Core Members Representative:  IAM Executive Committee

My involvement with IAM goes back over 20 years, and my personal journey as an IAM volunteer likely has a somewhat different origin than most. That is because I originally joined IAM as a staff member in 2001. Back then, IAM was known as HHGFAA or by its somewhat more cumbersome name, the Household Goods Forwarders Association of America. The staff was small; each team member wore multiple hats and I often found myself in unfamiliar professional territory.

It is here where I believe my love for volunteering has its origin. As a new staff member, I volunteered or maybe was “voluntold” to be the lead on learning about and understanding a number of new regulatory and policy initiatives that came out of the U.S. government after the events of 9/11. I ended up getting involved in the drafting and implementation of industry-specific security initiatives, as well as the initiation of such programs as the Receivable Protection Program (RPP), the Digital Inventory Standard, and the rebranding of the association as the global entity it is today. These projects and the associated knowledge I gained defined my time at IAM until my departure to pursue other career opportunities.

I never forgot the opportunities I had and the knowledge I gained while working at IAM. Fortunately, some years after I had left my role at IAM, I was asked by Terry Head if I would be interested in volunteering for a committee position. I enthusiastically accepted his invitation.

My initial volunteering opportunity grew into positions on the Ethics, Risk Management, and Technology Committees, culminating in the opportunity to run for a position on the IAM Executive Committee a few years later. Each successive opportunity allowed me to share the knowledge I had gained during more than two decades in the industry. Additionally—and possibly introducing a slightly selfish motive—volunteering, and my involvement in various aspects of IAM’s initiatives and committees allowed me to diversify my industry knowledge while simultaneously expanding my leadership and associated skill set.

When it comes to getting started as a volunteer with IAM, my advice is to JUST DO IT! I know that might be easier said than done, however IAM truly welcomes and supports those who are willing to contribute, share, help and lead the many initiatives IAM is involved in.

Furthermore, your volunteer involvement with IAM puts you right at the source of industry knowledge and information, as well as at the leading edge of opportunities and challenges our industry is facing currently and in the future.

It is critically important for industry professionals to share their knowledge and expertise through volunteering. Sharing expertise and applying individual knowledge to broader industry challenges and opportunities has a holistically positive impact on our industry as a whole, as well as on the individual willing to put themselves out there by volunteering.