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The IACAC Announces 2021 Scholarship Winners!

Posted on | by Scott Case

The IACAC is thrilled to announce our 2021 scholarship winners!

Every year the IACAC works hard to raise money for exceptional college students and this year we were fortunate enough to give out awards to four students for $1500 each. The scholarship fund is created and maintained by raising money at our annual golf outing, networking events, and donations from members like you!

Congratulations to Anthony Divenere, Mia Crotty, Lilly Sato, and Cathlene Tomas!

The award presentation will take place at our annual holiday luncheon and raffle on Tuesday, December 14th.

Register now to attend and support our future leaders as we celebrate their success and feed next year's pot with raffle giveaways!

On behalf of the IACAC Scholarship Committee, we congratulate the winners and wish them great success!

President’s Letter: September, 2021

Posted on | by Scott Case

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks that changed the world in ways too numerous to count. The most important thing to keep front and center in our minds are those who lost their live at home and abroad. Whether in the attacks, the subsequent war effort which drew to a close last month in Afghanistan, from injuries or exposure during the cleanup or the untold number civilians caught in harm's way, the world has paid a price too great to be tallied.

Seen through the prism of air cargo, the changes brought on with the creation of the TSA and the security programs that are in place today evolved over that time. I had a front-row seat for it, representing the NCBFAA as their air freight committee chairman and participating in seemingly monthly stakeholder meetings at the new agency, mostly with the AfA's Brandon Fried by my side representing the interests of air freight forwarders.

The continued need for vigilance through the air cargo supply chain has not waned during this time - it has only evolved. Technology has evolved, canines have been added and the worries about cargo have expanded beyond bombs in boxes to unsafe batteries and potential cyber-intrusions. All of which is to say that the need for the air freight forwarder and the importance of our role in the supply chain is not just focused on keeping air freight moving through congested supply chains, but continuing to keep the flying public safe as they return to the skies for personal and commercial travel.

Golf Outing Thank You's:

We held the annual golf outing last month and have posted up an assortment of pictures here on our website. This event doesn't happen without a lot of help from a lot of people and groups. Thank you to:

  • Chuck Menini
  • Brian Bartolotta
  • Ben Pecoraro
  • Christine Aguirre
  • Laura Candella
  • Therese O'Sullivan
  • Jim Slawnikowski
  • The staff of Bridges of Poplar Creek Golf Course

Without all your efforts, the day would not have been possible. Thank you as well to our sponsors:

We're really looking forward our next social event at Church Street Brewing Company as we return to our traditional Oktoberfest party on Thursday, September 23rd. Sponsorship opportunities are available - contact me to learn more.

President’s Letter: June 2021

Posted on | by Scott Case

The IACAC is excitedly looking ahead to the summer and the rest of the year and wanted to let everyone know what we're looking ahead to.

Next Tuesday's IN PERSON MEETING - Charters

We're not able to serve food just yet - but attendees will get a $10 gift card to a local restaurant to get their own meal. 

Charters are continuing to hold sway with forwarders and airlines even as passenger flight schedules are returning throughout the summer. Forwarders - and airlines - each have a role to play in the sourcing and scheduling of these complex but important flights. Join us Tuesday to hear a representative from United Airlines as well as someone from our local forwarding community talk about charters and what's involved in their planning and execution. Register here. 

Seeking sponsors for Chicago Dogs game in July

We're planning our first social gathering in July at the Chicago Dogs. Your sponsorship will underwrite the cost of admission as well as food and beverage tickets for our attendees. We're still finalizing the event, but sponsorships are available for $100, $250, $500 and $1000. Sponsors will get the attendee list and also be able to provide literature or giveaways - we cannot have signage inside the park. If you're interested in sponsoring, send an email to info@iacac.com and we'll work out the details.

Golf Outing August 10th!

Don't miss it - we're back and spots are - honestly - going quickly. We've got capacity for up to 144 golfers and are planning our luncheon afterwards.

Sponsorships are available for the golf outing as well including breakfast, on-course opportunities to sit and network with golfers, lunch at the halfway house and more. PLUS we'll have our traditional post-golf luncheon and raffle to benefit our Scholarship Fund.

To register, check out the event page and get signed up! We'll be making contact with 2019 sponsors who get right of first refusal here in 2021 for the holes they were on previously.

Oktoberfest!

Yep - we'll be back at Church Street. Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 16th for our annual event. Beer, music, food truck - fun. We're looking forward to getting back together with everyone.

President’s Letter: October, 2020

Posted on | by Scott Case

First and foremost, I hope that this message finds everyone healthy and that their family and friends are feeling the same.

Second, everyone in this industry who is going to work every day and keeps commerce flowing and is frantically scaling up and getting ready for the inevitable onslaught of vaccine delivery and distribution - thank you. On behalf of a grateful nation - and really, grateful world - the people doing this for a living are doing so in plain sight but without the slightest awareness of the public how much they should be appreciated.

Here at the I.A.C.A.C., our board has been meeting regularly, but we've adopted a month-by-month approach to events on our calendar because, quite honestly, we're at the mercy of public health authorities and what just makes good safe sense for our members.

As a board, we carry officers & directors liability insurance, sure, but it doesn't mean we feel like testing the limits of that policy were someone to get sick - or worse - at an event we were holding.

For fans of the show Futurama, it's essentially putting Fry on ice for a few thousand years and coming back out, except in our case it's most likely going to be more like a year and a half (read: early next summer) before it is sufficiently safe to bring large numbers of people together.

Because of the fluidity, we want to bring you up to speed on the rest of 2020 and what we're looking for to 2021.

The scholarship needs YOUR help.

The IACAC Scholarship Fund is filled every year by our golf outing and holiday party. These two events, the money we raise from sponsorships and the generosity of our attendees in buying raffle tickets bring in thousands of dollars which we then award in scholarships.

This year, with no golf outing, we're asking people who usually attend and bring items to donate to just make a cash contribution instead.

The association has set up an entirely separate bank account and 501(c)(3) corporation to receive and disburse the donations as scholarships. If you would normally spend $50 or $100 (or more!) on raffle items, we ask that you consider donating us that amount in cash instead. We can accept payment via check or credit card and you'll be sent a copy of our IRS letter you can use to declare it a charitable donation on your corporate or personal income tax (speak to your tax preparer to confirm this for your individual filing needs).

IACAC Holiday Party: Stay tuned

We might as well let it out that this year, we were really excited to be changing venues to Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Arlington Heights and had planned our Holiday Luncheon for Tuesday, December 8th. Conversations last week with the restaurant's event team highlighted that the current limit in the state of Illinois is 50 people - and we'd booked a room with 100 person capacity.

Beside the fact we'd be upside down on the event, we also don't know what the current level of openness will be based on COVID infection rates at the time. We're leaning to what people in the events sector are calling a "lift and shift" and moving it wholesale (with our deposit) into 2021. Stay tuned for communications on that.

Notional 2021 calendar

Pending the resumption of other in-person events which might conflict for our members (like CNS or other major trade shows), we have tentative planned the following schedule.

  • January 12th - Educational event or webinar
  • February 9th - Educational event or webinar
  • March 9th - Educational event or webinar
  • April 13th - Educational event or webinar
  • May 11th - Educational event or webinar
  • June 8th - Educational event or webinar
  • July 13th - Educational event or webinar
  • August 10th - ANNUAL IACAC GOLF OUTING
  • September 14th - Educational event or webinar
  • October 12th - Educational event or webinar
  • November 9th - Elections
  • December 14th - ANNUAL IACAC HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

We're extremely grateful of the support of our sponsors and members through 2020 and are looking forward to finding ways to deliver more member value and greater opportunities for our sponsors moving through the rest of this year and into 2021.

President’s Letter: April, 2020

Posted on | by Scott Case

There are few words to really capture what is happening in the world at the moment. It's more a never-ending series of days that seeming run together into "day-that-ends-in-y"day, because time is passing far from linearly.

I've said half-jokingly that given what air cargo has gone through in 2020, first in China and then moving into Europe and finally here in America, I feel as if I'm aging at the same rate of speed as my dogs. 7 of their years to one of mine is about where we're at right now.

Remember when the biggest concern was low-sulfur fuel? I mean, I'm old enough to remember the signing of a Phase 1 agreement with China.

But that's not where we're at now.

The past month has seen a 97% year-on-year drop in passenger air travel, millions of people out of work shelter-in-place orders and the global economy vaulting off a cliff, Thelma and Louise style. Our industry is certainly not immune as layoffs have gripped logistics companies as they and their customers try best to forecast when and how we come back and what it looks like when we do.

The IACAC is here for our members just like we have for the past sixty-plus years.

We know this isn't an easy time, but as we all ride through this together, I can't help but think that as we work to be valuable to our customers, to maintain our networks and find ways to come together by remaining apart, we will have a refreshed appreciation as we take those first tentative steps back to coming back into offices after scanning our closets for "work" clothes.

Me personally? I've become my grandfather, wearing the same shoes around the house every damn day. I miss footwear.

While we've had to make changes in our early 2020 programming, rest assured that we're still looking forward to a number of exciting events as we move into the rest of the year, including our annual golf outing and a our holiday party - which we are excited to announce will be moving to Coopers Hawk Restaurant & Winery in Arlington Heights.

So, stay tuned, stay safe and keep #flatteningthatcurve. The doubling statistics continue to grow longer in Illinois, a sign that things are improving. But like an athlete that tries to rush back to the game too soon after rehabbing an injury, we need to carefully evaluate how we begin again, but only with proper testing, tracing and identification.

Share your stories with us.

If your company is out there doing amazing things to help through this pandemic, we'd love to know about it and tag and amplify it. In case you didn't know where to find us on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IACACORD/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/IACACORD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1848998/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/IACACORD

President’s Letter: November, 2018

Posted on | by Scott Case

As I teased in The Pallet, November's a big month for voting. On the first Tuesday of the month, we vote for state and federal candidates. On the second Tuesday of the month, we vote for board positions for the IACAC. It is humbling to see new faces running for the board - it tells us that the energy the group is generating makes people want to be part of it and advance us even further. We are fortunate to have guidance, advice and support from many past presidents and board members - and what those people have to say and offer is extremely valuable and informs us as we debate and consider new opportunities for our members.

The annual election luncheon will be held Tuesday, November 13th, at the Department of Aviation. We encourage all our members to attend not just to network, but to meet our candidates, all of whom will be speaking and presenting themselves at the event. If you can't make the event in person but are a member in good standing of the IACAC, you can vote for the candidates by absentee ballot.

All you need to register for the luncheon or download and submit your ballot can be found right here.

December Holiday Luncheon

Mark your calendars for Tuesday - December 11th - a little over a month from now - to join us for our annual Holiday Luncheon at Belvedere Events & Banquets in Elk Grove Village. As always, we encourage everyone to bring an unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots collection that IACAC Board Member (and Marine) Maureen Schmitt arranges. Please also bring items that we can raffle off to raise money for our Scholarship Fund. Tickets are a very affordable $35 for members and non-members alike and we encourage everyone to join us and participate. Registration is open for the luncheon at this link.

IACAC Board On The Road - TIACA and WESCCON

Chuck Menini and I were both in Toronto for TIACA's Air Cargo Forum 2018 - it was extremely informative and gave us a few great ideas for topics to have for our upcoming luncheons, including UAV's and explosive-sniffing dogs. Along with this were very interesting sessions, some of which are available on TIACA's Periscope page that were live-streamed or by going back through TIACA's Twitter feed from those few days. 

If you're interested in hearing what Chuck and I had to say, why not check out this video from the IACAC Facebook page? 

I was also fortunate enough to score an interview with TIACA's Secretary General Vladimir Zubkov. That video is also on the IACAC Facebook page - but go ahead and use this direct link.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Brian Bartolotta was exhibiting at WESCCON and the word everybody was buzzing about was tariffs and what it has meant for importers as well as freight forwarders.

Join us (or join us again) in 2019

We are very excited to be kicking off membership renewals for 2019. We have plenty of great things planned for 2019 including members-only events, discounts and service offerings from vendors who want your business. We're extremely affordable at only $130 for a corporate membership and $50 for an individual membership. Don't wait - renew today.

President’s Letter: October, 2017

Posted on | by Scott Case

As you saw from the cover picture, we had a great time at Church Street Brewing Company for our networking event. I was unable to make it due to a commitment at my eldest daughter's school, but those who were there reported having a great time. If you didn't go check out the pictures, visit the Facebook gallery. Like the page as well - we post our events there for people to see and share.

Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico

I have no words for the people suffering the effects of the three hurricanes which have struck the US mainland and Caribbean. Hardest hit was Puerto Rico and the health and safety dangers are real as people are getting by without electricity, clean drinking water and food. If you feel it in your heart to donate, Business Insider had a very good list of Puerto Rican charities who can benefit from your donation of money or supplies and are working to get them to those affected, which is the entire island territory.

Out & About: Freighters World Conference and WESCCON.

This week, I attended the Freighters World Conference in Chicago as a guest of the presenting sponsor. As it turns out, I was volunteered and asked to participate in a forwarder panel as well with representatives from Dachser and Flexport. It was an honor to represent the IACAC at this very prestigious, global event held downtown at the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue.

Not only was I there waving the flag, but long-time IACAC members Ken Ryan and Sharon Roman were there representing their companies who were sponsors, Quick Caller and Rockford International Airport. Also attending were Caroline Pappas from AirBridge and Gina Summerford of Cargolux. Cargolux took home some hardware at the awards dinner on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Shawn McWhorter of NCA was on an airline panel talking about the unique challenges of freighter airlines.

In October, Brian Bartolotta and I will both be at WESCCON where I was asked to participate in a panel representing the view of forwarders. I'll also be attending the TIACA Executive Summit in Miami.

Don't forget to apply for the Scholarship!

We put it in The Pallet and I'll remind everyone again here: This. Is. Free. Money. If your company (or you, the individual) are members of the IACAC, immediate family members are eligible to submit an application for consideration. We require a copy of the applicant's transcript, a completed application and written responses to three essay questions. The deadline is the end of October and we'll be reminding everybody throughout the month. Winners will be announced at the Holiday Luncheon in December.

The rest of the 2017 calendar (for now).

We've got a few more events planned before the end of the year, but stay tuned because we can always try to sneak something additional on to the calendar before all is said and done.

  • October 10th - Monthly luncheon. We're all tired of congestion at the airport and we're going to hear from someone who thinks they have a solution. We need to think ahead, we need to imagine being ready to load and unload before the truck is even backed in. We're talking congestion avoidance. We're at the Holiday Inn. Register today here.
  • November 14th - Elections! The IACAC elections take place in accordance with our by-laws on the second Tuesday in November. If you're interested in running for one of the available positions for a two-year term, please contact Brian Bartolotta for more information and to put your name into consideration.
  • December 12th - IACAC Holiday Luncheon. We'll be at Belvedere Banquets again collecting donations for Toys for Tots and looking for raffle prizes. Mark your calendars.

 

 

 

President’s Letter – August, 2017

Posted on | by Scott Case

Just because it is a summer month, doesn't mean that we're taking a break. To the contrary, between vacations (we're checking out the upper parts of Michigan as a family this week) and back to school for the kids, the IACAC has an active slate this month and into the fall. Let's dive into the upcoming and look back at what happened.

Early bird ends today for our golf outing and slots and sponsorships opportunities remain.

When we talk about the golf outing, I cannot stress enough that we do it for the students. The golf outing, along with our holiday luncheon, are the primary fundraising vehicles where we generate money that provides money to our annually awarded IACAC Scholarships. We're accepting submissions for 2017, so be sure to take a look. 

This year, the IACAC has worked to set up an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization so any contributions to sponsor the event or raffle prizes at our luncheon afterwards are a legally recognized tax deduction.

Don't let a tax break be the only reason you donate - do it so we can help defray the cost of education for worth students. 

Through today, registration is $400.00/foursome which includes golf, cart and lunch afterwards. Tomorrow, the cost goes up to $500.00/foursome. Single golfers are $125.00 for golf and lunch and lunch only is $35.00.

We also have hole and bridge sponsorships where for $150.00 and $100.00, respectively, we will place a sign with your company's name and/or logo where golfers will see it as the travel the course for the outing.

Register at this link to secure your golf spot or to sponsor today.

Rare opportunity with O'Hare at the end of August.

We could not be more thankful for the contributions and help of 2017 new member Adam Rod and the City of Chicago's Department of Aviation. Working with Adam, we scheduled an event open to everyone with Ginger Evans on August 29th. We'll have a Q&A session with Ginger about all things O'Hare. If you're curious about passengers, cargo, future plans, surrounding infrastructure, new carriers or flights, she is the person to ask. And if she doesn't have the answers I trust that she and her team can get them for us.

After the Q&A, a limited number of seats are available to tour O'Hare inside the fence line. On a narrated tour, we will cruise the taxiways and ramps only seen for most of us from inside a plane as we're departing or arriving. Because of the security component, registrants will notice some additional and different questions and we must submit an attendee list for screening to the Department prior to the event. 

It's free to attend the Q&A, $65.00 for the bus tour. We'll be providing continental style breakfast prior to the event which begins at 10:00 AM.

Click here to join us August 29th.

Other past & upcoming events:

  • Thank you to BCS Placement and Position : Global for your sponsorship of our July networking event at MB Financial Park at Rosemont. Rush cover band, food & beverage from Adobe Gila's and some amazing fireworks afterwards. The people in attendance really enjoyed their time and the consensus was to do this event annually.
  • Mark your calendars for our September events: September 12th will be our monthly luncheon and will be education-focused. Olya Lebedyeva is running point on this and there will be more details to follow, but know that we're going to seek participation from surrounding universities and colleges to promote their job and placement departments. 
  • September 21st we're back at Church Street Brewing for another networking event. We're looking for sponsors, so if you're interested, contact IACAC to help sponsor the event.