President’s Letter: October, 2017

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.