Happy New Year, everyone!
To begin, I would like to say it is a privilege and honor to hold the presidency of the IACAC for a second consecutive year. At our November board meeting, one of the changes to the bylaws the membership approved was changing the term of president from one to two years. Having spent the first year really getting my feet under me, I feel poised in this second year to advance things even more.
There are a number of things I wanted to bring to everyone's attention this month and here they are in no particular order.
Events in the first quarter: Mark your calendar
- January 17th: Evening networking event at Punch Bowl Social, sponsored by BCS Placement, Roanoke Trade and Edward J. Zarach & Associates. Click here to register.
- February 13th: Luncheon featuring TSA for a non-SSI discussion of regulated parties and their authorized representatives.
- March 13th: Luncheon featuring a discussion about ELD's and what the landscape looks like after a few months in action.
- March 15th: Evening networking event, our annual "March Madness" event at the Wyndham. We're looking for sponsors!
- March 28th: Evening networking event at the Chicago Wolves, sponsored by Air Canada Cargo.
We've got committees that need volunteers - join us!
The IACAC has a number of standing committees that are engaged throughout the year. We're going to be getting a page stood up on the website about these committees, what they do and who is already on them, but if you're looking for a way to get involved with the IACAC, this is a great way to get your feet wet and see if you'd like to take on more responsibility, like running for a seat on our board. We're looking for people for the following committees. Contact me with any questions directly.
- Membership
- Advertising
- Scholarship
- Welfare
- Golf
- Social / Networking
- Political Action
Members: Renew for 2018. Thinking about joining? Now's your chance.
Several of us on the board were having a discussion about the tangible benefits that individuals and companies get as members of the IACAC. For $50 for an individual and $130 for a corporate membership, we think that it is a small investment that pays back many times over. Here are just a few of the benefits:
- The IACAC has counsel from Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. who can answer member legal questions and can be retained if they don't already have legal representation.
- The association offers our individual members anonymity when it comes to approaching a regulatory agency or service provider to discuss and solve a problem.
- The IACAC has a seat at the table for CACMA and other airport entities to reach out on behalf of our members to try to change policy.
- Our affiliation and close working relationship with the Airforwarders Association means that when we have issues of policy which rise beyond Chicago and to Washington, Brandon Fried and the AfA are there for us.
- The IACAC has cultivated relationships with the air cargo associations in the other major gateway cities of Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Seattle and other key airports. We have the connections to help our members find the right people to solve problems with their import or export cargo in these other markets.
Those are just a few of the reasons that being a member of the IACAC makes good business sense. We hope you'll take a few minutes to renew your membership today or join the IACAC.