The Chairman's Corner

By Thomas McCarthy

December 2019

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. The holiday season is a special time of year that forces us to get out of our business head and spend time with friends and family. You know the ones that we work so hard for throughout the year. Having the honor of representing the CMSA as your Chairman has made this year go by so fast.

In November, I went to Chicago again for the National Van Lines’ 90th Anniversary & Convention; and while it was cold in Chicago, they put on a great show. It was a nice send off for Maureen Beal who is retiring.

Then upon my return to our great state, it was up to Mid-Valley, Monterey and the Central Coast Chapters. CMSA President Steve Weitekamp and I got to spend some quality time with agents we visited like former Chairmen father and son team, Jim and Jay Casey. Jay was nice enough to show us around Modesto, and if you are up for some good tacos, Jay knows the spot.

In Monterey/Salinas, Senior Chairman Alan Freese showed us around his town and introduced us to some of the mover members in Salinas. We were also shown some of the areas in Salinas where the TV show LivePD is filmed.

After a great dinner at the Monterey Chapter, we started our journey home with a stop in San Luis Obispo to meet with Kasey Fox and his team at ASAP Movers, and then to visit Executive Board Member Megan Friend and former Chairman Mark Anderson in Santa Maria. Everyone was very welcoming, and we had a great tour. This was definitely one of those trips where it was all about the journey and not the destination.

In the military world, more and more changes come our way. Hopefully as an agent and/or as a TSP, you submitted comments back to the military who came out with plans for sweeping changes that they are just hoping to brush under the rug. One of the most unproductive change would be the delay claim. John Becker of AMSA created an example of a summer shipment going to VA, that was five days past its RDD for a family of four. Based on the new rules the government would like to implement, the per diem due the member for his delay would have been over $5,000.00. Who is going to eat that? What if it was in your storage and you can’t deliver within the 5 or 10 days required because you are over capacity? Will you get that charge? Or will you turn down shipments and tonnage in lieu of other work to make sure you do not put yourself in a position of jeopardy.

The military wants more capacity, but instead of finding ways to add to it, they find ways to push more people out. They had multiple opportunities to bring this up to industry through the PPF and the Executive Working Group but no, they just shot-gunned it out to see what sticks. The Associations, including CMSA, has been pushed to the back burner. The military says they want to hear from us, the movers, so it is up to you to make your voice heard. Steve and staff are working tirelessly on our behalf, but now is the time for us to speak out as well.

Last month, another loved one was taken by pancreatic cancer. Many of us knew Al Sidor from CDS Moving Equipment, who passed away last month. I have talked about doing a GoFundMe account, but they charge service fees for hosting the fundraiser. Instead, CMSA has volunteered with the passing of Al to receive checks in his honor to go towards fighting pancreatic cancer. To help start things off, I am going to personally donate $500.00 to this charity in honor of my mom and Al. I ask that if you have the ability during this time of giving, to donate what you can. Send checks into the CMSA and put for Al Sidor or Chairman’s Charity so we can help fight this disease. Frank Cross once said: “It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”

This holiday season, I ask you to be the person you hope to be and enjoy your time with loved ones during this holiday season regardless of which holiday you celebrate. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

December 2019 - CMSA Communicator