Executive Committee to Meet in July - Monday Memo 6/17/19

June 17, 2019

First Executive Committee Meeting of New Fiscal Year in Three Weeks

The Executive Committee/Board of Directors meeting schedule for 2019-2020 was provided to you in a message sent the week prior to the annual conference.  Re-elected board members, mark your calendars for the next meeting of the ABI Board of Directors.  The board will next meet on September 11. 

In the meantime, members of the newly-constituted ABI Executive Committee will hold their first teleconference of the 2019-2020 fiscal year in just a little over three weeks.  The July Executive Committee teleconference will take place at 9:30 a.m. on July 10.  As is typical for July, the call is expected to be brief, but will provide an opportunity to review financial and membership data and receive program reports. 

Incoming ABI Chair Cindy Dietz (Collins Aerospace, Cedar Rapids) will be joined on the coming year’s Executive Committee by Vice Chair Steven Bradford (HNI Corporation, Muscatine), Treasurer Jack Hasken (Jackson Manufacturing, Maquoketa), Secretary Kim Augspurger (Saxton, Des Moines), and Immediate Past Chair David Bywater (Bankers Advertising/Tru Art, Iowa City).  Also on the committee are District Vice Chairs Andy Bramstedt (SSAB, Muscatine), Peter Voorhees (Standard Golf, Cedar Falls), J.D. Davis (MidAmerican Energy Company, Des Moines), Jack McFarland (Miller Products Company, Osceola), and Bruce Tamisiea (Tecton Industries, Spencer). Look for a full report on any developments at the next meeting of the ABI Board of Directors. 

Leaders to Retire from ABI Board; New Board Members will Begin Terms July 1

In addition to officers, also elected at the 116th Annual Convention were new members of the ABI Board of Directors.  These individuals and/or their companies have long been active in ABI and like all of you, will make terrific board members.  They take the place of members who are completing their terms or otherwise leaving the ABI Board of Directors. 

Ending service on the board are Doug Bass (Great Western Bank, Clive), Jenn Bleil (Van Meter, Cedar Rapids), Brett Bosworth (R&R Equity Partners, West Des Moines), Paul Drey (Brick Gentry Law Firm, West Des Moines), Alan Johnson (Norplex-Micarta, Postville), Wayne Johnson (CenturyLink, Des Moines), Brent Kjellberg (Pella Corporation, Carroll), Art Slusark (Meredith Corporation, Des Moines), and Krista Tanner (ITC Midwest, Des Moines)David Zrostlik (Stellar Industries, Garner), leaves his board slot as Immediate Past Chair, but in accordance with ABI Bylaws, remains a board member for life, as do all other former Chairs.  

Please join me in congratulating these individuals for their service and leadership and THANK YOU to these Iowa business leaders.

Elected to the board  for terms beginning July 1 were Tom Bosch (Shive-Hattery, West Des Moines), Scott Folkers (Winnebago Industries, Forest City), Eric Lohmeier (NCP, Des Moines), Gary Nordquist (LMC Insurance and Risk Management, West Des Moines), Todd Robinson (Renewable Energy Group, Ames), Taylor Teepell (CenturyLink, Des Moines), Dennis Van Zanten (Pella Corporation, Sioux Center), Julie Vande Hoef (Alliant Energy, Des Moines), Josh Wilford (Emerson/Fisher, Marshalltown), and Molly Varangkounh (Hy-Capacity, Humboldt).  Congratulations to these incoming leaders. 

State Panels Seeking Board Representation

As you read in last week’s edition of the ABI eNewsletter, a couple of state agencies are looking for Iowans to serve as members of their boards of directors.  These are gubernatorial appointments and having business represented is good for ABI and for Iowa.  Please click here to learn more: https://www.iowaabi.org/news/legislative-news/state-board-and-commission-vacancies/.  Please consider serving or having one of your employees serve on these boards. 

2019 Conference Photos Being Posted; 2020 ABI Convention in Cedar Rapids

Many of you have shared great comments about the just-completed 2019 ABI Taking Care of Business Conference; thank you.  Many of you have also remarked that you wished to see photos from the conference.  Some photos are already posted (please click here: http://www.iowaabi.org/events/photos/, but more will be posted in the coming days.  Please check back often, as you might see yourself in one of the photos. 

The 2020 ABI Taking Care of Business Conference will be held in Cedar Rapids.  Plans are already underway to make the event truly spectacular.  Each year, conference committee members work hard to develop world-class experiences and next year, they will be able to do that with terrific facilities and with the use of some other fabulous surprises.  Mark your calendars now for June 9-11 of next year and make plans to join your ABI colleagues in Cedar Rapids! 

Convention Survey in Your In-Box Last Week

As I noted above, many of you have been kind to offer good words about the recently-held 116th Annual ABI Convention.  It was indeed a fantastic meeting, with great speakers, exciting venues, and terrific numbers of ABI members from all over Iowa and beyond.  

While Vice President Member Development and Programs Kathy Anderson, Member Programs Director Holly Mueggenberg, Membership Coordinator Dorothy Knowles, Communications Director David Hildahl, and Bookkeeper Chrissy Viers put the finishing touches on convention, your feedback is encouraged and desired.  Your email in-basket on Wednesday of last week should have included a convention survey.  Please take a few moments (that’s all it takes, I promise) to complete the survey and provide your counsel about how to make a great event even better.  We want to hear from you.

ABI Publishes Iowa HR Library

One of ABI’s popular services over the years has been to provide a library of reference books related to Human Resources and other issues.  The reference set is periodically updated and highlighted for those companies seeking such a resource and it is offered at a very nominal rate for ABI members.  For more information or to obtain a set of manuals, please contact the ABI office.  

IIPAC Fundraising Now Underway

The Iowa Industry Political Action Committee is ABI’s political arm and it is not pro-Republican or pro-Democrat; it is pro-business.  IIPAC is an important resource for pro-business candidates. 

Thanks to IIPAC Chair (and former ABI Chair) Kirk Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines) and the members of the IIPAC Board of Directors, the PAC is being re-energized.  Board members will tell you that your support is vital to the success of IIPAC and its mission. 

Fundraising for IIPAC really never stops, but it occurs in earnest during the summer and fall.  ABI Senior Vice President Public Policy Nicole Crain, Director Public Policy Brad Hartkopf, Public Policy Coordinator Drew Wynes, with the help of Administrative Assistant Michelle Vollstedt, are now actively recruiting contributions.  The past few weeks have seen significant activity as far as IIPAC Revenues.  THANK YOU!  However, if you are on the ABI Board of Directors and have not yet contributed to IIPAC, we need you

I hope you will join your fellow ABI board and staff members by becoming an IIPAC contributor today.  Please click on this link for more information or to make a donation: https://www.iowaabi.org/public-policy/iipac/

Nominate Students for Business Horizons

Business Horizons, produced by the ABI Foundation, is the week-long entrepreneurial experience for Iowa high school students.  The 2019 session of the program is fast-approaching and registrations are running well ahead of last year. 

If you have questions or wish to be involved, please don’t hesitate to contact ABI Foundation Programs Director Jessi Steward McQuerry, Foundation Vice President Becky Coady, Foundation Marketing and Engagement Coordinator McKenzie Kielman, or Foundation Assistant Jane Galloway.  Thank you to all these staff members and to Foundation Alumni Engagement Staffer Kay Neumann-Thomas for their work in making BH and all Foundation programs a success.  In the meantime, thanks to the many of you who have already nominated Iowa high school students for selection to BH. 

Foundation Panel Holds June Meeting

Speaking of the ABI Foundation, an important Foundation entity held its June meeting last week. 

The ABI Foundation’s Leadership Iowa Board of Governors met Wednesday afternoon.  The Leadership Iowa program will convene its 38th class this fall.  Watch for more information as it develops. 

ABI Okoboji Executive Forum August 1, 2

We have already had great deal of interest in the third annual ABI Executive Forum.  The event, held at Okoboji, focuses on high-value programming for top executives.  It has been was a huge success and it is ABI’s fastest-growing event. 

The forum will be held the first and second of August in Okoboji.  We’ll be at a few different sites in the Lakes Area, but the main program location is the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center.  The Arrowwood was the site for many ABI annual conferences in the past and members have remarked that they like being back at the newly refurbished venue.  Watch for more information and we’ll look forward to seeing you there! 

Register Now for 2019 ABI Executive Open at Des Moines Golf and Country Club

Each year I like to remind you that I am the fellow that predicted there wouldn't be much demand for participation in a new event created a few years ago, the ABI Executive Open.  Well, I was spectacularly wrong (again).  The event has become one of the association's most popular annual outings and it sells-out every year. 

The 2019 Open will be held Monday, August 26, at one of Iowa's most beautiful private courses, Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines.  Click on this link to learn more about the club: http://www.dmgcc.org/.  It will make a fabulous location for the 2019 Executive Open.  This event ALWAYS fills quickly, so don’t delay your registration.  You can register here: http://www.cvent.com/events/executive-open-2019/event-summary-9ef1129178d141e78efe89f69b33e418.aspx.  See you at Des Moines Golf in August!