As this issue of The Communicator goes to print, Chairman Alan Freese and I have started the always interesting and important journey of visiting the 12 chapters of the California Moving and Storage Association (CMSA). I am hopeful that you will take the time to attend your local meeting. It is a great opportunity to see friends and colleagues, and be a part of the discussion on significant industry changes. If you haven't been to a chapter meeting in a while, now is the time, l can assure you that it will be worth it. Our Chairman’s schedule is chocked full, this month alone, in addition to writing his column and fielding numerous calls, he will visit four CMSA chapters, the military meetings reviewed below, the International Association of Movers annual conference in Washington DC, and the staff of BEARHFTI (we’ll all be happy when the name changes 1-1-19) in Sacramento.

Those of us who had the pleasure of attending our 100th anniversary convention in Sacramento will remember Chairman Freese’s closing statement at the Chairman’s Ball, and I can confirm that he and the rest of our leadership team is “really kicking some backside.” He recently was joined by Vice Chairman Thomas McCarthy, Military Affairs Committee Chair Jeanette Homan and other members, including at least one former chairman at the United States TransCom Personal Property Forum (PPF) and Hot Wash. At this important event related to military moving our members shared, from the prospective of a service provider, concerns and issues with the program for the moving of military personnel, our industry’s largest single client. The feedback of CMSA members over the years has created an opportunity for our Association to play a significant role in providing a voice for the agent in the Defense Personal Property Program.

One of the strongest aspects of the CMSA is the quality and dedication of our volunteer leadership, chapter, committee and board, all the way through the chairs of leadership and beyond. We cannot overstate the fact that the pathway to leadership results in a group with a firm and diverse understanding of our issues as well as the pathway that we as an organization are traveling. Because of this, I felt confident that our team could handle the mission we had for the PPF and Hot Wash even though I would not be able to join them. Both Alan and Thomas were prepared to share the notes we had developed from member feedback and I knew that if they got even slightly off course Jeanette would bring them back to true north.

While CMSA members represented our interests with the Military just outside of Scott Air Force Base in O’Fallon, Illinois, someone else had other plans for me. You see, while I thought that I had prepared for all probable issues, my first grandchild had other plans. No, she wasn’t going to be born two weeks earlier, to accommodate my schedule, but at 2am on a Wednesday morning after putting her mother through about 40 hours of labor. Regardless, her mother, father, aunts, and of course grandparents couldn’t have been more pleased and excited to welcome our little Ember into the world. We all know that she will do big things and live a life with a grateful and giving heart. Many have already told me that I have to claim a name, Grandpa, Pops, Opa, Pop-Pop, and Big Daddy are just a few of the suggested. My daughter wants it to be Papa and unless little Ember has other ideas, which from what we’ve seen in just the first days, is entirely possible, that’s just fine by me.

October 2018 - CMSA Communicator