05/27/08

Report on TLC's

2008 Annual Conference

34th Annual Conference Report from Catamaran Resort Hotel, San Diego, CA

I start this report by thanking the council for the opportunity to serve these past years on the Board, but also the chance to move through the ranks and become President.  I have been a member of the Council since 1990, and I am very proud to be associated with all of the professionals that belong to this organization.  I also firmly believe in a member driven council, and we all want your input on how to meet the ever-changing needs that make each of you successful.

The weather was not quite as warm as we all would have liked it to be for southern California, but it was not too bad just a little chilly.  We started the event in our usual way with the all day optional seminars on Sunday which were well-attended, as always.  If you have never taken part in any of these, please make a note to look into it for next year's conference in St. Louis, as they will again be offered.

Our friends with The Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Association did another wonderful job of getting a great group of suppliers for our exhibit floor.

We again changed things up a bit and started off the program on Monday with an Industry update from a great group of professionals.  Bill Bierman moderated and presentations were given by:

1. Robert Bowman from Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies

2. William Cassidy from Traffic World

3. Stephanie Nall from Pacific Shipper

All were very insightful and interesting discussing the current climate and changes that should happen in the future.

We finished the first morning off by having two well-attended workshops.

1. Brokers, Forwarders, 3PL's and IMC's moderated by Jared Palmer

2. International Trade moderated by Rob Eller

Our Luncheon Speaker, Doug Duncan, CEO from FedEx who spoke about the current industry climate to a packed house.

The ever popular Law of the Land v. Law of the Jungle was right after lunch and Jerry Smith once again did a great job of moderating.

TLC's Annual Membership Meeting and CCPAC's Annual Meeting were held after the afternoon break.  The Carrier/Supplier Hospitality Suite and Exhibits were open until later that evening.

Tuesday started our day of Security and Theft Prevention and General Session IV set to the tone with a short film clip from a trucking cargo theft from Beverly Hills Cop and Eddie Murphy.

Later that morning in a two part general session we learned more about security seals as evidence and DHS/TSA new programs that are going to be embracing the industry.

Amy Hope with the FMCSA was our Luncheon Speaker and gave a great overview of the agency and its oversight capabilities and compliance for the industry.

Our afternoon was spent with the opportunity to attend two sets of workshops.  The first set was scaled down versions of Sundays' all day seminars:

1. Contracting for Transportation and Logistics moderated by Raymond Selvaggio

2. Cargo Claims - A Short Course moderated by Marc Blubaugh

After the mid afternoon break, the second sets of workshops were:

1. Transportation Insurance moderated by John Alden

2. Quality Logistics - Problem Solving moderated by Moe Galante

We were able once again to have the President's Reception on board the resort's paddleboat.  The food and fellowship were great and many found all the door prizes to be quite rewarding!

We finished off the conference in the traditional way with the Transportation Attorney Panel.  George Carl Pezold moderated the interesting session on current cases followed by the rest of our prize drawings.

We cannot thank the suppliers and carriers enough for their financial support and all the companies that donated door prizes that make the conference fun for all!

Please mark your calendars and plan on seeing all your new friends and industry peers in St. Louis, Missouri at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet for the 35th Annual Joint Conference of the TLC and TLP&SA.

Respectfully submitted,

John L. Burke, President