Executive Committee to Meet in December - Monday Memo 11/21/22
November 21, 2022
December Executive Committee Teleconference in Two Weeks; January 11 is Date for Next ABI Board Meeting
The final meeting of the ABI Executive Committee for 2022 is scheduled to be held two weeks from Wednesday, on December 7. Later next week, committee members will receive the usual packet to help in preparing for the meeting, which will be called to order by ABI Chair Kim Augspurger (Pigott, Des Moines) at 10:00 a.m.
The board will meet next month. The ABI Board of Directors will hold its regularly scheduled January meeting on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.
Because it falls on the same day as the annual ABI Legislative Reception, the January meeting is typically one of the best-attended of the year. Please mark your calendars now for January 11.
ABI to Host Connecting Leaders Event December 1 in Ames
ABI will soon host another event designed to bring value to your company. On the morning of December 1, ABI will host the next in a series of Connecting Statewide Leaders events. Following that event, which features a panel of manufacturing leaders, attendees will join the Leadership Iowa class for lunch. You can register for the Connecting Statewide Leaders event now at Summary - Connecting Statewide Leaders - Ames (cvent.com).
Leadership Iowa Class Heads to Ames in December; Foundation Highlights #GivingTuesday
Speaking of Ames, it is also the site for the third session of the ABI Foundation’s 2022-2023 Leadership Iowa Class. The class will meet there for a session focused on innovation and technology on December 1st and 2nd (some members will arrive for a pre-session event on November 30th).
As always, special thanks go to the Leadership Iowa Board of Governors and to the ABI Foundation Board of Directors for maintaining a terrific LI program.
In other ABI Foundation news, be on the lookout for an exciting announcement in tomorrow’s upcoming events newsletter. The ABI Foundation is gearing up for GivingTuesday, which is a global generosity movement. This year’s efforts will focus on Business Horizons, but more specifically, highlighting an integral component directly linked to the program’s continued success.
State Leaders Will Attend 2023 ABI Legislative Reception; Register Now
Key state leaders such as Governor Kim Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, and all 150 members of the Iowa General Assembly have been invited to the 2023 ABI Legislative Reception. As you know, this event is one of the most popular events ABI hosts all year long. Past receptions have regularly drawn in excess of 500 people, including more legislators of both parties than at any other similar event.
The attendance of these state officials is one more confirmation of your importance to Iowa policy makers. They attend because YOU attend.
You can register (almost a hundred of you already have) by clicking on the following link: Summary - Legislative Briefing and Reception (cvent.com). The 2023 ABI Briefing and Reception will be held Wednesday, January 11 at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Des Moines. Plenty of convenient parking is available nearby.
I hope you will attend the reception, which is a very important event. Of course it is a lot of fun and you’ll see great ABI colleagues from all over Iowa. Even more vital, however, is your discussion with your local legislators. Building relationships between legislators and ABI members is what the event is all about. Your perspective is a crucial component in helping Iowa policymakers understand the needs and concerns of business people in our state. On behalf of our ABI officers, I look forward to seeing you in Des Moines on January 11.
ABI Staff Members Hartkopf, Coady Travel
ABI Director Public Policy Brad Hartkopf represented ABI during the annual meeting of the American Tort Reform Association last week. ATRA has long been an ABI partner and the annual conference provides great information from a variety of speakers and experts. The event was held in Charlotte, North Carolina and Brad came back with information that will help ABI achieve one of its goals for the upcoming legislative session. Thank you, Brad, for attending.
Also traveling last week was ABI Foundation Vice President Becky Coady, who represented Iowa in her role as the volunteer head of Employers Support for the Guard and Reserve at the ESGR national meeting. Thank you to Becky for her service.
NAM Report Covers Consumer Prices, Fed Action, and More
Last week's Monday Economic Report from the National Association of Manufacturers carried short articles on the rise in consumer prices, continued action by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation, and several other topics. If you would like to see the report for yourself, please reply to this memo and I will get it to you at once.
CemenTech Makes News for Its Expansion, New Training Center
Longtime ABI member CemenTech was in the news last week. The company is building a brand new, state-of-the-art training enter on its Indianola campus. The training center is part of a 12,000 square feet expansion, representing $3 million investment in facilities, equipment and technology. Read more about this exciting project here: Cemen Tech expansion includes training facility to build workforce - Business Record. In the meantime, congratulations to everyone at CemenTech, including company President and ABI Board Member Connor Deering (CemenTech, Indianola)!
Charles Sukup Highlighted by Tribune, Register
It was fun to read a story published by the Ames Tribune and then online by the Des Moines Register about former ABI Chair Charles Sukup (Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield) recently. As many of you know, Charles is an accomplished organ player. He even has an organ in his home and played for the ABI Board of Director some years ago.
The article noted that Charles and others would be playing a historic organ during a recital in Ames held yesterday. You can read the article for yourself here: Charles Sukup to perform on historic Ames church organ Sunday (msn.com). Congratulations on the recognition, Charles, and we look forward to hearing you play again soon!
Claudia Schabel Receives Cityview Recognition
ABI Board Member Claudia Schabel (Schabel Solutions, Des Moines) was recently named one of 22 business leaders who made a difference in 2022. Claudia was honored by Cityview, and you can read more here: https://www.dmcityview.com/business-feature/2022/11/02/22-from-2022-business-people-who-made-a-difference/. Congratulations to Claudia Schabel!
Gillilands Celebrate Another State Championship
Congratulations to ABI Member John Gilliland (Gilliland Group – RBC Wealth Management, Des Moines), his wife Holly Gilliland, and their family, including son Ben. Ben quarterbacked the Van Meter Bulldogs to yet another Iowa state championship in Class 1A. Congratulations all around!
News from Former Staff Members Kay Neumann-Thomas and Don Hauser
It was great hearing from former longtime ABI Foundation Kay Neumann-Thomas last week. Kay is doing well and enjoying her grandchildren. She also shared that she had run into former longtime ABI staff leader Don Hauser. Sadly, Don is experiencing many health challenges. But, Kay said, Don enjoyed reminiscing with Kay about ABI. Thank you for checking in, Kay, and we’ll keep Don and his family in our prayers.
The Business of ABI: Cash and Cash Flow
At the November ABI board meeting, Board Member Kevin Lentz (Anthologic, Des Moines) asked about ABI’s cash position. I appreciated Kevin’s question and noted that position is what funds ABI’s operations. Here is some more information.
Some of you have seen this information before. The bottom line is that, thanks to the board’s leadership, the financial performance of ABI is dramatically different than it was 17 years ago. While we could focus on many others, two financial metrics demonstrate this success and speak to Kevin’s question: 1) 17 years ago, the equity on ABI’s balance sheet was less than $147,000. 2) The association’s cash position stood at $79,000 – not $790,000, but $79,000. That’s like have $7 in your checking account… it’s not sustainable. Today, equity is closer to $1.3 million. The cash position also routinely hovers around $1 million.
As I have in the past, I would note that former ABI Chair Kirk Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines) was the first ABI leader to suggest to me that we needed to develop cash reserves of a million dollars. When Kirk said it, I thought we could never get there. But, we put a plan together, got to work, and made it happen. Specifically, as I shared during the board meeting, that cash position is what we utilize for cash flow and to fund daily operations.
It’s that way with regard to so many things at ABI. So many former board chairs and board members have led us to so many new things I can’t name them all (I can, but it would make for a longer memo than you want to read). YOUR leadership is the spark for some big initiative, some change that leads to greater value and improved performance. THANK YOU for all of it and for the opportunity to work for you and with a great team.