The Chairman's Corner

Patrick Longo
June 2016

For those of you who don’t know me, I’d like to introduce myself as your 98th CMSA Chairman of the Board. My name is Robert (Bob) Fraser. I am the founder and owner of Redwood Moving & Storage in Healdsburg, CA. We are, and have been, agents of Stevens Van Lines for 25 years. I can’t tell you how proud and honored I am to represent our Association as your Chairman. As you know we just had our 98th Convention at Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley, CA and, oh man, what a great time it was for those of you who were there, you know what I’m talking about. Our President, Steve Weitekamp and his staff, Renee Hifumi, Gale Iwashita and Brianna Wahlstrom, put together an unbelievably memorable convention. I don’t know how they phoned in the great weather we had, but I have to say it could not have been better. From the snow capped Squaw peaks where we had a few attendees skiing, to Old Greenwood, one of the most beautiful golf courses we’ve ever played; from the Exhibitors Welcome Reception to the General Business Sessions; from the Legislative and Scholarship luncheons to the Mardi Gras and Chairman’s Ball festivities it was a great time to network with old friends and to create new ones. A huge ‘Thank You’ to Steve and the CMSA staff!

I’d also like to recognize and thank our Senior Chairman, Patrick Longo for the phenomenal job he did for our Association last year. In addition to visiting chapters, writing his articles for the Communicator, his leadership at the Board meetings, and his overall representation of the Association, Patrick still had time to create the Chairman’s Choice Charity program. As most of you know, with the Board’s approval every year the incoming Chair selects a charity of his or her choice to which the CMSA contributes $5,000. In honor of my two sisters, Diana and Debbie, who have courageously and successfully battled breast cancer, I’m proud to announce the National Breast Cancer Foundation as my selection for this year’s charity. For five years, Stevens Van Lines has also been a partner and supporter of the Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to “provide help and inspire hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support”. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. I would like to strongly encourage all of you to donate funds or your time to help raise awareness.

I’m truly looking forward to the coming year as your Chairman. It’s no secret that our industry is being faced with many challenges. Along with the CARB programs, the BIT rules and regulations, and all the other myriad of things that each of our businesses will be confronted with this year, we are also faced with a potential paradigm shift in how our industry will be governed. I believe all of this will create opportunities for us and that the changes that are imminent will be for the better of our industry and Association. We have as diverse and dynamic a Board of Directors as we’ve ever had and I look forward to working with them on all of these issues. Along with this year’s challenges, we also have much to celebrate. We are closing in on the end of our first full century as an Association. The next couple of years will be a time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we want to go in the future. We are already working on some exciting concepts for our Centennial celebration and Convention in 2018. If you should have any ideas or suggestions please let us know. I would encourage all of you to make sure to attend your local Chapter meetings and to stay involved. It’s going to be fun!
In closing I’d like to wish everyone a safe, sane, and productive summer season. As Jackson Browne sang on The Load Out, “cause when it comes to movin’ me … you know you guys are the champs.” Let’s keep it that way and be the best that we can be for our industry!

June 2016 - CMSA Communicator