The Chairman's Corner

By Alan Freese

March/April 2019

As I sit down to write this column, it’s hard to believe this is already my last one. This past year has truly flown by and I have had an incredible time as Chairman.  My interaction with the people, the businesses, the chapters, the board members–all have been a great time with no regrets. No chapter, no mover, no associate member has the same business model of any of their competitors, but we all find a way to get it done. There is no blueprint on how to be a mover–you can’t buy the book on Amazon, you must roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty some days to get it done but that’s what we do. We are the champions of adversity, nobody does it better than a skilled professional licensed mover. I guess what has impressed me the most as I toured the state with CMSA President Steve Weitekamp is how different we all are in our daily endeavors, but unified as movers. My respect for the local mover has grown tremendously through my travels. It’s not always blue sky and green grass out there, but we find a way to get it done. Problems I have felt were unique to me, I have learned are common to many. I have a great appreciation for what our industry at the local level accomplishes on a daily basis.

I have a lot of people to thank and acknowledge. I will try to cover all, but I know there’s a few that will slip through the cracks. I want to start with Steve and the staff of the CMSA. Until you take this journey, you have no idea what goes on behind the scenes and what they do on a daily basis to ensure that we are not only the largest but the best trade association in the moving industry bar none. They always represent our industry in the most professional manner  and really strive to address the needs and concerns of the mover in general. As many of you are aware, I’m not one of those guys blessed with beauty, brains or fame, but I have been blessed with a great family. My wife Jennifer, my kids Shelby, Jack and Amanda, my step-father Gary and mother Helen as well as my brother Carl are the foundation from which I’ve been able to make this journey happen. We all work together on a daily basis, some days being family can be tough, but in the long run there’s no better way to make it happen. I’m extremely proud and grateful to call each and every one of you my family, thank you for all you do and more importantly–putting up with me. Then there would be my executive board−Mr. John Lance, Mr. Thomas McCarthy, Mr. John Chipman Jr., Mr. Karl Anderson, Ms. Megan Andersen and Mr. Jesse Chabot. Thank you to all of you for being part of my board and helping steer this ship in hopefully the right direction. It’s not always easy being an all-volunteer board to make things happen when work and life get in the way, but you all have persevered, and I thank you for your efforts.

There’s a guy out there by the name of Rick Bruns that works for Victory Packaging. From 1978 until about 1983, he worked for Gary and was my boss when I would work afterschool and summers. Rick taught me a lot about the moving industry – not all of it repeatable here, but none the less he taught me a lot of how to deal with people and customers in general. Even at a young time in my life, I was intrigued by the moving industry and what it had to offer. Rick had a way of making things happen and keeping it light, even in the worst of days he would find a way to make you laugh. Fast forward to the summer of 2018 and Rick with his wife Cindy hosted what will go down in the history of the CMSA as the best dinner ever at the world-famous Sardine Factory in Monterey for our executive board retreat. It was an epic evening that will be enjoyed and remembered for many years to come by all that attended. Thank you again for such a great weekend.

In closing, I want to remind everybody to please support my CMSA Chairman’s Choice Charity–St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center. To date, we have raised over $4,000 at our go fund me page. Here’s the link: https://www.gofundme.com/cmsa-chairmans-choice. Please make us all proud and donate what you can. St Jude’s will have a representative in attendance at our scholarship awards luncheon in San Diego. Please help me in giving them all we can to help these kids and their families. One last thank you to all that have been a part of this incredible ride. I hope to see all of you in San Diego where I get to hand the keys over to Mr. McCarthy. Cheers, Alan.

March/April 2019 - CMSA Communicator