Future Thinking, Even in the Past

March 25, 2019

Just about 35 years ago at this time, I was writing the March/April 1984 edition of BoxScore, then only a small newsletter for AICC members. The feature story was about AICC’s upcoming 1984 Spring Meeting at the Doral Hotel & Country Club in Miami, with the theme “Equity. Ethics. Evolution.” Here’s what I wrote:

“Join your boxmaking colleagues for what may very well be AICC’s most innovative meeting program yet! From April 25 to 28 at the fabulous Doral Hotel & Country Club, you’ll hear noted box industry players and observers dwell on Change. Change in the economy. Change in technology. Change in capital investment. Change in the industry and change in the Independent’s role in the $10 billion box market.”

AICC BoxScore, March/April 1984

Apart from the fact that the “$10 billion box market” is now a $40 billion box market, the same description can pretty much be given to AICC’s 2019 Spring Meeting, returning this year to a much more plush Trump National Doral. The program there, “Invest in Your Future,” echoes the forward thinking that the Association was doing way back in 1984. In fact, as I think about it, all of the AICC meeting agendas, summits, and educational programs are forward-looking, with a view toward preparing members to better their businesses, improve their operations, and enrich their stake in the marketplace. We think “Better. Faster. Richer.”

Our Chair, Joe Palmeri, echoes this in his opening message in this issue, in which he stresses the “invest and engage” theme that he will be emphasizing the entire year. AICC membership is an asset that cannot lie underutilized; it is an engine that requires regular “firing up” in order to move your business.

So, fire it up and move forward. Invest and engage in your most future-thinking Association, AICC!