December Chairman’s Letter

December 27, 2022

“The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.”

Justin Trudeau

December and January always prove to be filled with constant running around and can easily be generalized by the word “busy”. With work projects needing to be finalized for the current year in order to set up a quick pace in the new year, plus holiday travel and family events, it is shocking that any of us get any sleep over these 62 days. At NAFTZ, we too are facing that hustle and bustle, not only for December and January, but for the foreseeable future.

 

Let’s recap:

  • At this point you are aware of our advocacy issues… or at least you should if you have been reading these Zones Reports or have attended any NAFTZ events recently!
  • We are still working with CBP, USTR, the USITC and FTZ Board to maintain working relationships and discuss the health and needs of the FTZ program.
  • We are actively working on the 321 de minimis issue and monitoring many other issues to proactively improve the FTZ program. If you would like more details please do not hesitate to reach out; or even better, come to our Legislative Forum in Washington, D.C. February 14-15th. 2023 Legislative Summit (2/14) & Congressional Visits (2/15) – NAFTZ

In addition to these marks, we are continuing to see great progress on our new vision and advancement strategies for advocacy thanks to the efforts of our Advocacy 5-year Planning Task Force. I am very excited for the opportunity this will afford, not only for legislative efforts, but in some ways more importantly, our marketing and development efforts. We will continue to keep you posted on this very important project.

Although a high topic of discussion, advocacy efforts are not the only tasks that are keeping the association busy. Since announcing Jeff as our new President almost a year ago, Membership has been a major focus. We finish out the year with a total membership of 704, 34 members ahead of where we ended in 2021. Note: 704 number is only 9 members short of the pre-pandemic high water mark of 713 that we saw in 2009. We are ecstatic with this result, but not satisfied. Together with Jeff, one of my main goals for this next year is to see this membership number grow past our 2009 record numbers. Membership has always been, and continues to be the heartbeat and lifeblood of our association. Education advancements, marketing efforts of the zone, and advocacy platforms just simply cannot be successful without a strong engaged membership level. With this passion to grow Membership as our stronghold, we will be introducing new initiatives for members throughout the year. Currently we have we have two exciting initiatives for growing our base membership for 2023:

  • If a member is new to the association, or lapsed in year 2020 or any year prior, they will qualify for a 20% discount off of their 2023 membership term.
  • We are also actively encouraging members to recruit internally. Members that successfully recruit a new member will are eligible to receive a $100 credit for successfully recruiting a designated member or $25 for successfully recruiting an additional member. Bonus: There are no limits to how many credits you can receive this year! The credits can be applied to upcoming events in 2023 or your membership renewal later in the year.

Please partner with us in these initiatives and keep an eye out for more to be announced throughout the year.

Finally, work is rapidly happening on the administration side of our association. While this is not the most glamorous or outward facing part of what we do at NAFTZ, it is extremely important and one of the biggest strengths Jeff has brought to our association. Currently, we are wrapping up the outsourcing accounting and integrated systems and improving transparency and information lines for the board and staff. We have a new Association Management System and website (launching March 2023), which will improve efficiency for staff, deliver a better member experience, and allow NAFTZ to expand its database.  As many of you are aware, we are working on a new online, entry-level, knowledge-based credential for FTZ which will premier in 2023 (Q1 or Q2). All of this on our association plate, and I haven’t even mentioned the current planning efforts for our Fundamentals event in New Orleans January 8th and 9th 2023 Fundamentals of FTZs Seminar – NAFTZ, and Spring event in Tucson May 21-23rd 2023 Spring Seminar – NAFTZ. Don’t miss out on registering for these fun events, and assist us in telling others that may benefit.

Needless to say, things are busy as we near the end of this year, and 2023 looking to even busier! To each of you, thank you for making 2022 a success. Have a great holiday season, and we wish you and your loved ones the best with safe travels. See you in 2023!

Shane Williams
Chairman