Legislative Telecon Friday, Crain Speaks - Monday Memo 4/13/15

Next Legislative Teleconference Friday; Crain Speaks at NAM Conference

ABI Vice President Government Relations Nicole Crain, Policy and Political Affairs Counsel Rachel Geilenfeld, and Policy and Regulatory Affairs Coordinator Zach Dalluge will host the latest legislative teleconference this Friday morning, April 17.  As always, updates on bills, legislative proposals, state actions, and other matters will be covered in the call.  Your specific questions about those topics are also very much welcomed.

The call begins at 9:00 a.m. and you and your employees are encouraged to participate.  The call is free as a part of your ABI membership, but please register at/index.cfm/11274/65285/2015_abi_legislative_update_teleconference_members_only.

Speaking of ABI's Government Relations team, Vice President Nicole Crain was invited by the National Association of Manufacturers to speak at the NAM's Spring Conference.  Nicole is in New Orleans and is this day speaking about ABI's work in the 2014 election, looking forward to 2015, and discussing presidential campaigns as well.  Congratulations to Nicole on this prestigious assignment.

Say Thanks and Farewell to Leisa Fox Wednesday

As you know, ABI Senior Vice President Revenue and Programs Leisa Fox is leaving ABI.  Following her last day this coming Friday, Leisa will join ABI member QPS Employment Services.

To give you and everyone an opportunity to greet Leisa, thank her for her service, and wish her well, ABI is hosting a reception for her this Wednesday, April 15.  The event will be held at HoQ (http://hoqtable.com/) in De Moines.  the restaurant is located literally across the street from ABI and you may park in the ABI lot and easily walk to HoQ.

The event, with plenty of free food and drink, will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. I hope you will join us and give Leisa your good wishes!

Register Now for May Board Meeting in Waverly; Dinner Night before

With last week's meeting of the Executive Committee, ABI leadership meetings are complete until next month.  ABI Chair Mark Hanawalt (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly) will host the ABI Board of Directors in Waverly on Wednesday, May 6.  Following on the success of other board meetings held outside Greater Des Moines, the May board meeting will be held at the Prairie Links Golf and Events Center on the south edge of Waverly. 

If you wish to stay overnight, a block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cedar Falls.  The hotel provides quick access to Waverly and you can click on this link to make a reservation or find more information:http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/iowa/hilton-garden-inn-cedar-falls-ALOCFGI/index.html.  The board meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the 6th and lunch will be served. 

The night before, on May 5th, those members in Cedar Falls are invited to join ABI for dinner, hosted by the Executive Committee.  We'll dine at Montage (http://montage-cf.com/res2/), a very popular Cedar Falls restaurant.  Detailed information will be included in the board packet that you will receive about a week in advance of the meeting.  All you need do is reply to this message to let me know you will attend the dinner.  There is no fee and no registration necessary.

Cedar Valley Activities Available; Golf, Manufacturing and TechWorks Tours Optional

There are many activities available to pursue around the board meeting.  Of course, you may wish to golf at Prairie Links and tee times are indeed available.

In addition, you may wish to tour the manufacturing facilities of two great ABI board members, Mark Hanawalt (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly) and Jared Graening (GMT Corporation, Waverly).  Both Mark and Jared are opening their facilities to ABI that day.

Another special option is a tour of the Cedar Valley TechWorks Campus in Waterloo.  You have heard of the TechWorks (http://cedarvalleyalliance.com/cms/251/Cedar_Valley_Tech_Works) and this is your chance to see it first-hand.  Built on the site of a former John Deere factory, TechWorks is a 30-acre advanced manufacturing and bio-research center in the heart of the city.  Special tours for ABI board members will be hosted at TechWorks at 2:00 p.m. on May 6.  You can take the tour and still be on your way back home by 3:00 or 3:30.  Special thanks to ABI Board Member Steve Dust (Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Waterloo) for making these premium tours  available.

ABI Advisory Council to Hold April Meeting

Members of the ABI Advisory Council will hold their regular April Thursday afternoon in Des Moines.  Making note of this allows me an opportunity to again thank the ABI Advisory Council members for their support and leadership.  Thank you to ATW Training and Consulting, BCC Advisers, Bergan Paulsen, Brick Gentry P.C., BrownWinick,CIRAS, CliftonLarsonAllen, EMC, Global Reach, Great Western Bank, LMC Insurance, Manpower, Measured Intentions, Principal Financial Group, QPS Employment Group, Spindustry, Transition Point Business Advisors, and Wellmark.

Part-Timers Galloway, Vos Join Staff

Two new staff members have joined ABI and the ABI Foundation on a part-time basis.  Jane Galloway has joined the ABI Foundation and Barbara Vos has joined ABI.

Both women have enjoyed successful careers and are now providing important administrative support in their respective roles in the ABI office.  Jane assists in a number of ways with Foundation activities and Barbara is assisting Holly Mueggenberg with ABI events.  It is a pleasure to have Jane and Barbara with us and we appreciate their service.

ABI Members Invited to Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference

Last year, ABI was among a number of organizations that collaborated in producing the first-ever Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference.  It was a huge success and led to plans for future conferences.

The second annual conference will be held on May 14 and 15 at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas (a part of the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area).  The agenda for the conference is terrific and packed full of high-value information.  Your compliance staff will find no better resource for the very latest in environmental regulatory information.

ABI receives financial support for every Iowa participant that registers for the conference.  While that is a great incentive, the real reason to attend is for the high-value program.  Please consider sending your staff to the conference.  Find out more information and register by clicking on http://mecconference.com/kansas-city/. 

Leadership Iowa Class Meets; Governor to Honor IADG

BThe 2014-2015 Leadership Iowa class met last week in Storm Lake.  The class heard terrific speakers as a part of a focus on community vitality.  Special thanks to ABI Board Member Rand Fisher (Iowa Area Development Group, West Des Moines), who was one of the session keynote speakers. 

Speaking of Rand, he and the folks at the Iowa Area Development Group will be honored by Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad tomorrow.  The Governor will sign a proclamation honoring IADG on the occasion of its 30th anniversary providing leadership and service to Iowa.  Congratulations to Rand, to the IADG Board Chair, former ABI Chair Dennis Murdock (CIPCO, Des Moines) and everyone at IADG!

By the way, Rand and fellow ABI Board member Brent Kjellberg (Pella Corporation, Carroll) also participated in the latest Connecting Statewide Leaders event.  That event was held in conjunction with the Leadership Iowa session Thursday. 

Latest Edition of Business Record Iowa Now Out

Each month, in partnership with the Des Moines Business Record, ABI publishes Business Record Iowa.  This newsprint publication reaches about 7,500 Iowa business leaders all across the state.  The April edition of the magazine should now be in your mailbox, inside the Des Moines Business Record.  Look for ABI Executive Committee Member David Zrostlik (Stellar Industries, Garner) on the cover.

Kim Augspurger Celebrates

Since being elected to the ABI Board of Directors a few years ago, Kim Augspurger (Saxton, Des Moines) has provided strong leadership.  In addition, she has been a presenter at association programs and events and provided real value for members.

It is a pleasure to celebrate with Kim on the occasion of her 35th anniversary with Saxton.  For the past several years, she has been leading that company to new heights of success.  Congratulations, Kim!

INF Mores Leadership Institute Celebrates Seven Years Serving Iowa Newspaper Industry

As you know from reading past editions of this memorandum, Iowa newspaper industry leaders Steve Mores and his brother, longtime ABI Board Member Alan Mores (Harlan Newspapers, Harlan), endowed the Leo Mores Leadership Institute at the Iowa Newspaper Foundation. The Mores Institute supports the creation of future leaders in the newspaper industry and it has had much success.

The Institute, which is now accepting nominations for the next class, is marking its seventh year  in 2015.  Congratulations to Alan, Steve, their family, and their industry on this special occasion!

Mara Sovey to Wed

It was a pleasure to see former ABI Board member Mara Sovey (John Deere Foundation, Moline) Friday in the Quad Cities.  Mara is now President and CEO at the John Deere Foundation.  She has been instrumental in helping develop a fantastic program for the 2015 Taking Care of Business Conference.

In a lunch Friday (held at TPC Deere Run, the fabulous course golfers will play in conjunction with the June conference), Mark Hanawalt (United Equipment Accessories, Waverly), Michele Farrell (Measured Intentions, Urbandale), and I learned that Mara will be getting married the week before the conference in June.  That is terrific news!  Congratulations and very best wishes to Mara!

Michael Sadler's Mother Passes

ABI Board member Michael Sadler (CenturyLink, Des Moines) is a well-known Des Moines community leader.  He is well-liked and well-respected by everyone.  It is with sadness we learned of the death of Michael's mother, Nancy McDean, in Des Moines last week. 

Ms. McDean was loved by all who knew her and she was very proud of her son and his family.  Her funeral will be held later this morning.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Michael and his wife, Eleena Mitchell-Sadler, and their daughter, Mykal.