ABI Legislative Reception Postponed - Monday Memo 12/14/20
December 14, 2020
January Event Formats Altered; Reception Postponed
The formats for most of the ABI events scheduled for January 13 have been altered. Most events are being transitioned to a virtual format. The annual ABI Legislative Reception, the association’s second largest annual event, is being postponed until later in the year.
At their meeting last week, members of the ABI Executive Committee, chaired by Steven Bradford (HNI Corporation, Muscatine), considered the latest data related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Iowa and discussed member company policies regarding travel. The committee also reviewed factors, such as Governor Reynolds’ Executive Order related to large gatherings, and others. In the end, the unanimous decision was made to make the changes.
Thus, the board will now meet virtually on January 13 (the monthly Executive Committee meeting will precede it). And the legislative briefing will also take place virtually. Note: All of those registered for the briefing and reception need do nothing -- your registration will transfer to the virtual briefing and to the reception when it is eventually held.
Watch for more information as it develops. In the meantime, thank you for your flexibility and we look forward to your participation in January.
Get the Latest on the Paycheck Protection Program at Tomorrow’s ABI Webinar
At 10:00 tomorrow morning, ABI will host a webinar to provide information about the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program. The webinar will cover the latest guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration and address issues related to PPP loan forgiveness.
Register here for this free, one hour event: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtdu2pqjIuHN0i1nXKOpBY5xnCPfVcXbDK. Thank you to ABI Advisory Council member CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) for their help in presenting this timely and important webinar.
Iowa Business Report Radio Programs Continue
As you know, the Iowa Business Report radio program is broadcast weekly on stations all over Iowa. The program is the result of a great a partnership between well-known Iowa broadcaster Jeff Stein and ABI.
ABI Board Member Todd McDonald (ATW Training Solutions, Urbandale) is featured in the first segment in a great interview. There are other terrific features, too. If you missed the latest episode, you can click here to listen for yourself: http://iowabusinessreport.buzzsprout.com/. Links can also be found on the ABI website at https://www.iowaabi.org/news/iowa-business-report/.
December Edition of Business Record Iowa in Your Mailbox
You should have received in the mail the latest edition of ABI's Business Record Iowa, published in conjunction with member Business Publications Corporation. BR Iowa is found inside the BPC's Des Moines Business Record. The cover this month features a great ABI leader, former ABI Chair Charles Sukup (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield). If you did not receive BR Iowa, let me know; we'll get it to you. Thank you to Charles for being this month’s cover model.
Today is Final Day to Complete Quarterly ABI Iowa Business Survey
The latest ABI Quarterly Iowa Economic Survey will close later today. If you haven’t already, please use the link in last week’s email message to complete the survey. Or, simply reply to this message and I’ll get the link to you. THANK YOU for your participation in the survey.
Contribute To ABI Foundation, Elevate
This is the time of year that folks consider their personal tax planning. If you need to make some end-of-the-year contributions, please consider Elevate Iowa and/or the ABI Foundation. Thank you to those who have already contributed.
Contributions to the ABI Foundation help advance terrific programs such as Leadership Iowa, Business Horizons, and others. These programs have been described as “life-changing” by participants and they have certainly helped make Iowa an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Contributions to Elevate help our efforts to change the perception of advanced manufacturing and help you fill your workforce requirements. Big thanks to all of the companies that have contributed over the years and also thanks to Iowa Community Colleges, who each contribute to the Elevate partnership. If you haven't yet contributed, please make your contribution today.
Leadership Iowa Class to Meet in January
Speaking of the Foundation, the ABI Foundation's flagship program is quite active. As a confirmation of that, the 2020-2021 LI Class will hold its fourth session January 13-15. The class will focus on state government.
Just as was the case with the 2019-2020 LI Class, the current class has had to be flexible related to changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to class members for doing so.
New Board Member Orientations to Be Completed
Thank you to newly-elected ABI board members Mike Lovell (Meredith Corporation, Des Moines) and Bill McKim (Midland Power Cooperative, Jefferson) for their time in board orientations last week. I had previously met with new board members Garrett Burchett (Mississippi River Distilling Company, Le Claire), Jack Carra (LMC Insurance and Risk Management, West Des Moines), and Kevin Lentz (Anthologic, West Des Moines). Tomorrow, I’ll meet with new board member Chad Reece (Winnebago Industries, Forest City) to complete orientation sessions. Please join me congratulating these new board members.
Sandler Offers Goal-Setting Seminar to Increase Sales
ABI member Sandler Training has contacted me to offer participation in the firm’s Goal-Setting Seminar. The program is specifically designed to help increase sales and it has received high marks from past participants. It is being offered to ABI board members at a greatly reduced rate and the program will be held this coming Wednesday. If interested, please contact me and I will send more information to you at once.
NAM: All Signs Positive for Manufacturing
The National Association of Manufacturers’ Global Manufacturing Economic Update shared incredibly positive data in its December edition. The U.S. manufacturing economy is growing and there are many positive signs related to manufacturing in other parts of the world as well.
That is very good news for ABI members. To read the report yourself, simply reply to this message and I’ll get it to you at once.
Meredith Corporation Named ‘One of Most Responsible’ Companies
In last week’s memo, I noted that longtime ABI member LyondellBasell had been named to Newsweek magazine’s list of “America’s Most Responsible Companies.” Well, another great longtime ABI member was also a part of the list: Meredith Corporation. That’s a big deal and you can read more about it here: https://meredith.mediaroom.com/2020-12-02-Meredith-Corporation-Included-on-Newsweeks-List-of-Americas-Most-Responsible-Companies. In the meantime, congratulations to everyone at Meredith, including new ABI Board Member Mike Lovell (Meredith Corporation, Des Moines)!
Davis Brown Combines with Dentons
There was big news in Iowa’s legal community last week. One of the state’s oldest and largest law firms, ABI member Davis Brown, announced it was combining with Dentons, the world’s largest law firm.
Davis Brown, with nearly 80 lawyers, serves clients throughout Iowa and beyond. Following the combination, the firm will be known as Dentons Davis Brown. Read more about this news here: https://www.davisbrownlaw.com/news/in-the-news/davis-brown-law-firm-to-combine-with-dentons. Congratulations to everyone at Davis Brown, including ABI Board Member Tim Coonan (Davis Brown, Des Moines)!
Emerson, Farr Pandemic Response featured in Wall Street Journal
Many of you, like me, are fans of the Wall Street Journal. A recent feature caught my eye.
In a study of corporate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the newspaper focused on ABI member Emerson as a success story. In fact, the Journal highlighted the company’s CEO, David Farr, and his lessons learned as he managed through the pandemic.
Here are Farr’s lessons: 1. Keep moving forward, 2. Don’t believe the conventional wisdom, 3. Break down problems into smaller choices, 4. Remote work has it limits, 5. Over-communicate and be more transparent, and 6. Pay attention to who came through for you in the crisis, and don’t forget it.
Good tips all. Congratulations to Mr. Farr, to Emerson, and to ABI Board Member Josh Wilford (Emerson/Fisher, Marshalltown) on the great coverage!
Bill Thomas Passes
As you know, Kay Neumann-Thomas provided staff leadership for the ABI Foundation for decades. We have been so gratified to see Kay enjoying her much-deserved retirement and we enjoy staying in periodic contact with her.
There was very sad news over the weekend, as Kay’s husband, Bill Thomas, passed away. Bill was a leader in the Indianola community and loved by all who knew him (just as we all love Kay).
Read more about Bill here: https://www.overtonfunerals.com/obituary/d-william-thomas. Kay is a person of great faith and we know that her children will get her through this time. Even so, our thoughts and prayers are with Kay and children now and always.