NCBFAA Board of Directors Meeting

NCBFAA Board of Directors Meeting Hollywood, FL April 22, 2006

Those in attendance included: President Federico "Kiko" Zuniga; Vice President Mary Jo Muoio; Secretary John Hyatt; Treasurer Jeff Coppersmith; Chairman of the Board Peter H. Powell, Sr.; Executive Vice President barbara reilly; Area 1 Rep(s): Mark Johnson; Amy Magnus; Area 2 Rep(s): Cary Weinberg; Gary Klestadt; Area 3 Rep(s): Kenneth Bargteil, Joe Meunier; Area 4 Rep(s): John Abisch, Jan Fields; Area 5 Rep(s): Scott Case, Joe Trulik; Area 6 Rep: Bob Coleman; Area 7 Rep(s): Billy App, Shane Garcia; Area 8 Rep(s): Arturo Dominquez; Neto Roser; Area 9 Rep(s): Roger Clarke, Karen West; Senior Counsel: Harold Brauner, Mike Dugan; Legislative Rep: Jon Kent; Transportation Counsel: Edward Greenberg. Committee Chairs: Marie Armelagos, Chip Bown, Bill Evans, Bruce Goodwin, Lee Hardeman, Tom James, David Katzman, Bob Kenneally, Frank McCarthy, Robert Perkins. Invited Guests: Matt Brauner, Anne-Marie Bush, Stewart Hauser, Michelle Maslow Hauser, Jill James, Kurt Mann, Dan Meylor, Mary Peglow, John Peterson, Geoff Powell, Myra Reynolds, Gary Ryan, Gary Scibelli, Darrell Sekin, Sandy Swanson.

Welcome: NCBFAA President Federico Zuniga welcomed those attending the Board of Directors meeting, and then solicited introductions. President Zuniga acknowledged Ed Greenberg as General Counsel pro tem, in the absence of Mr. Harvey Isaacs. Treasurer’s Report: NCBFAA Treasurer Jeff Coppersmith addressed the current financial state of affairs. The Association is presently undergoing an audit, which is processing admirably. Since the conference was scheduled later than in prior years the figures circulated appear lower than the previous year’s. The Educational Institute has been anything but stagnant and has demonstrated to be a profitable endeavor. At initial glance the conference numbers appear very robust and Membership is high. Membership Committee: Membership Committee Chairman Bruce Goodwin recognized Kelly Swearingen and her recruit a member program, it has produced 19 regular members and 14 affiliate/reciprocal members. Chairman Goodwin requested the Board’s endorsement of new members, motion passed. The matter, which was consigned to the by- laws committee at the past Board meeting, was reintroduced. President Zuniga declared he believes that there is no requirement for an amendment in the By-Laws. "A President of an Association is allowed to attend the Board Meeting, when approved by the President, which has been the case on past occasions when requested. The only meeting that was in question was the Annual Meeting, which is restricted to members of the NCBFAA." It was noted that the Annual Meeting would have President’s reports at the beginning of the meeting; so all APN President’s could attend and report prior to having non-members excused. The committee mentioned that they are going to conference with the APNs about members who are not members of national, and discuss options on working together to resolve any outstanding issues. APN Report: APN Committee Chairman Bob Kenneally reported that their committee had made inquiries with the APNs for feedback. The response from the APNs was largely divided into to four main categories, (CBP) Staffing, ACE Role Out, SWPM Issues, and Demurrage Issues. Staffing issues are the primary concern of the APN’s, and they reported back to the committee that customs is currently understaffed and under funded. The NVOCC committee is working on the demurrage problem. ACE role out is a concern on the southern border. The committee would like to cultivate an APN newsletter. FIATA Conference: Senior Counsel Mike Dugan reported the IFCBA group has had a lack of leadership on the worldwide basis, though the Canadians, Mexicans and Americans have gotten in sync. FIATA is interested in constructing an arrangement with NCBFAA so that they can be properly represented in the United States. This symbiotic alliance would bolster NCBFAA’s prestige in Europe. The group supported Mr. Dugan moving forward in discussions and reporting to the Board in Philadelphia. AAEI: Chairman Cary Weinberg addressed the Board. The AAEI committee is trying to forge a pilot program that will allow pharmaceutical importers of record to import with minimal obstruction at designated ports of entry. AAEI is cognizant of adversity importing pharmaceuticals at certain ports and is trying to address the matter. AAEI recommended doing things the "New York" way. It was suggested that you send Cary an email if you require assistance doing it the "New York" way. The committee has concluded to bestow further assistance to FDA, as the FDA transforms their standards. Communications Report & FABnet Report: NCBFAA Executive Vice President barbara reilly reported that the new Quarterly Bulletin, the Annual Report and Membership Directory are available. Twenty-four different firms have ads in the Directory as well as the business cards ads. Two emails are currently being sent in mass distribution concerning the MMeB. The first is the actual briefing, while the second email contains a link to FABnet to access the MMeB. This is in response to spam blockers kicking back the first email. As reflected in the Communications written report, the website and FABnet has had over 218, 000 hits recently. The notion of online registration for subsequent conferences is being discussed. barbara denoted that FABnet is a phenomenal source and encouraged the Board to capitalize on it, while reminding everyone to again take note of the NCBFAA Media Press Release and Marketing policies reported. NCBFAA Educational Institute Report: NEI Co-Chair Marie Armelagos, Jan Fields reported. CCS is proving to be a successful venture for NCBFAA and rapidly is becoming the gold standard of the industry. Over 220 people have registered for the course; about half of those were non-members. The results of the first quiz were very positive, 33 candidates received a perfect score, while the lowest score was 78%. The matter of commissioning an educational director with a scholastic background has begun, and hopefully someone will be on Board in the near future. Much rewrite and updates in the CCS automation package, but continuing more engaging automation is now being discussed, and the target date for the CTS is October 2007. Customs Committee Report: On recommendation of the NCBFAA Customs Committee, by a vote of 8 to 1, the Board adopted a motion paraphrased as follows, "NCBFAA opposes any change to the law or regulations that would dissolve the current permitting requirements at the district level, as well as any new test or pilot that would allow for customs broker filing without regard to district permits. The Customs Committee Chairman is directed to instruct Counsel to correspond with CBP, giving notice of this position and requesting consultation on the issue." Mr. Bargteil’s notes from the committee meeting are attached and available on FABnet. 2006 Annual Conference Report: Chairman Bob Perkins reported on the planning and execution of this year’s Conference. He thanked all those involved and expressed his appreciation for their hard work, with emphasis on Sponsorship Chair and his committee, and staff. Washington Report: Legislative Representative Jon Kent addressed the Board. There has been a flurry of activity in Washington on port security. Senator Collins and Senator Murray are currently preparing a bill. In addition a bill has been introduced in the House. Jon Kent’s office has received a myriad of valuable suggestions, which have been passed on to key staff members in the House and Senate. The number one issue for NCBFAA is advance data. Current legislation is a mixed bag in terms of the Association. Peter Powell will be testifying on Capital Hill to articulate the Association’s concerns with proposed legislation and the industry. The subject of GSP and the Doha round was undertaken. Recent sentiment toward the Doha round has taken a pessimistic stance in terms of the industry. Forwarding Committee Report: Committee Chairman Billy App addressed the Board. The controversy over carrier anti-trust was raised. The ad-hoc committee, which was formed at an earlier Board meeting, agreed that this was a pressing issue that deserves the Board’s attention. Presently the relationship between the carriers and our members is one sided in favor of the carriers. The committee believes that litigation by the Association against the carriers is the solution. The situation will be discussed with the members throughout the conference. The committee will bring the Board up to speed in June. Security Report: Bill Evans reported. Jon Kent and Bill Evans have been meeting with TSA. These sessions have proven very productive. The air cargo rule is eminent. TSA was been doing a lot of work to prepare for the transformation and will reach out to industry. TSA is producing an industry training video. Counsel Review Committee Report: Chairman Lee Hardeman spoke. The committee has finalized all three of the counsel guidelines as well as the analysis of general counsel. Carrier Best Practices Committee: John Hyatt addressed the Board. The sub-committee meeting was held in Las Vegas with about 10 carriers attending. Many of the issues already addressed by the Forwarding Committee Report were on the agenda. In the opinion of this committee, litigation needs to be undertaken with the carriers, who actions are severely disadvantaging our members. Leadership Report: President-elect Mary Jo Muoio addressed the Board. Three weeks before the Board meeting the leadership had conducted a retreat in Washington D.C. One of the key issues brought up was "What is the role of the Board?" The answer was "to serve our members." It was determined that we as an Association cannot professionally support our members if we are not a professional Association. Leadership saw four opportunities of improvement for our Association:

 Be the pacesetter in our industry in education.  Cultivate our communications to our members so that they are acquainted with our values.  Be recognized as the ultimate resource for information for our industry by both public and private entities  Establish strong leadership roles in the industry locally, national, and internationally.

The leadership saw one opportunity for the industry in data mining for the government. Considering challenges for the industry and the Association, they identified four currently facing the industry:

 Other organizations  Government polices both present and future  Large companies e.g. shippers  The huge investment burden for IT, primary in concern of small companies.  The prevalent challenge facing the Association is a possible lack of organization during the transition.

EVP Report: barbara reilly updated the Board on numerous administrative, scheduling and housekeeping items. President’s Reporting: President Zuniga reported that the CSS program is going to be one of the defining programs for this Association. Because the industry is already talking about it, the Association must continue to champion this distinguished program. The Association is just beginning to realize the benefits of this program, which include both financial and educational advantages. President Zuniga made the Board aware that the IFCBA has been in difficulty for the last few years. In an effort to right the ship, President Zuniga has volunteered to be a managing partner. President Zuniga will participate in a meeting in Beijing to represent the views of the Association. A phone vote was conducted concerning the preferred vendor program and President Zuniga thanked all those for their support. He concluded that the preferred vendor program would benefit our members as well as some of the affiliate members. The inaugural preferred vendors are Avalon, Roanoke and Apperson. President Zuniga stated it was an honor to be able to serve this Association and its members.