First FY23 Board Meeting Next Month - Monday Memo 8/15/22
August 15, 2022
First ABI Board Meeting of Fiscal Year on September 14
Finalize your plans now to join ABI Chair Kim Augspurger (Pigott, Des Moines) and members of the ABI Board of Directors for the September board meeting. The board will meet in Johnston at the new headquarters/conference center of the Iowa Bankers Association on September 14. As usual, a detailed meeting packet will be sent to all board members and former chairs a week prior to the meeting.
Highlights of the meeting will include welcoming newly-elected board members to their first meeting, adoption of 2023 ABI public policy positions, and an address by a leading Iowa legislator (stay tuned for more details). As for new board members, they are Steve Anderson (Merrill Manufacturing, Storm Lake), Lesley Bartholomew (Wells Enterprises, Le Mars), Ken Feldmann (Employee Owned Brands, Fairfield), Liz Hobart (GROWMARK, Waterloo), Eric Moerman (Interstates Companies, Sioux Center), Hank Norem (Ramco Innovations, West Des Moines), Gretchen Spear (International Paper, Cedar Rapids), and Nate Weaton (Weaton Capital, Fairfield). The honorary Leadership Iowa board representative this year is Nick Glew (Marion Economic Development Corporation, Marion). Be sure to join your ABI colleagues, meet these new directors, and participate in this important meeting.
As I noted in last week’s Memo, the September board meeting is typically well-attended and many of you have told me you already have this meeting on your calendar. On behalf of Kim and our other officers, I look forward to seeing you on September 14.
Remember to Call on ABI Advisory Council for Assistance
Members of the ABI Advisory Council can be a great resource for you and your business. ABI is grateful for the leadership and support council members provide the association. Thank you to ABI Advisory Council members Anthologic, AssuredPartners, BCC Advisers, BrownWinick, CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC, Focus OneSource, Fredrikson & Byron, HDH Advisors, Principal, The Iowa Clinic, and Wells Fargo.
Annual ABI Executive Open in Two Weeks
Some years ago, ABI created an event to provide an opportunity for members (and prospective members) to have fun and network with each other. It was a huge success, with members saying they greatly appreciated the informal, relaxed nature of the event.
The event has become part of ABI’s yearly schedule and the annual ABI Executive Open Best Ball Event will be held Monday, August 29. This year's Open will be again played at one of Iowa's most beautiful private clubs, Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines. You can register for the event at Summary - Executive Open (cvent.com). Over a hundred members have already registered. Don't miss this chance to join your ABI colleagues for a great event.
ABI Sponsors Business Record Manufacturing Event
ABI always seeks to promote and highlight the incredibly innovative and high-quality manufacturers located in Iowa. The Des MoinesBusiness Record, a great member, is a terrific partner in that work. ABI was pleased to be the presenting sponsor of the BR’s “Made in Iowa: State of Manufacturing Event” held last Wednesday.
ABI Board Member Heather Bruce (Osmundson Mfg. Co., Perry), her company’s fifth-generation leader, was one of the featured speakers at the event and she was terrific. By the way, if you click on this link: Osmundson Mfg. Co. Family-Owned Manufacturer Offering Top Quality Tillage Tools | Osmundson Manufacturing, you’ll be connected to the Osmundson webpage. On the page, there is a wonderful video where you can learn directly from Heather about the company. Towards the beginning of the video, you’ll see a meeting being held in what I have always thought is one of the of the coolest features of the Osmundson plant: a glass-walled conference room that directly overlooks the plant floor.
Thank you again to the Business Record, to Heather, and to all involved for highlighting Iowa manufacturing.
Policy Meetings Continue this Week; Strong Participation Marks Meetings
The ABI Tax Committee meets tomorrow. Then, on Thursday, ABI Board Member Kelly Barrick (CIBC, West Des Moines) will again Chair ABI Economic Growth Committee in its annual meeting. That meeting will mark the final meeting in the series of five policy meetings held this week and last.
Literally hundreds of ABI members from all across Iowa and beyond are participating in the 2022 series of meetings. The process next shifts to the ABI Legislative Committee and then will conclude with the meeting of the ABI Board of Directors on September 14. On behalf of ABI Vice Chair Rich Phelan (LyondellBasell, Clinton), who this year leads this process for ABI, thank you for your participation in this important work.
Latest BR Iowa Now Out
As you know, in conjunction with member company Business Publications Corp., ABI publishes Business Record Iowa. This monthly newsprint magazine is distributed to you and to business leaders all across Iowa as a part of the Des Moines Business Record.
The August edition of BR Iowa was published last week and should be in your mailbox by now. It features a great ABI member on the front cover; Daniel Goldstein (Folience, Cedar Rapids). This edition of Business Record Iowa focuses on successful successions. Daniel is a leader in ESOP policy, for example. If you have not received your copy of BR Iowa, please contact me and one will be sent to you at once.
Register Now for Legends Dinner, Manufacturing Conference
Two popular ABI events return this fall. The Legends in Manufacturing Awards Dinner and the ABI Manufacturing Conference will be held at the FFA Enrichment Center on the campus of Des Moines Area Community College on October 4 and 5. Registration is open for both events and click on Summary - Legends in Manufacturing Awards Dinner (and/or) Manufacturing Conference (cvent.com) for more information or to register. You will find this conference re-designed to focus even more on manufacturing; if you are a manufacturer, you will want to attend this event. Watch for more information soon.
LIU Session Huge Success
The 2022 session of the ABI Foundation’s Leadership Iowa University program was held last week and it was a smashing success. The class of 24 student’s met throughout the week. The program provides high-quality speakers and terrific networking that will help the students find their careers right here in Iowa.
Go to https://www.iowaabi.org/leadership-iowa-university/ and for more information. Thank you to the ABI Foundation staff and great volunteers for making the program such a hit.
Latest NAM Report Again a Dichotomy of Manufacturing Data
This month’s edition of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Global Manufacturing Economic Update is informative. As has been the case somewhat often of late, there is both bad news and good news to read. There is good news (expanding production projections for next year) and challenging news (lowered growth rates for this year). If you wish to read the report for yourself, please reply to this memorandum and I’ll get it to you at once.
Steve Jacobs Celebrates Wednesday
A great guy and a great ABI board member celebrates his birthday Wednesday. Longtime ABI Board member Steve Jacobs (BCC Advisers, Des Moines) celebrates his birthday on the 17th. Happy birthday, Steve!
Arconic Foundation Supports Advanced Manufacturing Program
Arconic is a great longtime ABI member. The Arconic Foundation as recently in the news for providing a $100,000 grant to Eastern Iowa Community College to support its advanced manufacturing program. Click here to read more: Arconic Foundation gives EICC $100K to promote advanced manufacturing (quadcitiesbusiness.com). Thank you to Arconic and to longtime ABI board Member John Riches (Arconic, Davenport)!
Atlantic Bottling Highlighted for Sustainable Packaging Initiative
ABI member Corridor Business Journal recently carried a feature about an exciting new initiative from a longtime ABI member, Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The initiative will transition plastic bottles used for some of the beverage products to a new, clear plastic. This will allow re-use of the material in other products and decrease landfill waste. There is much more to the initiative, and you can read about it here: Atlantic Bottling announces sustainable packaging initiative (corridorbusiness.com). Congratulations to everyone at Atlantic Bottling, including former ABI Chairs Jim Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Atlantic) and Kirk Tyler (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines) and to ABI Board Member Rob Feeney (Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Des Moines)!
Claudia Schabel to Address PDI Members
ABI Board Member Claudia Schabel (Schabel Solutions, Des Moines) has been selected to be one of three keynote speakers for the fall conference of Professional Developers of Iowa. Claudia will issues around diversity and inclusion and she will speak on September 29th. Learn more and register for the conference here: Summary - Professional Developers of Iowa 2022 Fall Conference (cvent.com).