The Chairman's Corner

Patrick Longo
April/May 2016

I think I'm ready for the Peak Season to begin. It felt like it would never get here, but I’m so glad it has. Let's rally the troops, get your patience hat on, and make this the best summer yet. Treat every phone call, estimate, pack and load as if it's your last. Every customer is a VIP customer so let's not lose focus of the fact that we have an opportunity in our industry to help make transitions into new homes go smoothly and help get people started on the right foot in a new chapter of their lives.

Peak season also means the start of Spring. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and Spring Break with their families! I had a chance to go out to Spring training with my son Cooper and visit my Vice Chairman Bob Fraser in Scottsdale to watch his beloved Giants play the Padres. We had a great time hanging out and Coop got his first autograph from a big league player; former Dodger Matt Kemp. The Next day we headed over to Tempe to watch the Angels play. Thank you Bob for your hospitality we had a really fun time.

It's hard to believe but I am almost at the end of my Chairman year. It has been a terrific ride for sure. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet so many incredibly dedicated professional men and women in our great industry. So many wonderful things happened this year. I had the opportunity to honor my late father by establishing a Chairman's Choice Charity, for which we did a Walk to End Alzheimer’s and raised over $5,300 in his name and for the many families who have been stricken with this awful disease. I visited and spoke at 12 Chapters, toured over 25 mover member offices and warehouses, including the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base; I attended five Chapter fundraising events, including the one this past March in San Diego for its chapters annual golf tourney. Great job Thomas and Raedeane for doing an incredible job putting it together, as usual. I had a blast and even won a raffle for a change, taking home a well-needed new driver to add to my golf bag. I also had the privilege of attending this year’s Legislative Day in Sacramento on March 2nd. Thank you to Chuck Cole of Advocation Inc. and to Steve Weitekamp for organizing these great meetings with Michael Sutherland from ARB, Assemblyman Adam Gray, Sue Kateley from the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, Nick Zanjani from the CPUC, and Patrick Welch Capitol Director from Senator Hill's office. To end the day we spoke with Lt. Brian Goldhammer and Cullen Sisskind of the CHP. We learned so much from all of these meetings and believe we made great strides as an association continuing to battle legislature on the topics we have to deal with on a daily basis regarding our industry in the state of California.

Thank you to all the board members for their hard work and dedication to our association. It was a pleasure working with them all. 

I want to thank the terrific CMSA staff for their hard work keeping this association running smoothly. I thank our CMSA President, Steve Weitekamp. Spending time traveling up and down the state with him gave me a new appreciation of his hard work for our association. Steve, I appreciate everything you do and value our friendship even more.

I also wanted to thank everyone at our company, Andy's Transfer & Storage, along with my incredibly supportive family, Jill, Abby, and Cooper for allowing me to take this journey. I know it took me away from the office and home a lot so I appreciate the support you have given me all year.

Finally, Everywhere I went, I had so many mover and associate members thank me for my commitment as Chairman of the Association. It is I who need to thank all of you for everything you do. This has been a life-changing experience and an honor to serve as your 2015-2016 CMSA Chairman.

Keep making a difference and see you at the convention in May!

April/May 2016 - CMSA Communicator