Board Week - Monday Memo 9/12/22
September 12, 2022
First ABI Board Meeting of FY23 Wednesday
At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, ABI Chair Kim Augspurger (Pigott, Des Moines) will convene the first board meeting of the fiscal year. The board will meet at the new Johnston headquarters conference center of longtime ABI member the Iowa Bankers Association. You should have received a message from me last Wednesday that included information to help you prepare for the meeting. If you did not, please contact Michelle Vollstedt at mvollstedt@iowaabi.com and she will get it to you. And, if you haven’t already registered, simply reply to this memorandum and we’ll take care of that for you. On behalf of Kim and our other officers, I look forward to seeing you Wednesday.
Latest Edition of ABI's Business Record Iowa Now Out
The most recent edition of ABI's monthly newsprint magazine, Business Record Iowa, has been published and should have been received by you late last week inside the Business Record. We are proud to partner with member company Business Publications Corp. on the magazine.Look for two great ABI leaders on the cover. ABI Board Member Hank Norem (Ramco Innovations, West Des Moines) and ABI member Scott Walter (EFCO, Des Moines) are our cover models this month.
By the way, your input is important; let us know what you would like to see in future editions. And, if you have not received the new edition of the magazine, please reply to this memo and I'll make sure it is sent to you at once.
Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference Tomorrow, Wednesday
ABI and a number of other organizations partner each year in producing the Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference. The 2022 conference will be held tomorrow and the next day at the Kansas City Convention Center in downtown Kansas City. You may also participate via live streaming video.
The agenda for the conference is packed full of information and your team members who attend will receive the very latest in environmental regulatory information. Find more information and register by clicking on http://mecconference.com/.
Conference Committee Meets Tomorrow
The committee planning ABI’s 120th annual conference will hold a meeting tomorrow. Chaired by ABI member Tami Anderson (Pigott, Des Moines), the committee is doing great work in developing a fabulous program for next year.
Stay tuned for much more news and get ready to join ABI Chair Kim Augspurger (Pigott, Des Moines) in Cedar Rapids in June of next year. You won’t want to miss it!
September Meeting of ABI Advisory Council Thursday
As you know, the members of the ABI Advisory Council provide important support to the association and to all ABI members. Certainly the financial support provided is of value, but even more valuable are the resources and business solutions provided by the council.
The advisory council will hold its monthly meeting this Thursday. Thank you to ABI Advisory Council members Anthologic, AssuredPartners, BCC Advisers, BrownWinick, CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC, Focus OneSource, Fredrikson & Byron, HDH Advisors, Principal Financial Network of Central Iowa, The Iowa Clinic, and Wells Fargo.
Check out the Employee Retention Credit at an ABI Webinar Later this Month; There is a Potential for Value for Your Company
You and/or your management team will find value in an upcoming ABI webinar about the employee retention tax credit. Created as part of federal legislation to help employers manage the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – and to keep folks employed – the employee retention credit has been expanded. It is a refundable tax credit up to $5,000 per employee in 2020 and up to $28,000 per employee in 2021. If you haven’t already, you should learn more about the credit and determine its applicability to your company.
In that regard, ABI is pleased to sponsor a webinar about the ERC. Experts fro ABI member Eide Bailly will present the webinar at 10:00 a.m. on September 21st. Click here for more information and to register Webinar: What to Know about the Expanded Employee Retention Credit | Iowa Association of Business and Industry (iowaabi.org).
ABI Legends Awards Dinner, Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Conference in October
Two of ABI’s big annual events are just a few of weeks away. The evening of October 4th is when the annual Legends in Manufacturing Awards Dinner, sponsored by ABI’s Elevate initiative, will be held. Click here to see the list of awardees: Elevate Iowa to Honor 2022 Legends in Manufacturing Leaders | Iowa Association of Business and Industry (iowaabi.org). You do not want to miss this annual celebration of Iowa manufacturing. Hear inspiring stories, see ABI friends, and enjoy an evening of networking. Register using this link: Summary - Legends In Manufacturing Awards Dinner (and/or) Manufacturing Conference (cvent.com).
The next day, October 5thth, is when the 2022 ABI Iowa Manufacturing Conference will be held. ABI, Agri-Industrial Plastics, the Center for Industrial Research and Service at Iowa State University (CIRAS), Community State Bank, the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and RAMCO Innovations are the lead sponsors for the event.
Both events will be held at the FFA Enrichment Center on the Ankeny Campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). You can use the link above to register for both events or to find more information.
As you know, a terrific lineup of speakers has been arranged for the conference. Chairman and CEO Gage Kent (KENT Corporation, Muscatine) is the keynote speaker. In a morning session, Director Debi Durham (Iowa Economic Development Authority, Des Moines), will moderate a panel featuring three ABI manufacturing leaders: Steve Boal (Accumold, Ankeny), Kelli Gallagher (Dee Zee, Des Moines), and Hank Norem (Ramco Innovations, West Des Moines). The afternoon will bring manufacturing torus of ABI members in the Ankeny area. The manufacturing conference gets better every year and has become a must-attend for ABI members in recent years. Thank you in advance for your participation.
ABI Members Invited to Future Ready Iowa Summit
Iowa STEM officials have issued a special invitation for ABI members to participate in the 6th annual Future Ready Iowa Summit at the Iowa Event Center in Des Moines on September 21. Connecting the worlds of education/school and workplace/employers is a central mission of the Summit. Featured speakers include Cedar Falls native Raja Chari - Air Force test pilot and NASA astronaut who just returned from commanding the International Space Station; ISU professor and MacArthur Genius Awardee Lisa Schulte-Moore; President/CEO Jeff Powell (Diamond Vogel, Orange City), and over 50 sessions by trailblazing Iowans driving in Career-linked learning and work-based learning strategies. Find the agenda and registration information here: https://iowastem.org/2022Summit.
Last Chance to take Business Record, Baton Global Survey
ABI was asked by longtime members Baton Global and Business Publications Corporation (BPC publishes the Business Record) to offer you one last opportunity to take an economic outlook survey. To take the survey, please click here: The link to complete the survey is here. BPC says the Envision Iowa Statewide Leaders Economic Outlook Survey is a research collaboration between BPC and Baton Global that will provide leaders and decision makers across Iowa with sentiment data on the aggregated outlook for the future of Iowa.
Monthly NAM Report focuses on Economic Data, Slowing Growth
The most recent edition of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Global Manufacturing Economic Update was published last week. The lead item focused on slowing growth and rising interest rates. There was much other interesting news as well. As always, reply to this memo if you wish to see either publication for yourself and I’ll get it to you at once.
Jenae Sikkink Named Partnership Leader for Talent Development
You will recall Jenae Sikkink (formerly Jenison), who was the Honorary Leadership Iowa ABI Board Member a few years ago, Last week, it was announced that Jenae will join the Greater Des Moines Partnership as Senior Vice President for Talent Development and will lead the Partnership’s efforts to attract and retain talent in the Greater Des Moines area. Jenae spent time in the private sector, is a former gubernatorial staffer, a longtime executive at her alma mater, Central College, and one of the very best people you will ever meet. This is a major “get” for the Partnership and we look forward to continuing to work with Jenae it her new role. Congratulations to Jenae Sikkink and very best wishes from your friends at ABI!