March/April 1997
Celebrating a decade committed to pride in our industry.
It’s going to be a birthday party to remember—and you’re invited.
Yes, ReMA is returning to one of its favorite haunts—the Mirage in Las Vegas—to celebrate its 10th anniversary and serve up the best the scrap industry has to offer at its 1997 national convention and exposition, to be held March 15-19.
In addition to featuring top-notch business workshops and social events, this year’s convention will take a nostalgic look at ISRI’s progress since 1987, the year ISIS and NARI—the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel and the National Association of Recycling Industries—merged to form the association.
This prideful look back ties in with the convention’s theme—“A Decade Committed to Pride in Our Industry”—which will define and infuse all of the event’s activities. And conventiongoers will be able to demonstrate their pride by attending workshops to increase their professional performance and by networking with others to become an active part of the scrap community.
It’s going to be quite a party, and here’s a guide to make sure you don’t miss a single highlight.
Speakers of Keynote
Same as ISRI’s nine previous conventions, this year’s gala event offers a handful of intriguing and stimulating speakers at its general sessions.
Paul Pearsall leads off the convention’s keynote programs at the breakfast on Monday, March 17. Pearsall, a licensed clinical and educational psychologist, will discuss how to balance work with personal and family health in a “lecture-concert,” using five 2,000-year-old principles based on a Polynesian concept of management by values rather than objectives. (For more on all the convention programs, see the preliminary schedule on pages 52-53.)
Tuesday, March 18, begins with a general session featuring the husband-and-wife team of James Carville, senior political adviser to President Clinton, and Mary Matalin, George Bush’s deputy campaign manager. The couple will relate how the political system really works, offering perspectives from both sides of the partisan fence.
On Wednesday, March 19, George Bush—the 41st president of the United States—tops the list of speakers as he headlines a breakfast session. The former leader of the free world will offer wisdom he gained as a key player in monumental world changes such as the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s shift to democracy, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the Persian Gulf War.
A World of Workshops
This year’s convention also has a strong lineup of business-related workshops.
The schedule kicks off Saturday, March 15, with programs centered around a theme of leadership development. How fitting, then, that the first session will be led by Mark Levin, a certified association executive, president of B.A.I. Inc. (Columbia, Md.), and 20-year veteran of organization management. Levin’s presentation will assist ReMA chapter leaders in performing their responsibilities while presenting a broader view of national association issues. The workshop continues through a luncheon with chapter officers and chapter committee leaders.
The remainder of Saturday and all of Sunday, March 16, will be devoted to ReMA committee and division meetings, which dovetails with Sunday’s theme of governance issues.
The workshop schedule truly shifts into high gear on Monday, March 17, when the theme turns to fiscal management. Two afternoon sessions offer advice on this subject: First, Barry Engel of Engel & Rudman P.C. (Englewood, Colo.) will discuss asset protection and tax law changes affecting small firms, then Paul Higbee of B.T. Securities Corp. (New York City) will review how to value recycling businesses and issues like cash or stock transactions and environmental considerations.
Monday’s roster of workshops also includes a session on purchasing government scrap by Bill Lovejoy of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (Memphis), as well as an open-mike session sponsored by the Consumers Council during which conventiongoers can air concerns and pose questions.
The ReMA board of directors meeting—the first in 1997—will wrap up Monday’s activities.
Tuesday, March 18, highlights company systems that can increase productivity and profit. A morning session on automobile and appliance recycling gets the day rolling. Claudia Duranceau of Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, Mich.), Roger Heimbuch of General Motors Corp. (Warren, Mich.), and Steve Willis of Whirlpool Corp. (Benton Harbor, Mich.) will discuss how the recycling of cars and appliances will change over the next 20 years and how the two industries can work together, touching on shredder residue management, market development for automotive/appliance nonmetallics, and more.
A concurrent Tuesday program offers a show-and-tell presentation of electronic data interchange—or EDI—by Frank Giglia Jr. of Allied Scrap Processors Inc. (Lakeland, Fla.), Jeff Burns of CSX Transportation Inc. (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Michael Legeay and J.M. Martz of David J. Joseph Co. (Cincinnati). The demonstration will show how EDI can save recyclers time and money by increasing office equipment and staff productivity and streamlining transportation management.
Another Tuesday high point is a workshop on how recyclers can determine and manage their costs to improve their bottom line. Chris Charlebois of Luntz Corp. (Canton, Ohio), William Lowery of Annaco Inc. (Akron, Ohio), Frank Giglia Jr., and Henry Crystal of Charter Financial Inc. (New York City) will offer advice on general cost management and containment practices, how to determine crane operating costs, and the cost considerations of leasing vs. buying equipment.
Or if cost issues don’t balance your books, there’s a concurrent workshop on the pros and cons of the proposed Conrail-CSX railroad merger, which will be moderated by Ted Lipman of Denbo Scrap Materials Inc. (Pulaski, Tenn.).
On Wednesday, March 19, government policy, regulations, and politics are the general theme. The day features three concurrent workshops. One looks at how to recruit, train, and retain quality employees, with advice offered by George Adams of Adams Steel (Anaheim, Calif.), Steve Brown of U.S. Zinc Corp. (Houston), Gary Gallo of Tube City Inc. (Glassport, Pa.), and Bert Romberg of Commercial Metals Co. (Dallas).
The second program examines UBC quality issues, featuring speakers F. Robert Hubbard of Imco Recycling Inc. (Rockwood, Tenn.) and Judith Porta of American National Can Co. (Chicago), as well as the premiere of a video titled “Building UBC Quality Together.”
The third concurrent morning workshop sheds light on ISO 14000, the new international environmental management systems standard, with expertise provided by James Bytnar of SRI Quality System Registrar Inc. (Wexford, Pa.) and Jack Goldman of Bryan Cave L.L.P. (Washington, D.C.).
In the Spotlight
In addition to these business-focused workshops, the convention offers a full slate of spotlight sessions on six major scrap and primary commodities.
First up is the ferrous spotlight on Monday, featuring Larry Roos of Nucor Steel Co. (Crawfordsville, Ind.), Gordon Geiger of Qualitech Steel Corp. (Indianapolis), and Frank Headington of Neenah Foundry (Neenah, Wis.), who will look at the issues of quality, scrap supplies, and the role of scrap “substitutes” in the steel industry.
Tuesday offers two spotlights. The first features insights on copper’s changing world fundamentals from Robert Lesemann of CRU/Resource Strategies Inc. (Exton, Pa.) and other speakers. Afterward, the spotlight turns to paper and the question: Will 1997 be a year of recovery for the scrap paper industry? Offering answers will be Robert Carpenter of Solvay Paperboard L.P. (Syracuse, N.Y.), Harry Reiter of Pope & Talbot Inc. (Ransom, Pa.), and Amy Snell of Mill Trade Journal’s Recycling Markets (Northbrook, Ill.).
Wednesday closes out the convention’s official programs with the three remaining commodity spotlights. In the morning, Robert Winters of Bear Stearns (New York City) reviews the nickel and stainless steel markets. After lunch, the focus turns to the prospects for lead and zinc this year, with presentations by Brian McIver of Nova Pb Inc. (Ville Ste.-Catherine, Quebec) and Patricia Foley of HSBC James Capel (New York City). The final spotlight features a world overview of aluminum by J. Clarence Morrison of Prudential Securities (New York City).
Party With Pride
No ReMA convention would be complete, of course, without a handful of social events at which conventiongoers can set their briefcases aside, catch up with friends, and have fun.
The convention starts with Sunday evening’s 10th anniversary gala reception, an event that combines ISRI’s birthday party with the official opening of the exposition hall’s indoor and outdoor exhibits. Among other features, the party will include 10 “retro” food stations and visual presentations—one for each of ISRI’s 10 years—that will offer a nostalgic look back at the association’s history.
Other opportunities to network and socialize include Monday’s “meet your consumer” reception, at which scrap processors, brokers, and consumers can renew existing relationships or forge new ones. New this year will be a nonmetallics lounge adjacent to the metallics “pit.”
Tuesday evening’s New Executive Council reception is open to all first-timers, young executives of the scrap industry, and professionals new to the industry.
The convention’s social pièce de résistance falls on Wednesday night, beginning with a reception that segues into a sumptuous banquet. Toast the 21st century and celebrate the last decade when the reigning queens of pop were surely the Pointer Sisters—the banquet’s featured performers—who will get attendees onto the dance floor with hits such as “I’m So Excited” and “He’s So Shy.” Afterward, recyclers can wind down in the piano lounge with liqueurs and soft music.
Something for Everyone
In addition to these offerings, the convention is equally chock full of quality programs and enticing amenities for spouses.
For starters, the spouse lounge—called The Pleasure Principle—offers visitors planned activities, a hub for socializing, and a place to relax. In this enclave, spouses can do everything from surfing the Internet on complimentary computers to enjoying a soothing back or foot massage.
Among the highlights of the spouse workshops are Monday’s program featuring Carol Baroudi, coauthor of The Internet for Dummies, reportedly the world’s most popular computer book. She’ll talk about communication in the information age and how to feel comfortable in a world that’s becoming technologically advanced.
On Tuesday, Gary Kaplan of the Kaplan Clinic P.C. (Arlington, Va.) will talk about alternative medicine and healing practices, including acupuncture, osteopathic manipulative therapy, and mind/body therapies.
Wednesday’s spouse highlight is a presentation by Betty Sinnock and Maxine Thomas of the Beardstown Ladies’ Investment Club, the wildly successful investment group ranked among the top 10 in the country, who will discuss how to successfully grow investments.
Also, for spouses and other conventiongoers who desire to get out and about, there are a variety of half-day and full-day tours, including a look backstage at Bally’s Jubilee! production, walk-throughs of two private estates, and tours of the manmade wonder Hoover Dam, as well as natural wonders Red Rock Canyon and the Grand Canyon.
If that’s not enough, Las Vegas offers an around-the-clock array of exciting activities from gambling to shopping to taking in spectacular shows.
For information on registering for the convention, call ISRI’s convention contractor, Courtesy Associates Inc., at 202/ 639-4182.
ISRI’s 1997 exposition—the largest ever—opens Sunday, March 16, in conjunction with the welcoming anniversary party. The exhibits close at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, so be sure and attend the barbecue picnic lunch in the hall that day for one last look. •