A Message From Our President - October 2022

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I hope that all of you were able to attend our September kickoff meeting at the Tampa Club, which was a new venue for the Chapter that treated us to a spectacular view once the storm clouds cleared off.  If you couldn’t make it, you missed a highly entertaining meeting featuring Steve Hindle, a cybersecurity expert who is also a former stand-up comedian and British Intelligence officer. If you can imagine, he was able to make a relatively somber topic lively and entertaining. The bar has been set high for the rest of our presentations. A tremendous debt of thanks is owed to Brian Hanrahan who is leading our Programs Committee this year, so stay tuned for some fantastic events that are coming up.
 
Continuing with the theme from my last message, I need to update the description. While our times are still challenging, they are also very uncertain right now. As I type this, Hurricane Ian is churning out there with its sights set firmly on the Tampa Bay area. We will see if we can continue the 100+ year streak of avoiding a direct hit from a hurricane.
 
In both our personal and business lives, we are dealing with the upheaval associated with the worst inflation we have seen since the ‘70s. While this may be ancient history to many of our members, for those of us who lived through it, it’s deja vu all over again to quote Yogi Berra. We also have a Fed that seems hell bent on raining rates to implement a policy of demand destruction in an attempt to break the inflationary spiral.
 
With all that going on, managing the finances of every business is difficult. As a member of FEI, you have a great opportunity to take a few hours out of what I am sure is a hectic day to grab a drink, get some food and discuss your challenges (or just commiserate) with a peer who is likely dealing with similar situations. For me at least, it is always great to hear from others that I am not the only one fighting a battle.
 
As always, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you, our members. You make us stronger. If you have ideas for future meetings, please let me or any Board Member know. If you want to take a step further and become more involved in the Chapter, please consider joining the Board. We are always looking for additional Board Members to help us grow and evolve. I look forward to seeing everyone at our next event on October 19, where we are doing a local company event at Quality Carriers.
 
Rob Taylor
President
FEI Tampa Bay Chapter