. This newsprint publication reaches about 7,500 Iowa business leaders all across the state.
The April edition, featuring ABI Board Member Michael Sadler (CenturyLink, Des Moines) and ABI member company President Rowena Crosbie (Tero International, Clive) on the cover of the magazine, should now be in your mailbox, inside the Des Moines Business Record. If you haven't yet received it, please let me know and another copy will be sent to you at once.
Foundation Nominations Sought; BH, LI Boards to Meet; Search Well Underway
There is a lot happening at the ABI Foundation. As you know, your nominations for the next sessions of Foundation programs are desired by May 1. Nominations are free and easy to make; simply go here and click on the link for the programs in which you are interested: http://www.iowaabi.org/abi-foundation/about/.
In other news, two ABI Foundation program boards will meet his week. The Business Horizons Board of Directors will meet Thursday in Des Moines. And, the Leadership Iowa Board of Governors will meet Friday in Cedar Rapids.
Finally, the search for a new Foundation Development Director is well underway. 20 strong applications were received and interviews will be conducted this week with a group of finalists. The group will then be narrowed and another round of interviews conducted. The goal is to have an offer made and accepted by the end of April.
Final Iowa City Pre-Conference Site Visit Wednesday, 2020 Conference Site Visit Today
As you know, with the Annual Taking Care of Business Conference only a few weeks away, preparations for a fabulous event are being finalized. By the way, if you haven’t yet registered, you can do so now at http://www.cvent.com/events/2018-abi-taking-care-of-business-conference/event-summary-10c1c9760a3e4dd682c42cdc092b358e.aspx.
The final site visit with regard to the conference is being held Wednesday. ABI Chair David Zrostlik (Stellar Industries, Garner) and ABI Conference Committee Chair Donna Popp-Bruesewitz (Stellar Industries, Garner) are leading a group of us to make final checks on venues (such as Kinnick Stadium) and menus.
Planning never stops for the conference and it takes longer than you might imagine. The first in site visits for the 2020 conference occurs today, for example! ABI Board Member John Krogman (Connect-A-Dock, Atlantic) and several of us will be visiting Cedar Rapids in the first of several stops around Iowa. So… see you in Iowa City/Coralville this June, in Ames in June of next year, and stay tuned for the site of the 2020 Taking Care of Business Conference.
Lori Schaefer-Weaton, David Bywater Celebrate This Week
It is birthday week for two ABI leaders. Immediate Past ABI Chair Lori Schaefer-Weaton (Agri-Industrial Plastics Company, Fairfield) celebrates her birthday today. Friday, it will be ABI Vice Chair David Bywater (Economy Advertising Company, Iowa City) who will celebrate his birthday. Happy birthday, Lori and David!
Jim Tyler is Recuperating
In my 13 years with ABI, I believe the only time I received a call from a hospital bed was last Monday… when former ABI Chair Jim Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Atlantic) called. Jim had an issue to share with me and only when we finished talking about his issue, and I asked him how he was doing, did he tell me he had been admitted to the Cass County Hospital the past Saturday with acute bronchitis.
The good news is that Jim was released on Tuesday and has been recuperating and feeling better ever since. Thank you to Jayne Tyler for the report! And here’s to Jim continuing to feel better and better each day!
ATW Training Solutions Achieves Highest Sales Honor
Many ABI members have utilized the services of another ABI member to help their companies unleash the potential of their employees and see greater business results. The company that helps them do that is ATW Training Solutions. Last week, it was announced that ATW achieved a high honor. In fact, the highest honor.
ATW was announced as a 2017 Ruby-Award Partner by Wiley. Wiley is a developer of workplace solutions and partners with elite companies such as ATW. Congratulations to everyone at ATW, especially to company President and ABI Board Member Todd McDonald (ATW Training Solutions, Urbandale)!
Diamond Vogel Again Honored for Paint Iowa Beautiful
Two ABI members were in the news last week. Each year, ABI members Keep Iowa Beautiful and Vogel Paint Company sponsor Paint Iowa Beautiful. This unsung program has resulted in almost 800 Iowa communities bettering themselves. Last week, announcement was made of the communities honored with Paint Iowa Beautiful awards for 2018. Congratulations and thank you to everyone at KIB and at Vogel Paint, especially to ABI Board Member Drew Vogel (Vogel Paint Company, Orange City)!