A P U B L I C AT I O N O F Serving the warehouse industry from Virginia to Florida to Louisiana. Education, information, community. P.O. Box 898, Madison, GA 30650 • (706) 431-6025 • [email protected] • www.swaonline.org January 2015 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Happy New Year from the Lewis family. Hope everyone was able to spend some quality time with family and friends over the holiday season. • Focus your thinking on new behaviors and thought patterns. You have to create new neural pathways in your brain to change habits; Now to the glorious New Year’s Resolutions. Did you know that approximately 50% of the population makes a resolution? Did you? • Be mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your inner state as each external event happens, moment by moment, rather than living in the past or future. The more popular ones are weight loss, quit smoking, get more exercise, save money and eat healthier. If you’re like most, the first few weeks usually go along pretty well. By February, you start slipping a little. By July, the response is more like “What Resolution?” And by October, it’s more like “I’ll start that January 1”. Then the cycle starts over. They state most people fail because the goal is too unrealistic to achieve. Here are some tips I found that might help us all: • Focus on the present. What’s the one thing you can do today, right now, towards your goal? • And finally, don’t take yourself so seriously. Have fun and laugh at yourself when you slip, but don’t let the slip hold you back from working at your goal. One of my goals is to provide a quarterly webinar for the SWA members. The first one was held December 18th – How will the mid-term elections change health care reform? We’re hoping to select topics beneficial to all. Van Swafford is working on the topic for Q1, and we’ll pass along the information once finalized. • Focus on one resolution, rather than several; The Executive Board will be meeting on January 31st in Long Boat Key. We haven’t been to Long Boat in several years and will be evaluating it as our possible location for the 2017 convention. Speaking of conventions, please go ahead and mark your calendar to join us in Hilton Head September 17-19. • Set realistic, specific goals. Losing weight is not a specific goal. Losing 10 pounds in 90 days would be; In closing, I wish you and your family an enjoyable and prosperous 2015. • Don’t wait till New Year’s Eve to make resolutions. Make it a year-long process, every day; Jeff • Take small steps. Many people quit because the goal is too big requiring too big a step all at once; • Have an accountability buddy, someone close to you that you have to report to; • Celebrate your success between milestones. Don’t wait for the goal to be finally completed; EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING January 30-31, 2015, Long Boat Key Club, Florida MID YEAR BOARD MEETING June 5-6, 2015, Sonesta Resort, Hilton Head Island, SC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S COLUMN The New Year 2015 has arrived, on schedule, and is being welcomed by the Matheson family with hope and a prayer that it will be a positive year in both thought and action. Within your homes and within your businesses. While last year did not end well for our family, we intend to honor our daughter’s life with grace, dignity and a big smile. Karin would expect nothing less! So good luck & best wishes to everyone! Your Executive Board will be meeting on January 30-31 at the Long Boat Key Club in Florida. Jeff will be giving us our “marching orders” for the year which will be reported on in future issues. And it’s been suggested that we evalute that resort for a future convention; it has been a popular past venue, last visited during 2006. Like many, it is now under new ownership. It also pleases me that we added nine new members last year – we need to keep growing and improving! To that end, we hosted one webinar during 2014 (Mid Term Elections, ACA & Health Care Reform) and one Strategic Planning Session facilitated by Chip Scholz. Plans are in the works for two or three 2015 webinars and a request that we repeat the SPS seminar for those who could not attend last month. Create Pride, Establish Traditions, Instill Principles and Watch Your Profits Soar The J.M. Smucker Company has everyone who is hired memorize their printed corporate culture creed entitled, “Why We Are – Who We Are”. Smucker’s wants their people engaged, understanding their reasons for success. The company started in 1897 making apple butter. They are now a $4.7 billion company who believes their “culture” is the cornerstone to their success and must be proactively protected by instilling the creed in each and every employee. How are you instilling your corporate culture, principles for growth, and core competencies for success throughout your organization? What should each and every employee know about your company? Do your people know what differentiates you from your competition? How do you expect to create a sense of pride, camaraderie and team effort if no one really knows what your company is all about? Make it your goal to provide as much USEFUL information to your employees about your company and how they are an integral part of your success. SWA 70th Annual Convention “Leadership: Share the Vision” September 16-19, 2015 Sonesta Resort – Hilton Head Island, SC 5 September’s convention will be held at the Sonesta Resort on Hilton Head Island; planning will get a boost this month when Stan Jones (Business Program) meets with me in Madison. Rob and Catherine Collins have agreed to coordinate the social side of that weekend. Going to ask Frank Anderson to head up the Golf Tournament and Christine has volunteered to be a roving photograhper. Convention sponsorhsip help during 2014 was terrific and I’m told we can “count” on a repeat which is good news. If we find oursleves needing some help, we’ll ask. 0 Southeast Region Headquarters (Metropolitan Atlanta) 2405 Satellite Blvd., Suite 200 • Duluth, GA 30096 Phone: 770-232-0202 • Fax: 770-232-9202 Chris Owens, CIC, CRM [email protected] m m www.mccart.com CURRENT SWA MEMBERSHIP Until next time, get a great start on 2015 and please keep in touch! Warehouses................................90 Dean Associates..................................35 The Breeze – Page 2 Economic News - January 2015 FedEx to acquire Pittsburgh-based 3PL GENCO Cargo Being Diverted From Congested Long Beach, Los Angeles Ports With an eye on further expansion of its e-commerce business and related reverse logistics processes, transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx announced it has inked an agreement to acquire Pittsburgh-based GENCO, a third-party logistics (3PL) services provider specializing in product lifecycle and reverse logistics. GENCO will continue to operate as an independent company until the deal is complete in early 2015. GENCO has annual $1.6 billion in annual revenue and operates more than 130 warehouse locations comprising more than 38 million square feet in North America. Congestion at the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports is causing some businesses to ship cargo by air or divert goods to other ports. However, now we’re talking: West Coast port labor negotiations get a middleman. At long last, the ILWU has agreed to federal mediation. West Coast ports will have to do much to recover from this prolonged episode and part of their mission will require innovation. The expanded Panama Canal is scheduled to open late this year or in early 2016, bringing with it the potential for more direct shipment between Asia and the East Coast. FedEx noted that GENCO processes more than 600 million returned items annually and is viewed as a “pioneer and market leader in reverse logistics, providing triage, test and repair, remarketing and product liquidation best in class supply chain management services,” said Frederick W. Smith, Chairman and CEO of services. The company has more than 11,000 employees. The acquisition of GENCO will transform our global portfolio through the addition of new FedEx Corp., in a statement. “As e-commerce continues to grow, customers of both companies will reap the benefits from the broadened capabilities and powerful new services.” World’s Largest Container Ship Arrives in the UK for the First Time The record-breaking aspect of the Globe, owned by Shanghai-based China Shipping Container Lines and built in South Korea, is its capacity. It can carry 19,100 standard 20ft containers. That’s estimated to be enough space for 156 million pairs of shoes, 300 million tablet computers or 900 million standard tins of baked beans. Laid end-to-end, the maximum number of containers on board would stretch for 72 miles. The Breeze – Page 3 SWA 70th Annual Convention News & Views “Leadership: Share the Vision” September 16-19, 2015 From The HomeFront Sonesta Resort – Hilton Head Island, SC As most of you have learned by now, our beautiful Karin died on December the 15th, after two weeks in a coma. It is still difficult to believe that she is among the angels spreading joy and happiness in heaven. On behalf of Terry (her husband,) Garrett (her son,) and Dean and myself we express our heartfelt thanks to all our SWA family for the love, the sympathy and the prayers. We have been amazed at the outpouring of love and memories from so many, many people – old high school boy friends, classmates, college friends, our church family, friends and neighbors, as well as our own family members. The sheer volume of cards, notes, emails and face book postings has been incredible! Dean and I will attempt to face this new year with courage and the belief that our present grief will be replaced with only loving and happy memories. The following poem posted on the Companion Animal Rescue, Inc. Facebook page (Karin’s charity of choice) will be an excellent guideline for us in attempting to reach that goal — You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived. You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back, or you can open your eyes and see all she left. Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her, or you can be full of the love you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember her only that she is gone, or you can cherish her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back, or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.” –David Harkins To all our SWA family we send our sincere wishes for a happy, healthy New Year – one filled with love and family. And, again, our deep gratitude for all the support we have received! Energy & utility savings (lighting, HVAC, water, compressed air, etc.) through long term engineered solutions. 23210 US Hwy 98 • Fairhope, AL 314.575.9576 • Fax: 866.323.4630 www.cam-airllc.com Chris Thompson, Owner • [email protected] Southeast Solutions, Inc. 630 Olympic Drive Kathy [email protected] or 706-342-9915 Athens, Georgia 30603 706.353.7211 or 866.350.7211 The Breeze – Page 4 SWA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President 1st Vice Pres. 2nd Vice Pres. Sec./Treasurer Past President & Pres. Council Chairman Executive Director JEFF LEWIS Kenco Logistics Services 2001 Riverside Drive • Chatanooga, TN 37406 (800) 758-3789 [email protected] VAN SWAFFORD Swafford Transport and Warehouse Co. P.O. Box 1805 • Greer, SC 29652 (864) 848-3854 [email protected] STAN JONES Dothan Warehouse P.O. Box 222 • Dothan, AL 36302 (334) 793-6003 [email protected] DEVON ANDERS InterChange Group, Inc. 1346 Plesants Drive, Suite 6 Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540) 433-1900 [email protected] BRUCE TRANTHAM Tranco Logistics, LLC 3101 Alton Park Boulevard Chattanooga, TN 37410 (423) 822-1000 [email protected] DEAN MATHESON SWA P.O. Box 898 • Madison, GA 30650 Off. (706) 431-6025, Cell: (706) 818-1675 [email protected] STATE DIRECTORS Alabama Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia JACK MEADOR Meador Warehousing & Distribution P.O. Box 391, Mobile, AL 36603 (251) 457-4376 [email protected] NEIL PORTER The Grimes Companies 600 North Ellis Rd. Jacksonville, FL 32254 (904) 446-4850 [email protected] WESLEY GRIFFIN Gray Distribution Services, Inc. P.O. Box 3047, Albany, GA 31706 (229) 436-7221 [email protected] BRIAN JOHNSON Advance Distribution Services, Inc. 2349 Millers Lane • Louisville, KY 40216 (502) 449-1720 [email protected] TERRY NICHOLAS Warehouse Services Inc. P.O. Box 13487 • Jackson, MS 39236 (601) 362-8891 [email protected] WILL PITTMAN Triangle East Storage 2010 Baldree Road, Wilson, NC 27893 (252) 245-0569 [email protected] ROB COLLINS Winyah Properties P.O. Box 1289 • Georgetown, SC 29442 (843) 325-9917 [email protected] JOHN OZIER UWT Logistics 823 East Holmes Road • Memphis, TN 38106 (901) 948-3481 [email protected] STEVE WILLIS Camrett Logistics 2460 N. 4th St. • Wytheville, VA 24382 (276) 625-8107 [email protected] AT LARGE DIRECTORS C. WILSON BALDRIDGE Wilson Warehouse Co., Inc. P.O. Box 748 Baton Rouge, LA 70821 (225) 382-5269 [email protected] ANDY BROWN Twin City Warehouses, Inc. 3302 Old Lexington Road Winston-Salem, NC 27107 (336) 499-7221 [email protected] WILLIAM (BILL) CLARK WIMCO Consulting 1820 E. First St., Ste. 500 Santa Ana, CA 92705 (888) 739-5518 [email protected] FRED MEREDITH Meredith Whsing & Dist., Inc. 103 Carolina Court Archdale, NC 27263 (336) 861-5773 [email protected] TOM MIRALIA Distribution Technology POB 7123 • Charlotte, NC 28241 (704) 587-5587 [email protected] January Birthdays January Anniversaries 3rd............................. Beverley Ledford 1st................. Gene & Barbara Parham 3rd................................. Gina Thornton 4th. .............Michael & Becky Patterson 10th. ............................. Carol Thornton 7th. ................. Tommy & Becky Grimes 11th. ............................ Libba Anderson 17th. ....................... Fred & Susan Yohe 18th. .................................... Pam Keller 23rd.............................. Diane Meredith 27th. ....................................Beth Lewis 29 . .............................Debbie Meador th February Birthdays 14th. ............................ Dean Matheson 27th. ................................ Carol Stalling 29 . ............................. Tommy Grimes th 31st. ...................................... Tad Duke February Anniversaries 14th. ..............Robin & Tommy Johnson 21st. ..................Brenda & Calvin Ozier Please advise the SWA office if you have been “overlooked” or incorrectly listed on your special day! Law firm specializing in warehousing logistics and transportation law 55 W. Monroe, Suite 3500 • Chicago, Illinois 60603 312.224.1500 (Phone) • 312.224.1510 (Fax) vaneklaw.com Jon B. Masini, Vice President / Partner [email protected] PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL GEORGE W. DAVIS III Davis Storage & Warehouse, Inc. 618 Craighead Street Danville, VA 24541 (434) 793-7721 [email protected] Success Doesn’t Come From Good Intentions; Success Comes From Keeping Promises The Breeze – Page 5