Welcome to the Big Associate Issue of BoxScore. This edition celebrates the supplier members of AICC, core partners in our businesses. We are grateful for all they do for AICC and for the success of our box plants.
As the first Emerging Leader to be chair of AICC, I step into this role with both humility and determination. My theme is Legacy in Action: Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders. This theme reflects the responsibility we all share—continuing the legacy we’ve inherited while preparing the next generation to shape the future of our industry.
Throughout the coming year, we will explore this theme through five core pillars. The first—and the foundation—is Mentor Intentionally.
In every industry, in every generation, the greatest leaders share one universal truth: None of them arrived where they are alone. Behind every strong decision-maker, every visionary thinker, every courageous innovator, there is someone who once said, “I see something in you.” That is the power of intentional mentorship—the first and most human pillar of developing tomorrow’s leaders.
Intentional mentorship is not accidental or passive. It requires commitment, awareness, and a genuine desire to elevate others. It is more than a task on a leader’s list; it is the foundation of a living legacy. By guiding someone outside your department, advocating for emerging talent, or simply listening without agenda, we shape the future more powerfully than any strategy document ever could.
Think about your own journey. Who made space for your voice before you had the confidence to use it? Who challenged you when complacency felt safer? Who opened a door you didn’t know existed? These “quiet architects of legacy” shaped your belief: that you belong, that you can grow, and that leadership was within reach.
Intentional mentorship is not about creating replicas of ourselves. Great mentors nurture authenticity, encouraging emerging leaders to find their own style, strengths, and convictions. Diversity of thought, experience, and approach builds stronger, more resilient organizations.
It also requires vulnerability. Effective mentors share not only successes, but failures—perspective that cannot be Googled or taught in a training module. They offer wisdom earned the hard way and the belief that the next generation can go even further.
As the workplace evolves—more global, digital, and dynamic—intentional mentorship becomes even more valuable. Leaders must do more than execute; they must cultivate. Mentorship shows people they matter, reinforces that leadership is about responsibility and service, and creates a legacy that outlasts us.
Leaders don’t just build businesses—they build people. And those people become the carriers of legacy for generations to come.
If you want to leave a legacy, don’t wait—find someone to mentor today, and start shaping the leaders of tomorrow.
Terri-Lynn Levesque
Vice President of Administration, Royal Containers
AICC Chairwoman
