The Chairman's Corner

By Vince Cardinale

August 2024

I hope July was as busy for all our members as it was here in Monterey. For us, July was much better than June. Speaking with some of our members, it seems we were not alone in this experience.

But now, as we move toward the fall and the summer moving season slows down, it is a good time to look at our marketing programs. Marketing is more than your Google ad or local print ad.  Marketing is advertising our Company services daily. 

Our vans are rolling billboards. Now is the time to be sure they are clean and not in disrepair, showing well to the driving public. Now is also a good time, as residential moves slow, to identify other lines of business. Finding and securing alternate business lines will help us get through the current and future housing and residential slowdowns.

There are many things we can do besides traditional moves; it takes just a little foresight and forward thinking to devise a plan to diversify our business lines.

For example, contact the local interior designers in your area. Offer warehouse, receiving, and delivery services. Contact the local Hotels and motels in your area. Find out when they plan to renovate. Most hotels and motels are renovated every 3-5 years.

Have a brainstorming session with your key staff members and ask them to answer some questions, for example.
1. What areas of our business could we spend more time developing?
2. What is something different we can do to change the traditional way we have always done things?   

Fall is also the time when we begin our local chapter meetings. Our Chapter Presidents orientation will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, 20 August
 
A Chapter President has a large responsibility, including scheduling meetings and obtaining speakers with interesting and pertinent topics. I encourage you to support and offer input to your Chapter Presidents as we begin to schedule our Chapter meetings.

Another responsibility of the Chapter President is to encourage participation in the CMSA. Our Association needs your input and ideas.

So please plan to get involved and participate in as many of the CMSA activities as possible. Support your Chapter leaders who have volunteered to make your chapter successful. I am certain they would welcome help setting up meetings and planning events.

 If your chapter hosts a large fundraiser, it will also require many volunteers to be successful. I personally invite all of you to Monterey on October 4, 2024, for our Monterey Bay Chapter 21st annual Golf and Bocce Tournament benefiting the CMSA Charities.

If I don’t see you in Monterey in October, I look forward to meeting many of you as your CMSA President, Steve Weitekamp, and I visit all 12 CMSA Chapters.  

Auigust 2024 - CMSA Communicator