It's been a few months since I've written - or since a Pallet has been published. We have a commitment here at the IACAC to keep our members informed and engaged and while we've been busy with programming and utilizing other channels to communicate, we've neglected the blog and The Pallet. Please accept my apologies for that and know that we're back on track as we enter the fall.
It's been an active year of programming, both with our luncheons and our networking events. We recently concluded the golf outing last month which raised a ton of money for our scholarship fund and had record participation from golfers, sponsors and lunch attendees. We're humbled by the support the community shows this event every year and the increasing participation only reinforces that we're providing a fun venue for golfers, sponsors and everyone to get together and enjoy a wonderful day on the links.
The programming isn't abating as we enter the final quarter of this year, either. We've got a bunch of great stuff in the pipeline including a luncheon next Tuesday covering the important and impactful issue of legalized marijuana in the workplace, our annual Oktoberfest event at Church Street Brewing, elections in November and our annual holiday luncheon in December.
Along the way, we're dealing with the increasing uncertainty of Brexit in Europe and the ratcheting up of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China with another few rounds of duty increases coming on October 1st and December 15th. On the bright side, there might be hope of a US - Japan bilateral trade agreement to be announced in the next month or two - so there is hope.
Stay tuned for continued programming announcements - we're trying to finalize October's luncheon / member event which will be a tour of the International Postal Facility. The date is TBD and the spots will be very limited - but we'll be sure to communicate when registration opens. The tour will also require submission of a copy of either a driver's license or passport - CBP's rule, not ours.