Happy New Year, everyone. As we make our way through this lull week between Christmas and New Year's, it is a great time to look back and close out 2015 and look ahead to 2016. We have plenty of exciting things on the horizon for 2016 as an Association and I wanted to share some of what we're planning for next year.
First of all, thank you very much to outgoing President Jim Wilbrandt and outgoing Chairman Mitch Estrada. These two men have each made their stamp on this organization during their presidencies in 2014 and 2015. This year we celebrated sixty years of the IACAC; a remarkable accomplishment when you compare our organization to other air cargo associations in other cities. We have much to be proud of that this group has kept going without interruption during that time.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sam Krouse. I am currently the Executive Account Manager for Labelmaster’s subsidiary DGM Chicago I previously worked as the Distribution Sales Manager for Labelmaster and attended Miami University where I majored in marketing and minored in management information systems. I'm the proud dad of two daughters and one dog and live in Pingree Grove, IL.
January luncheon: Pros and cons of screening your own cargo.
We're not going to ease into the year, we're going to hit the ground running. Anybody who is an IAC or an IAC's authorized representative should join us January 12th at the Wyndham Garden Elk Grove Village. We're going to present both sides of the "should I do my own screening" issue. Jason Allen is coming in from Washington state and works for U.S. Testing, a distributor of multiple screening solutions for forwarders and others in the air cargo supply chain. He'll talk about the types of equipment, the cost and what forwarders need to do to become their own screeners. Michelle Mejia of Sandler Travis & Rosenberg will talk about the risks such as increased liability and potential penalties for violations.
We've plastered it everywhere but I'll reinforce it; we're at the Wyndham, not the Holiday Inn. Click here to register by noon, January 11th and please let us know you're coming; there's nothing more embarrassing than having to set up more tables or running out of food because we didn't have an accurate count.
Renewal notices coming in the next two weeks.
We'll send out a blast to everyone to begin the renewals process. You'll be able to renew online here on the site or by downloading and submitting a paper application and payment by check, if necessary. This year we're also putting in an auto-expiry for the website, so your membership and access to the website will be shut off on a prescribed date if you don't renew.
Volunteering is a great way to get involved.
Many of the current members of the board got their start as volunteers on a committee. Whether you can commit to year-round involvement or help out for events like our golf outing or holiday reception or even a few months when we issue a call for scholarship applications, your help is always welcome. For more information, contact Jim Wilbrandt, Chairman of the Board, by email.
Submit your news for The Pallet.
Every month, we distribute The Pallet electronically to our members and the air cargo community. If you have cool things happening in your office (acquisitions, new hires, project cargo, awards, etc), share it with us so we can share it with everyone else. You can submit the stories to Scott Case who produces The Pallet for monthly distribution.