Author: Scott Case

President’s letter: December, 2016

Posted on | by Scott Case

This is the final President's Letter that I will be penning for the website. Beginning next month, the new IACAC President, Scott Case, will take over writing this column. Scott was elected President at our elections in November and I trust he will continue the great work of the Presidents who came before him to engage the air cargo community here in Chicago. I will move into the position of Chairman of the Board.

Joining Scott will be Christina Aguirre as Vice President and our three new voting board members, Pamela DeSalvo, Laura Brown and Maureen Schmitt. Non-voting board directors elected this year are Therese O'Sullivan, Herman Ruiz and Pam Parekh. 2017 promises to be another great year for IACAC.

It has been an honor to serve as the IACAC President this year. When you stop and look at the roster of past Presidents, there are many great people who have served the Association. Thank you very much for this opportunity.

Thanks also need to go to our outgoing Chairman of the Board, Jim Wilbrandt and board member Olya Lebedyeva who are departing this year. We thank you both for your service to the Association and appreciate everything you have done.

Peak Season strong

From forecasts around the industry, there is a surprise bump in trucking demand in this last quarter and both air and sea carriers have seen some stability in rates and increases they have put in place have for the most part been holding.

Network, network, network

It was a hallmark of my tenure as President of IACAC, but I am a firm believer in networking. This year alone, IACAC held events at a baseball game, two events at Church Street Brewing and our March Madness event.

This holiday season, it looks like the calendar can get crushed with one association holiday event after the other, but these are great opportunities to keep your business networks active in case an opportunity presents itself personally or professionally.

In 2017, IACAC is going to be working to provide a mix of luncheon and evening networking events. We discovered the crowds we draw for the two events are different and new faces are able to join us more readily at night, and we are committed to cultivate the next generation of leaders.

IACAC Holiday Luncheon

Speaking of networking events, don't miss ours. It's Tuesday, December 13t,h and you can register online here. This event, as well as our golf outing, raise money for our Scholarship Fund. This year we've awarded two scholarships and have invited both of our winners to attend the luncheon.

Don't show up empty handed, either. Bring two things: An item to be raffled off (gift cards, baskets, sporting event tickets...think what you'd like to win) and an unwrapped toy for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive. We're also setting aside $5 from each ticket for our scholarship fund as well.

Finally, don't show up without a reservation. Please. Last year, we had thirty-some people registered and sixty-five people showed up. We were VERY lucky Belvedere could accommodate and feed everyone. That might not be the case this year, plus the size of the room will depend upon how many we give for a reservation count. Just click here to register.

President’s Letter: June, 2016.

Posted on | by Scott Case

It is finally safe to say that after what has been a remarkably miserable Spring weather-wise, we're out the other end of it. I decided the picture of the lawnmower was best because, well, I've become best friends with it over the past month or so. We've got a regularly scheduled weekly appointment, although that could easily be twice-weekly if I had the time. But summer's here, we (IACAC) aren't slowing down any time soon, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share the things that are important to the Association and you, our members, in the coming months.

AirCargo 2016: June 8 - 10; will YOU be there?

I will, and in fact my company will have a booth in the exhibition hall. The conference is jointly presented by four key air cargo trade associations; the Airforwarders Association (AfA), the Air-Expedited Motor Carriers Association (AEMCA), Airports Council International North America (ACI-NA) and the Express Logistics Association (XLA). It will be at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a worthwhile event to attend. The nearly six hundred air cargo professionals who have already registered to attend will hear great sessions on things like drones and driverless trucks, an SSI-only session with a representative from TSA in Washington to ask pointed questions about security programs and the whole thing will be keynoted by Ray Thurston who started a company called SonicAir and led him ultimately to be CEO of UPS Worldwide Logistics for a period of time.

Don't miss out; registration is still available. If you're a member of one of these four associations, there might still be member discounts available; check with them. Otherwise visit aircargoconference.com to register.

eAWB education and training June 16th in Schaumburg.

The IACAC, along with the CCBFA and CNS are proud to be co-hosting a training session on e-AWB that is sponsored by United Airlines. Beginning in August, airlines at ORD are going to push to receive as many export air waybills electronically as possible. In order to educate the trade community on eAWB and better understand how it works and what is coming, CNS (the US arm of IATA) are offering a free half-day training at the Schaumburg Corporate Center (thanks to IACAC member and sponsor Roanoke Trade for helping to secure the space) on June 16th from 8 AM - 12:30 PM.

If you're unfamiliar with eAWB, how it works and whether you and your software provider can transmit this data to carriers, you will not want to miss this important session. To register or for more information, visit this link with CNS.

The eAWB training session will be our June event in lieu of our usual luncheon event since it's only two days after when we would have had our luncheon.

IACAC Golf Outing open to golfer registration - plenty of sponsorships still available.

It's getting close! Sure, you can go and play Bridges of Poplar Creek by yourself or with somebody else, but it won't be near as fun as doing it with us on August 9th. The registration is now open for golfers and we've kept the pricing identical to last year. For only $125.00 per golfer (or $400.00 per foursome), you will receive continental breakfast, an eighteen hole shotgun scramble, cart and lunch. That's a heck of a bargain, and in the coming weeks you'll be hearing about those great sponsors.

Speaking of sponsorship; there's a reason we do this other than wanting to spend a nice August day outdoors. The proceeds from the golf, sponsorships and prize raffles at lunch benefit our IACAC Scholarship, which last year awarded over $4,000 to three worthy recipients. We want to do the same thing this year, and you, yes you can make that happen. For more information about sponsoring or donating raffle items, download this flier.

If you have any questions, email our Golf Committee chairman Jim Wilbrandt at jim (at) basicent(dot)com.

Chairman’s Letter: February, 2016.

Posted on | by Scott Case

This is a bit of a departure from our normal format and I was pressed into service to write this again. Fortunately, I had twelve months of experience in 2015, all of which are still fresh in my mind. So without any further ado...let's get to it.

IACAC Presidential Election.

Sam Krouse who this great Association elected in November of last year has tendered his resignation to the board. He accepted a job out-of-state and out of the industry and he and his family are relocating. We wish Sam the best and this came as a surprise to all of us. We have consulted with Michelle Mejia, counsel to the Assocation (more on that later), and we must hold a special election for the office of President.

We have two candidates who have declared their interest, Brian Bartolotta of BCS Placement and Olya Lebedyeva of SEKO. Both are members in good standing and eligible to run for the position and we are very excited that two tremendously qualified candidates have put themselves forward to serve the remainder of Sam's term. If Olya is elected, this will open up an additional position on the board that will also require an election.

If you're interested in running for the President, please send me an email by February 9th.

We will be posting a link to the ballot on the site and emailing members that link in the coming weeks. We ask that if you are not going to attend our March luncheon event that you please submit your ballot to me by email as per the instructions.

February event: Networking!

Let's face it, when we're not trying to take business from each other, we love to get together and break bread and share a drink or two, right? Well, we normally do a January networking event, but thanks to the success of our January luncheon featuring Jason Allen of U.S. Testing and Michelle Mejia, we pushed the networking event to this month. Reviews were positive of the Wyndham as a venue, and we're going to be hosting our networking event there. Watch for the email invite and details in The Pallet and through our various social media channels.

Introducing...Michelle Mejia!

At the January board meeting, we voted to accept Michelle Mejia of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg as IACAC Counsel. Michelle has done great work with the Chicago Air Cargo Congestion Forum and will provide us with legal support for issues that the board faces. More importantly, she is available to you, the IACAC member, for issues that you're having with regulatory bodies or other agencies. We are focused on bringing value to our membership in 2016, and Michelle is a first step towards that. If you would like to learn more about Michelle, here is a link to her bio on her firm's website.

Sponsorships available on iacac.com and at our Golf Outing.

Our website generates a lot of traffic - nearly a thousand page views per month. It is a great opportunity for a company seeking to promote their company to the air cargo professionals in Chicago and elsewhere who pay attention. We have opportunities available throughout the site, whether on our home page or interior pages. In fact, we've created a sponsorship page where you can look at the options and pricing and contact us for more information.

We've not yet opened registration to golfers, but know that the annual IACAC Golf Outing will be on Tuesday, August 9th. We are soliciting sponsorships now and several are limited so get on the one you're interested in today. This year we are limiting the number of hole sponsors and will also be offering flag sponsorships. You can have your company's name and logo on one of the eighteen flags for only $75.00. When we're done playing, the flag is yours as a souvenir of the day.

For more information about what is available and to secure your early sponsorship, visit the event page for the Golf Outing.

President’s Letter, January, 2016

Posted on | by Scott Case

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.

Passing of Larry Contarsy, most recently of Scarbrough International

Posted on | by Scott Case

We wanted to let everyone know about the passing of a member of the trade community in Chicago. Larry ContarsyLarry Contarsy was most recently with Scarbrough International as their import manager, but also worked at Nippon Express, UTi Worldwide, Emery, Davies Turner and several other places. Services are this morning and burial is private. The full obituary is below, but donations can be made in his memory to Colon Cancer Alliance Research and Education for Lynch Syndrome at this website.

You can also leave a condolence message on the obituary page on legacy.com

Beloved husband of Chrysa (nee Halladay). Devoted father of Mary (Michael) Morgan, Carolyn and Anna (Scott Heath). He is also survived by his loving parents George and Joyce Contarsy and his mother-in-law Lorraine Halladay. His mother Carole (nee Freed) Contarsy preceded him in death. Dear brother of Elise (Cynthia Lynch), Sandra Wishnick, Susan Wishnick (Allen Steinberg) and Dana Wishnick. Doting and proud grandfather of Iden Heath and Willow Grace Morgan. In his professional life he was licensed by the United States Treasury Department as a Customs Broker. Larry's family, his many friends and colleagues loved, respected and admired him for his kindness and big heart. He was a passionate fan of Chicago sports teams and in particular derived great enjoyment watching his beloved Cubs this season. Donations in his memory may be made to Colon Cancer Alliance Research and Education for Lynch Syndrome ("CCARE"), http://www.fightlynch.org. Visitation Friday from 10 A.M.until time of Funeral Service 11 A.M. at Geils Funeral Home, 260 W. Irving Park Road, Wood Dale IL. Interment Private.

President’s Letter: August, 2015

Posted on | by Scott Case

Welcome to August, the dog days of summer. It certainly decided to wait until this last week of July to hit us with the sustained warmth. The heat feels good, though. Makes it feel like summer has finally arrived, even though the calendar said it got here over a month ago.

There are a significant number of things in the works that I want to share with everyone, and we hope that you’re saving space on your calendar and telling your industry friends about them, because they’re important to not just us, but to others as well.

Golf Outing:

 You’ve heard me beating the drum for it the past several months and now it’s here in a little over a week and a half. August 11th, 8:00 AM start at the Bridges of Poplar Creek in Hoffman Estates. If you don’t book your foursome today, the price goes up from $400 to $500. Single golfers will remain at the $125 per player price.

Can’t join us for golf? Join us for lunch. At only $35, you get an awesome buffet lunch and can join us for a chance to win one of any of a number of amazing prizes donated by our sponsors. Our highlight gifts are three pair of tickets from LAN, Southwest and Air Canada. There are any number of other prizes as well including growlers of beer, tickets to baseball games and other events and locations.

Thanks to all our sponsors for their contributions. Raffle tickets for these items will be on sale during golf and the luncheon and all the proceeds go to benefit our IACAC Scholarship Fund.

Follow this link to register now.

IACAC Scholarship:

 Speaking of the scholarship, we are continuing to accept applications. Our scholarship chair, Olga Lebedyeva, did a tremendous job creating the application and coming up with the three questions that we’re looking to have answered with five hundred words per question. So the application requires fifteen hundred words of writing, a transcript and for the application form to be completed. Easy enough.

It’s open to the children and grandchildren of individual and corporate members in good standing. If someone you know is interested but isn’t a member, it is only $50 for an individual membership and $100 for a corporate membership. A small investment for what IACAC can provide you or your company as well as giving your family member a legitimate shot at a scholarship that could be worth thousands of dollars to their continuing college education.

We're going to be promoting this hard these next two months once we're past the golf outing.

Visit this page for more information.

Chicago Air Cargo Working Group:

This week, the working group that was assembled and convened in the wake of the May forum met by teleconference for the first time. Comprised of a great cross section of individuals representing freight forwarders, ground handlers, airlines and truckers, the group is developing a charter and plans their first in-person meeting in late August at Lufthansa. Your IACAC was an integral part in getting this off the ground and has a seat at the table and a voice in what issues are to be discussed.

Remember, if you have ongoing issues with congestion at O’Hare, contact me and we will work to include these issues in the greater agenda to be addressed.

Board E-mail Distribution List:

This month we set up our general email address (info at iacac dot com) as a distribution that goes to all of the board members. So if you send any email to that address, be aware that is sent along to our entire board of directors.

President’s Letter: May, 2015

Posted on | by Scott Case

IACAC gets out of the starting gate this summer with our May luncheon on May 12. Our guest speaker will be Gina Summerford with Cargolux. Gina has an extensive resume with Cargolux after graduating from University of Alabama, Huntsville, where she studied International Trade. She began her career in 1991 in Huntsville, Alabama, and became Cargolux’s first female loadmaster. She quickly became the operations manager and managed eleven weekly frequencies. In 2005, she moved to Chicago to become the Regional Manager Midwest and grew the frequencies from two weekly to thirteen. Cargolux Airlines Internaitonal , S.A. specializes in international air carriage and is Europe’s largest all cargo airline. Please come out to meet Gina and fellow members of IACAC. Click this link to register.

Congestion Issues Update

In the beginning of April, Jane Sorenson of the Chicago Customs Brokers and Forwarder Association, Scott Case of Position : Global, Brandon Fried of the Airforwarders Association and I have been working with the City of Chicago regarding the current issues at the airport. Jane, Scott and myself will be meeting some of the cargo handlers in two weeks to learn more what can be done to help expedite freight to and from the cargo handlers. If you've got comments or stories, keep leaving them on the blog post that is open for comments.

IACAC Scholarship Update

Do you have a child or grandchild, or are you currently in college or will be attending college in the fall? If so, the IACAC offers a scholarship to current members to help with the cost of college. The applicant must be enrolled in a 2 or 4 year program with a GPA 3.00 or higher. The applicant must submit an essay to the scholarship committee. Some examples to put into the essay can be: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “Future”?; What is the most surprising turn of events you ever experienced? What was the bravest moment of your life? Olga Lebedyeva will speak at the next luncheon to discuss more on the scholarship. Watch this space for more details; we'll get the page up on the site shortly.

Website Credentials Purge

We are working on the member section of the website and are making some changes to the lists. We're updating our process for ensuring that only paid members have access to those areas of the site to which they are entitled, including our membership roster and member rates for our events. As such, in the next month or so we are going to exchange the current users with site access for the most up-to-date, paid list. If for some reason you've still not paid for 2015, get that check to Maureen Schmitt as soon as possible or visit the site and renew.

Golf Outing News

As we come down the stretch towards the golf outing on August 11, we are still seeking hole sponsorships and donations. If you are interested in either one, please reach out to me at jim@basicent.com and let me know if you will like to sponsor a hole or donate or both.

My pick for the Derby is….Mubtaahij

President’s Letter: February, 2015

Posted on | by Scott Case

As I sit here writing this letter, I cannot believe January is over. Before long, baseball teams will be reporting to spring training. I have a few issues that I would like to call your attention to this month and they're important. At least, after you've shoveled out your respective homes and businesses they are!

2015 Memberships, Join or Renew Today!

If you have not joined as of today, please join via our website. For new members, we have two tiers of membership:

INDIVIDUAL: $50.00 per year
CORPORATE: $100.00 per year (this covers two people per company who wish to be involved including the right to vote, benefits that are extended to IACAC members, etc.)
CORPORATE EXTRA: $30.00 per additional named member

February 10th Luncheon: Matt Hart, Illinois Truckers Association.

We are only a week away from having Mr. Matt Hart, the Executive Director of the Illinois Truckers Association, for our luncheon on Tuesday, February 10th. Matt will be sharing his insight on the current climate of the trucking industry regarding the regulations on safety, hours of service, the increasingly shrinking of the driver pool and much more. Matt currently serves as the Region III Chairman of the Trucking Associations Executive Council (TAEC). He was recently named to Congressman Rodney Davis’ Transportation Advisory Board of Directors and also sits on numerous other boards.

The luncheon should be a great insight on the numerous issues that carriers have to face to move freight to/from the airport. Follow this link to register.

AirCargo 2015  - Last Day for Early Bird Discount.

Are you going to AirCargo 2015? AirCargo brings together all actors in the air cargo supply chain in one location to discuss trends, challenges, opportunities and the future of the air cargo industry. Airlines, airport authorities, freight forwarders and expediting companies along with the vendors who support them are all in one place. The conference will be held March 1-3 in “The Big Easy”; New Orleans. This year’s keynote speaker is Jim Crane the owner of the Houston Astros. Most people in the forwarding industry will know Mr. Crane as the person who established Eagle USA Airfreight and later Crane Worldwide.

Save the date - IACAC Golf Outing August 11th.

Save the date August 11, for the Annual IACAC Golf Outing to help fund the IACAC Scholarship. The outing will take place at Bridges of Popular Creek in Hoffman Estates. I am already calling in favors to have better weather than last year!!

IACAC Scholarship Announcement for 2015.

Every summer the IACAC issues a call to submit essays and applications for a scholarship open to individuals or employees of companies who are members. Applications are reviewed and judged by a volunteer panel of IACAC members and then announced at the November luncheon meeting. In 2014, no scholarships where issued out since no person submitted. Please if you know of anybody or have somebody taking higher education classes, please have them submit an essay. If you have any questions or comments, please let the board know.

Stay tuned for more information on March Madness Night!

Have a great February and hope to see you at the luncheon.

ICAO agrees to prohibit lithium metal batteries on passenger flights.

Posted on | by Scott Case

With thanks to Brandon Fried and the Airforwarders Association, please find below a report about lithium metal batteries carried on aircraft.

Provided by the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council, a meeting took place in Montreal to seek harmony in the rules that ban bulk shipments of lithium metal batteries in the United States, but permit them internationally.Lithium Metal Battery

 

The DGP agreed to adopt a prohibition of lithium metal batteries carried as cargo on passenger aircraft, but this does not include:

  • those packed with or contained in equipment, or
  • those carried by passengers in the cabin of the aircraft.

The report of the meeting should be available on the ICAO website sometime this week.  This decision is expected to be approved by the DGP's parent committee, the Air Navigation  Commission (ANC) at its scheduled meeting later this month.  Please note, the ANC may adopt the DGP's decision but has within its prerogative, the option of amending/extending it.  The actual text of the decision, including associated consequential amendments, can be expected towards the end of May.

Some key points to consider:

Will there be an approvals process, that is, will Special Provision A1 be applied?   The Panel voted to apply A1, but only by a simple majority and it was clear that this is one area where the ANC may adopt the stricter criteria of the Exemptions process.  My recommendation is that industry should look at the implications of these two options very carefully.

Second, the effective date was discussed, albeit very briefly.  Industry made the observation that this represents a substantial change and as yet no text of the requirements is available, therefore, a considerable transition period would be required.  As discussed, the effective date would be January 1, 2015, but this date could be moved up or pushed back depending on the discussion and decisions of the ANC.

Passing of Sue Kuzan

Posted on | by Scott Case

Me & SueWe are sad to share with you the news that Sue Kuzan, a licensed Customs broker and longtime member of the Chicago Customs brokerage community, passed away on April 9th of a heart attack at the age of 49.

Our condolences are extended to her and her family, especially her sister Sharon Roman of Quick Caller Directories who has been a long supporting member of the IACAC.

There will be a memorial service on April 26th from 9 AM - 1 PM at:

Oaks Funeral Home

1201 E. Irving Park Rd.

Itasca, IL  60143

The family has requested no flowers.