The New York State Movers & Warehousemen’s Association held its 92nd Annual convention this past September 20th through 22nd at the Rivers Casino & Resort, in Schenectady, NY. A round of golf, followed by a welcome reception on Thursday, the 20th, kicked off the event as guests enjoyed refreshments and caught up with fellow movers, industry suppliers and event speakers. Later in the evening, attendees also participated in a learn to play Texas Holdem event at reserved tables, arranged by the Association and the casino.

The Association’s educational program took place on the following day when guest speakers discussed current and important industry issues. Association President, Liz O’Sullivan, started the program off by welcoming everyone to the event and talking a bit about the Association’s current efforts. Attendees then heard from Amy Kellogg, attorney and partner with Harter Secrest & Emery, NYSMWA’s government affairs firm. Amy gave a brief overview of the Association’s current legislative efforts, including our draft of new legislation aimed at increasing penalties imposed on unlicensed operators. We were also joined by representatives from the NYS Dept. of Transportation, Rongkai Ling and Martin Duffy. Ms. Ling discussed some of the DOT’s ongoing efforts to update their computer software and database, as well as covering some industry statistics. Mr. Duffy followed by conducting a live roadside inspection on a straight truck, which was graciously provided by Mabey’s Moving & Storage, of Rensselaer, NY. The roadside inspection was definitely one of the highlights of this year’s event! Jeff Calabrese, with Harter Secrest & Emery, discussed the potential impact of the NYS Dept. of Labor’s newly proposed employee call-in regulations, as well as updates to the paid family leave act. Following lunch, Dean DeCarlo, with Mission Disrupt talked to the group about marketing and social media best practices. Rounding out our presenters, Jonathan Smith, with EOS, discussed how to implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System and optimize for growth.

For the next part of our program attendees were split into three groups and a “round table” format was used to facilitate continued discussions on “marketing & social media use”, “optimizing growth” and “legislative & regulatory issues”. Amy Kellogg, Harter Secrest & Emery, Dean DeCarlo, Mission Disrupt and Jonathan Smith, EOS, each participated in back and forth discussions in a small group setting. Coffee and refreshments were served throughout the day’s program, while attendees took the opportunity to meet and talk with event exhibitors and peers. It was a great day of learning industry best practices, catching up with old friends and making new ones!

Our educational program was followed by a cocktail reception and banquet dinner, where attendees had a chance to relax and discuss the day’s activities with their peers. Formal star NFL linebacker with the NY Giants addressed our group as the nights’ special guest speaker!! The event concluded with the Association’s Board of Directors meeting, held on the following morning.

Overall, this year’s convention was successful in many ways, from attendees gaining valuable insight on important issues affecting their businesses to catching up with friends and having some downtime. The Association’s convention committee is currently discussing potential locations for our 2019 event, so if you didn’t get a chance to attend this one we hope you’ll join us next year!