Board Meets in Two Weeks - Monday Memo 11/4/24
November 4, 2024
Board Meets Two Weeks from Wednesday
The ABI Board of Directors and the ABI Executive Committee will meet in two weeks. ABI Chair Chad Reese (Winnebago Industries, Forest City) will call to order the final board meeting of 2024 at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 20th. The board will meet at ABI and the traditional Thanksgiving lunch will be served.
A review of the annual audit, an update regarding the conference, policy discussions, and your business reports are highlights of the agenda. In addition, the board will receive the usual operational reports.
If you haven't already done so, please register your attendance by simply replying to this message. You will receive a message from me later next week that will include a link to access the usual packet of reports and reference materials related to the meeting. In the meantime and on behalf of Chad and our ABI officers, I look forward to seeing you on the 20th.
Anna Mable Joins ABI Today
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you that Anna Mable would be joining ABI to fill the open position related to ABI Foundation program support. Anna formerly was the Events Director with the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce and taught middle school math and science. In her past role, she relaunched the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce’s leadership institute, which is similar to ABI’s Leadership Iowa program. Anna’s skillset and interest will be quite useful in helping help recruit students for our high school and college programs. She will also support the logistic components of all ABI Foundation programs. We look forward to having Anna with us and she starts her work with ABI today. Welcome, Anna!
Connecting Statewide Leaders Event in Ottumwa Next Month
The next ABI Connecting Statewide Leaders event will be held December 5th in Ottumwa. A luncheon follows the meeting and you will have a great opportunity to visit with fellow ABI members, meet the new Leadership Iowa class, and develop new customers. Register now for this program, which will focus on remarks from Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development. Workforce is always a key ABI issue. Register now at: https://web.cvent.com/event/ddea188e-f5c4-4e6f-9dc2-390f341c4376/summary. Make your plans now to join the LI class and ABI members in Ottumwa in December.
ABI Monthly Newsprint Journal Receiving High Marks; Get Your Updates in for the ABI Business Resource Guide
You soon will be receiving the monthly edition of ABI's flagship publication, the ABI Business Monthly. Published in conjunction with ABI member John Lohman, publisher of the Corridor Business Journal and the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal Business, the Monthly two years ago took the place of ABI’s Business Record Iowa. You’ll find great content about ABI programs and activities inside each edition of the Business Monthly. Please share anything we can do to make the new journal even better and more useful to you.
And by the way, John’s team will also again publish the annual ABI Business Resource Guide, the association’s annual member directory. It's that time of year to update your information and ensure all your contacts listed within the print directory are accurate. The deadline for updates has passed, but if you get any final updates in TODAY, we’ll get them in. Our goal is to have the most updated information for you to share with other ABI members. Please reply to this memo before the end of the day with any remaining updates.
Advisory Council to Meet in Two Weeks
The ABI Advisory Council will meet two weeks from Thursday, on November 21st. This will mark the panel's final business meeting of 2024. Thank you to ABI Advisory Council members Anthologic, AssuredPartners, Bankers Trust, BCC Advisers, BrownWinick, CliftonLarsonAllen, Eide Bailley, EMC, Fredrikson, G&A Partners, HDH Advisors, Principal Financial Network of Central Iowa, The Iowa Clinic, Wellmark, and Wells Fargo for your leadership and support!
Not Too Soon to Make 2025 Annual Conference Lodging Reservations
It is not too early to make your lodging reservation for the 2025 Taking Care of Business Conference, ABI's 122nd annual convention. That event will be held June 10-12 of next year in Council Bluffs.
There are three great hotel options (more will be added later if necessary), all very convenient to the main conference site, the Mid-America Center. Go here and click to find a link to hotels: https://www.iowaabi.org/events/annual-conference/. Remember, this conference will involve exciting, brand new venues, fabulous speakers, and sessions unlike any seen before. You will be able to register for the conference on the ABI website soon. In the meantime, use the link above to make your lodging reservation now.
ABI Legislative Briefing, Reception January 15th
Mark your calendars now for one of ABI’s most popular, and most important, events of the year. The annual ABI Legislative Briefing and Reception will be held Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Des Moines. Typically, over 500 members and state officials attend this event each year.
Because of your participation, this event draws more Iowa legislators (of both parties) than any similar event hosted by other organizations. Your local legislators enjoy this event and appreciate the opportunity to visit with you and your fellow Iowa business leaders in a relaxed and informal setting. As always, all 150 legislators and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Lieutenant Governor (we are eager to know who that person is and we’ll know by then) will be invited to join you at the reception.
Immediately prior to the event, the annual members-only legislative briefing will be held. This event will provide you with the very latest in legislative news and information about ABI issues. You can find more information by going to Legislative Briefing and Reception | Iowa Association of Business and Industry. By the way, as always, this event is being held the same day as the January meeting of the ABI Board of Directors. On behalf of our ABI officers and directors, please make plans now to join your ABI colleagues in Des Moines on January 15th.
NAM Report: Lower Interest Rates Highlighted
Last week’s Monday Economic Report, published by the National Association of Manufacturers, carried some good news. Interest rates have declined and that decrease is benefiting some U.S. manufacturers. However (and as you already know), many challenges remain for manufacturing. If you wish to read the report for yourself, simply reply to this message and I’ll get them to you at once.
Read Mike Espeset’s Column
You know that we enjoy your company newsletters and I have often cited the newsletter from ABI member Story Construction, StoryLine, in these memos. Another good edition of StoryLine came out last week and it was headlined by a column by Story President and ABI Board Member Mike Espeset (Story Construction, Ames). In it, Mike discusses giving up his office and shares a heartening comment about tomorrow’s election (and elections in general). It’s a thoughtful column and you can read it for yourself here: President's Perspective: Being Among It - Story Construction. Thanks for sharing, Mike!
Cindy Dietz Celebrates Wednesday
Former ABI Chair Cindy Dietz (Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids) celebrates her birthday Wednesday, November 6th. ABI sends best birthday wishes to Cindy Dietz!
Mary Andringa, Tom McMahon Celebrate
It is always fun to recognize two ABI leaders who share the same birthday this month. Former ABI Chair Mary Andringa (Vermeer Corporation, Pella) and former ABI Board Member and former ABI Foundation Chair Tom McMahon (Barker Company, Keosauqua) share birthdays. ABI sends best birthday wishes to Mary and Tom!
Presidents and the Economy
You know longtime ABI member/sponsor (and former ABI staffer) John Gilliland (Gilliland Group/RBC Wealth Management, Des Moines). John shared some fun reading with Nicole Crain and me last week, and I thought you might enjoy it as well. It relates to what has happened to the U.S. economy under several recent presidential administrations. You can read it for yourself here: The Next President Is Unlikely to Sink the Economy—or the Stock Market.
Speaking of presidents, I am sure I don’t have to remind you to vote tomorrow. However, if you need information about candidates or issues, be sure and visit ABI’s Home | Iowa Votes website!