Category: IACAC News

Notice of vote on by-laws changes at annual meeting November 14, 2017.

Posted on | by Scott Case

Notice is hereby given in accordance with Article 8, Section A of the by-laws of The International Air Cargo Association of Chicago of proposed changes to the by-laws which are to be voted on in conjunction with our annual election meeting held this year on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at the Wyndham Garden Elk Grove Village, 2550 Landmeier Rd., Elk Grove Village beginning at 11:15 AM.

The Board of Directors has proposed by-laws changes per the attachment which can be downloaded at this link.

We are proposing several nominal changes including:

• Clarifying that serving board members who leave their member companies must secure a new membership, either corporate or individual within thirty days.

• Removing "telefax, email, telegraph or in writing” and replacing it with the phrase “electronic means or by phone”.

• Adding a section clarifying attendance requirements for board members and what can precipitate the removal of a board member for non-attendance.

• Changing the Presidency from a one-year to a two-year term.

We would like to take a moment to recognize the work of Herman Ruiz who passed away earlier this year for his work on the by-laws. Herman never had the opportunity to see the work he was doing come to fruition, but we wanted to be sure to mention his diligence on the topic during his last years serving on our board.

A red-lined copy of the by-laws changes can be seen here.

The by-laws changes can be enacted by a majority vote of the members present at the meeting on November 14th.

We encourage all members to come out and vote not only for the 2018 Board, but also to vote on these by-laws changes.

Former IACAC President Debby Kopeny and John Boyle, husband of Charlene Boyle, passed away this week

Posted on | by Scott Case

There are things that are not fun to announce, and the past six to eight months have seen us lose many members of our IACAC family. This week, word has reached us on the passage of two more people. Debbie Kopeny was IACAC President in 2006 and passed away this week. This week we also lost John Boyle, the husband of Charlene Boyle who served as President in 1991. 

There are no arrangements at this time for John, but we do have information on Debby's services:

Debby Kopeny Funeral Arrangements:

Visitation:

Saturday, May 20th, from 3 - 9 PM with a 7 PM funeral service.

Sax-Tiedemann Funeral Home & Crematorium

9568 Belmont Ave.

Franklin Park, IL 60131

In lieu of flowers, a memorial to St. Jude is requested.

Here is the link to her obituary.

President’s Letter: November, 2016

Posted on | by Brian Bartolotta, President

If you had told me at any point that we'd see baseball on the north side in November, I probably would have expressed my disbelief quite loudly. Yet here we are, the Cubs playing November baseball and a chance to win the World Series. Best of luck to them.

It has been a pleasure to serve as your President this past year and as we come up on our elections this month, I wish our slate of candidates all the best. I am excited at the people who have generously decided to donate their time on behalf of this amazing organization.

With this in mind, I'd like to look ahead to a few things we have on the schedule between now and the end of the year.

Elections luncheon next Tuesday.

That's right, the annual general meeting of the IACAC will be held and we will be holding our annual elections. The event will be held at the Wyndham Garden Elk Grove Village and you can RSVP here. You can also download the ballot at this link, and all members in good standing of the IACAC are eligible to cast a ballot.

For more information or questions about the election, contact Jim Wilbrandt, our Chaiman at jim (at) basicent (dot) com.

Oktoberfest in November on Thursday.

With thanks to our generous sponsor Alaska Air Cargo, we are holding an Oktoberfest in November event at Church Street Brewing Company, the site of our July networking event. The owners have assured us they even kept a few barrels of their Oktoberfest beer squirreled away in the corner for safe keeping and our consumption.

The Toasty Cheese truck will be making an appearance as well.

Thanks to Alaska Air Cargo, our attendees will receive a coupon for a free gourmet grilled cheese sandwich and a complimentary beer.

Don't miss your chance for a great night of networking - follow this link to register.

Scholarship application period extended through November 11th.

One of the hallmarks of the IACAC and the reason we hold events as fundraisers like our holiday luncheon and the golf outing are to raise money for the scholarship fund.

The deadline for submissions this year has been extended to November 11th, giving qualified applicants the chance to submit in time. We will notify the winners within a few weeks and ask them to make their best effort to attend our holiday luncheon next month to receive their award in person.

For more information including eligibility requirements and to apply, visit our website for all the details.

The holiday party is coming.

And with it, we're looking for raffle items and giveaways for our fundraising efforts. Last year we were fortunate to have not only a wonderful selection of prizes and airline tickets and miles, but the bins were overflowing with the gifts that our attendees generously brought to benefit the Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive.

Mark your calendars and watch your inboxes - this year's event will be held again at the Belvedere on Tuesday afternoon, December 13th. Event registration will be open soon.

Photo credit: Flickr user Dave Herholz, CC by 3.0

60th Anniversary Celebration Rescheduled

Posted on | by Jim Wilbrandt

Everyone:

Due to a scheduling conflict which we discovered was severely and adversely impacting the ability of people to attend and celebrate our 60th anniversary on Thursday night, we have had to postpone the event. That's the only bad news.

The good news is that we have decided that the time to celebrate this momentous time and to look back is during a time of celebration, so we plan to combine the festivities with our annual holiday luncheon to be held on Tuesday, December 8th.

The goal is to move the holiday luncheon to Belvedere Events & Banquets, the venue where we planned to hold the party later this week.

We believe that a special occasion such as our celebration deserves special treatment, and the board is working out the details and will advise them as soon as they are finalized to let you know about an even bigger and better holiday luncheon than we've had in the past.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding. We've already refunded people who paid for tickets to the event and thank you very much for your support.

Our next event will be our October luncheon and our featured guest is Brandon Fried, Executive Director of The Airforwarders Association. Registration for the event is open on our website. Click here for more details.

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.

Don’t miss the Traffic Club’s Transportation Night October 8th.

Posted on | by Brian Bartolotta, President

Held annually, the Traffic Club of Chicago does a tremendous job bringing together the major trade associations in our industry to give job seekers a way to learn about everything involved in supply chain and logistics and where they can get more involved. IACAC has been a proud exhibitor at the event in past years, and you'll find us there again this year.

As usual, the event will be held at the Rosewood Restaurant in Rosemont. There is no admission, there will be appetizers and a cash bar. It is from 5:30 - 8:00 PM.

We would love it if you would attend and support these great organizations. Click on the flier below for more details.

Transportation Night Flier Image

 

AirCargo 2014 Recap

Posted on | by Scott Case

The following summary of AirCargo 2014 is graciously provided by Brandon Fried, Executive Director of the Airforwarders Association.  Brandon is slated to be our October, 2014, luncheon speaker, and we welcome the leadership that he and AfA play for the air cargo community.

Over seven hundred industry professionals descended upon Orlando at the Marriott World Center for AirCargo 2014. The event has been called "The conference for the rest of us" as it features four major industry associations including the Airforwarders Association, the Express Delivery & Logistics Association, the Air & Expedited Motor Carrier Association and Airports Council-NA. These groups represent the backbone of key logistics providers: forwarders, truckers, air couriers and airport cargo managers. The conference theme was "Closing the Deal" and featured programming focused on increasing margins in the freight transportation industry.

AirCargo 2014 AttendeesThe event began with a women's networking event sponsored by Delta Airlines, and a keynote presentation from former American Airlines president Bill Boesch who provided a glimpse of air cargo's past and his predictions of the future. Boesch's presentation received a standing ovation after lots of questions and answers.  The event continued with panels on e-freight, cold chain management, sales prospecting, avoiding cargo theft, international airport cargo operations and a TSA government relations update.  The sold out exhibit hall featured 110 booths with all kinds of industry vendors and culminated with a fantastic final gala at the Fantasy of Flight Museum outside Orlando.
AirCargo 2015 is slated for March 1-3 in New Orleans.
Pictures of the event can be seen at this link.

Toys For Tots Thank You

Posted on | by Scott Case

Every December in conjunction with our Holiday Luncheon and Raffle, we ask attendees to bring a new unwrapped toy to contribute to the US Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.

We recently received a thank you from them and wanted to share the text.

Thanks to Maureen Schmitt of Mallory Alexander who coordinates this event every year.  It feels great to do something great for people.

______________

Dear Caring Friend,

Because your support has played such a significant role in previous Marine Toys for Tots Campaigns, I thought you might like to see just what we were able to accomplish this past year. With your kindness and generosity we were able to fulfill the Christmas dreams of nearly 7 million less fortunate children, who might otherwise have gone without.  Thanks to folks like you we distributed 16.8 million gifts to those children. I simply can’t thank you enough for your help.

Last year was unusually challenging.  Corporate donations were down and just as we were about to begin the program there was a sequestration of our budget and then the actual shut down of our government.   Despite that frustration and confusion; failure in our mission was simply not an option for the thousands of Marines and volunteers who conduct Toys for Tots Programs in over 760 communities throughout our nation. They rose to the occasion and helped millions of desperate Moms and Dads provide for the holiday needs and dreams of their children.

The dedication to our program of our Marines and volunteers is extraordinary, and so is yours. You played a significant role in our effort to provide deserving children  toys, books or other desired gifts for Christmas.  While we continue to fall short of reaching all of our nation’s less fortunate children, we did our best in 2013, and with your continued help, we hope to reach even more children this year.   After all, every child deserves a little Christmas and is worthy of a visit from Santa.

On behalf of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and all the less fortunate families and children you’ve touched with your love and compassion, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Maybe you’re thinking I’m going to ask you for a donation…I’m not !  I simply wanted you to know that the support you provide Toys for Tots in the summer and fall makes a big difference in the lives of millions of less fortunate children and their desperate parents.  Have a great spring and summer and hopefully we’ll talk again in the fall.

Sincerely,

Bill Grein

Bill Grein

Major, USMC (Ret)
Vice President
Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

Join IACAC and YFFA for our March Madness Networking Event

Posted on | by Brian Bartolotta, President

Who doesn't love a little college basketball? Behind the Superbowl, it's the second most heavily-wagered on event.  And this one has all the elements of randomness that makes it so excited. How does it usually turn out? The college hoops junkies watch their brackets get blown up by upsets and somebody who knows nothing about the sport winds up taking home the trophy.

Whether you're a bracketologist or not, we want you to join us the evening of March 20th from 6 - 9 PM for an event that we are co-sponsoring with the Young Freight Forwarders of America (YFFA).  It's at the Wyndham Gardens at 2550 Landmeier Rd. in Elk Grove Village.  We're providing the appetizers and it's a cash bar.

Click here to register.

Mingle and meet your fellow freight forwarders, warehouse operators, airline reps, truckers and make some new friends and business connections.

This event is in lieu of our monthly luncheon which will be on April 8th.  Watch this space because starting in April, we're going to allow people to register and pay on line in advance of arrival at the event.  Not that we don't like seeing you all and swiping your card through our Square dongle, but you'll now be able to pay in advance.

And if you're not a member of IACAC, join now for the low rate of $50 for individual memberships and $100 for a Corporate membership for up to two members.

February Luncheon Meeting

Posted on | by Scott Case

Come out and see the new iacac.com unveiled at our monthly luncheon!

When: Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Where: Holiday Inn, 1000 Busse Rd., Elk Grove Village
When: 11:15 registration, 12:00 luncheon

Guest speaker: Scott Case, Founder and Chief Storyteller of Position : Global

Topic: Introducing the new IACAC.com website

Cost: $25.00, $2.00 surcharge if paying by credit card

Members and other interested parties are welcome to join us at our monthly luncheon where this month we will unveil the new iacac.com that is in development.

Your Association is planning a major revamp in our look and a concerted effort for outreach and engagement in 2014. It would be a pleasure to have you there in person to take part in the kickoff event.

You may RSVP by sending an email to mitch.estrada@ariesgl.com.

PLEASE RSVP. This helps our count for room size and food preparation.