KMCA Annual Convention 2020 Cancelled

TO ALL KMCA MEMBERS:

Over the past six months, the trucking industry has been on the front lines in the fight of our lives against COVID-19. We all thought the number of cases were falling and everything would be open for business as usual soon, but that has changed over the last four weeks. Kansas is considered to have an “uncontrollable spread” of COVID-19, for the first-time in 106 years the Kansas State Fair has been cancelled and the Governor issued a statewide order requiring the use of face masks in public.

With the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases affecting almost every county in Kansas, the KMCA Executive Committee met to discuss whether to cancel this year’s KMCA Convention scheduled for September 16-18, 2020 at the Marriott in Wichita. Members of the Executive Committee reviewed actions of other state trucking associations in dealing with their conventions, CDC guidelines for social distancing and the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Sedgwick County. After a lengthy discussion, the Executive Committee voted to cancel the 2020 KMCA Convention and work with the Wichita Marriott to reschedule for 2021.

The sales staff at the Wichita Marriott have been great to work with. We were able to cancel our contract with the hotel for 2020 without penalties and sign a new contract for the 2021 KMCA Convention scheduled for September 23-25, 2021 in Wichita. We will work to make the 2021 KMCA Convention the best celebration of our 85^th Anniversary.

The 2019 Safety Awards Banquet was previously postponed until the 2020 Convention. With cancellation of the convention we will also be cancelling the awards ceremony. To make sure the Kansas Trucking Industry Safety award winners are acknowledged, KMCA will be sending the winners from each category their certificate, plaque, and/or trophy to their employer. We ask our member companies to please photograph their winners with their awards and send them to Samantha Stanley at sstanley@kmca.org. In honor of all 2019 Safety Award winners we will publish these photographs in The Dispatch.

KMCA bylaws require the association to adopt an annual budget and elect new officers each year. To comply with the KMCA bylaws the KMCA Board of Directors will meet virtually at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The Board of Directors Meeting will be followed immediately by the Annual KMCA Membership meeting. All members are encouraged to participate in the board meeting and annual membership meeting. More information will be provided when we have additional details.

Times may be tough, but the Kansas Trucking Industry is strong. We will continue to deliver the goods and “Keep Kansas Moving Forward.”

Tom Whitaker, KMCA Executive Director