Mover’s Edge, August, 2012

Last Chance! — The Canadian Mover — CAM’s Magazine and Directory

The Fall 2012 issue of The Canadian Mover, CAM's magazine directory, is scheduled to go to press on Friday, August 17. Take a minute to review your listing online or in the Spring issue, and let us know ASAP if you have any changes or updates.

CAM’s Annual Golf Tournament

CAM's Annual Golf Tournament will be held at noon on Monday, September 17, 2012, at Granite Ridge Golf Club in Milton. We already have 25 golfers and two sponsors (Livingston Freight-Searail and Ogilvy & Ogilvy Insurance Brokers) registered. The summer moving season will soon be over and the tournament will be a great opportunity to get together with your colleagues, friends and competition to discuss how the season went and what your plans are to lower your golf handicap. Don’t miss it!

CAM’s 2012 Annual Conference

CAM’s 2012 Annual Conference is scheduled for Sunday evening to Tuesday, November 4–6, 2012, at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel. The conference is titled:

NETWORKING: If You’re Not Networking, You’re Not Working!

The most successful movers are those who are most successful at networking. We will provide you with some of the tools needed by a successful networking organization. A few of the speakers at the conference include:

Rick Farrell will present a non-traditional and contrarian viewpoint that’s designed to be a wake-up call for company owners and staff managers at all levels on how to sell, strategize and position their company to meet the harsh realities in the information economy and challenging economic climate of today’s marketplace.
Rebecca Mountain will provide some clarity to the social-media agenda showing who your audience is, what it is looking for, and how best to direct your efforts.
Satinder Chera, Vice President, Ontario Region, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, will present a few of the challenges and opportunities for small businesses in the current political climate.
Robert Hogue, Senior Economist with RBC and specialist in the Canadian housing market, will review the global and Canadian economies and their implications for the year ahead. He will pay particular attention to Canada’s housing market, an area of increased concern for policy makers.
Ivy Wong will show you how you can market your website to drive business to your company. She will discuss website design, search engine optimization and e-mail marketing strategy.

As an optional activity on Tuesday afternoon (November 6), Norampac will host a tour of their manufacturing facility. You’ve used a million boxes, but have you ever wondered where they come from and how they’re made?

CAM Awards for 2012

CAM’s award committee will convene shortly to begin the selection process for the awards to be presented at CAM’s Annual Awards Dinner on the evening of Monday, November 5, 2012. The committee will be looking for a few deserving members of our industry to honour with our annual awards:

Distinguished service award
Industry achievement award
Innovators award
Public service award

Criteria for the awards and nomination forms can be obtained online. You can also review the lists of past recipients.

Memberships & Alliances

In the last month, CAM has been working on three new alliances with other associations and organizations. Each of these provides a direct or indirect benefit to CAM members.

Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) – The CFIB provides advice on taxes, business practices, hiring and all phases of business. CFIB brings very effective purchasing power to its members and that includes excellent VISA and MasterCard rates.

Federation of European Movers Associations (FEDEMAC) – This group is an association of all the moving associations in Europe. CAM is now listed on FEDEMAC’s website and we will reciprocate. One of FEDEMAC’s prime objectives is to harmonize European customs codes and regulations for household goods with those in North America. Further, this alliance provides opportunities for Canadian movers to network with their European colleagues.

Move for Hunger – This organization works with moving companies to support the efforts of local food banks. When people move, they throw away a whole bunch of "stuff." Unfortunately, a lot of this "stuff" is food that could be given to a family in need rather than thrown away. Participating movers offer to pick up the unwanted, non-perishable food items during the moving process and deliver it to their local food banks. In three years, Move for Hunger has grown to work with over 350 moving companies throughout the US & Canada. Move for Hunger is a great way to become a socially-responsible company working to support the community. Watch for further announcements shortly.

CAM’s Website

We’re in the process of rewriting the consumer page on CAM’s website and we need your input. The theme of the new consumer page will be a warning to consumers about choosing the wrong mover. The page will discuss the perils of not doing your research in advance of the move. Please provide us with any links you may have to webpages providing stories about disastrous moves.

CAM’s Consumer Flyer

CAM’s Marketing & Internet committee has rewritten our CHOOSING A MOVER flyer. This is the flyer that members’ representatives leave with prospective customers to assist them in validating a mover’s reputation. The content now has a much stronger message about the consumer’s responsibility to find a reputable mover and the dangers and risks of not doing so. These new flyers will be available in 10 days in both English and French at the same low price of $25 per hundred including tax and shipping.

Moore-McLean Corporate Insurance Ltd.

Three years ago, Dale & Morrow Insurance Limited and Moore-McLean Corporate Insurance Ltd. came together as a company, and today they carry on the history of both companies under a new banner – “Moore-McLean Insurance Group Ltd.” “The merger and name change mark the next step in the development of our emerging company with a continuing vision of ‘Only the Best’ People, Partners and Practice. We look forward to helping CAM members with their insurance needs.”

IF YOU HAVE NEWS THAT CANADA’S MOVING INDUSTRY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT, please let CAM know and we will include it in upcoming issues of this newsletter.