The Chairman's Corner

By John Chipman, Jr.

October 2020

Greetings, CMSA Movers and Suppliers. Here’s a look back at three highlights from our September Chapter meetings and a sneak preview of October.

September Chapter Meetings were well attended, informative and entertaining. Who knew CMSA members could meet so well together virtually from the comfort of our homes and offices? CMSA President Steve Weitekamp provided attendees with an excellent summary of the most recent batch of assembly bills, including AB 2257, which was intended to “clean up” AB 5. What Sacramento politicians actually did was allow a lucky few past the velvet rope guarding the exclusive club of professions allowed to operate as independent contractors in California. Steve’s hilarious Haiku summed up AB 2257 nicely:

Musicians are cool.
Journalists can cause trouble.
Everyone else sad.    

The best part of the Monterey Bay meeting on September 16th, was taking in the scene at J&S Paper in Martinez. Ken, Dustin and Ricky turned the J&S Paper warehouse into a viewing party for the Zoom call. They temporarily shut down operations and hooked up a big screen TV and webcam in the production area. Side by side by side, they kicked back on (salvaged) leather swivel chairs with their feet propped up on a table.  Behind them you could see the mill cutter and the wooden cross beams and uprights supporting the warehouse walls and ceiling. Best of all, the trio munched on brisket and smoked corned beef from Slow Hand BBQ. If you pressed your face close enough to the screen you could just make out the dark BBQ sauce on their tee-shirts. Why go to all this effort just for the meeting? According to Dustin, “CMSA is family, and we really care about supporting the scholarship fund.”    

During Ed Coelho’s Twin Counties meeting on September 8, attendees welcomed our newest member to CMSA: Dirt Cheap Mover in Corona. Owner Steve Niedziela and general manger J.D. Wiese are not typical movers. Before becoming Dirt Cheap’s GM, J.D. was a professional singer. J.D.’s smooth FM radio voice caught Steve’s attention at Carl’s Jr drive through where JD was taking orders. When not dispatching crews, J.D. uses his pre-med background to train future doctors at a local medical school. For his part, Steve has degrees in law, criminal justice and mechanical engineering design. Steve used his engineering background to create an airtight business model that complies with CA’s onerous regulations and delivers first rate service. He’s also built a marketing mouse trap for generating new sales opportunities. According to Steve, moving is a “fun game of math …Our phone is ringing every 6 minutes”. Welcome to the CMSA Team, Steve and J.D.!     

October started out on a terrifying note for the North Bay Chapter, where Kyle Messer is the Chapter President. Kyle owns and operates Robb & Messer M&S in Petaluma. According to Kyle, many of his employees are living under the threat of evacuation because of the Glass Fire. The Fire has already burned over 65+ thousand acres and destroyed hundreds of homes and many wineries in Sonoma and Napa Counties. Kyle was phoning other CMSA members, including Schultz Brothers and Redwood Moving & Storage, to make sure they were safe. Movers in Sonoma and Napa Counties must feel like they are under constant threat. It was just three years ago when the Tubbs Fire burned down 5,100 homes and killed over 20 people, primarily in the Santa Rosa area.     

Here’s the October Chapter Meeting lineup: Oct 13, 4 p.m., Ventura/Santa Barbara; Oct 14, 4 p.m., Greater LA; Oct 15, 4 p.m., Central Valley; and October 21, 5 p.m., North Region. Because of the Glass Fire, North Bay’s meeting has been postponed until November 24 at 4:30 p.m.

And here are two upcoming October highlights.

Chapter President Dustin Sandoval and the Sacramento Chapter will be playing golf on Friday, October 16. Registration begins at 8:45a.m., and tee offs start at 9:30 am. This is a great opportunity to see industry friends (at a proper social distance) and to enjoy the Ancil Hoffman course. According to former Chapter President Ed Melton, the course in Carmichael is “wide open with a lot of history.” While not officially a “tournament” this outing promises to be great fun.     

Northern Region Chapter Co-Presidents, Olga Garcia and Griselda Gonzales, have an interesting culinary twist for their Zoom meeting on October 21st. CMSA members can take delivery (to home or office) of a classic San Francisco meal: four servings of Boudin’s clam chowder and sourdough bread bowls. Place your order by October 13th and receive delivery anywhere in CA -- even to Riverside. (Yes, Jesse Chabot, you can eat poolside in your back yard while adding the final flourishes to your Halloween costume.) With the innovative sisters leading the Northern Region, it’s easy to understand how Olga and Griselda are two-time Chapter-of-the-Year winners!

October 2020 - CMSA Communicator