Successful Events Help Support Our Legislative Efforts

Oil Can, The, Third Quarter 2004 by Ware, Brad

The summer has almost passed, our largest events for the year are behind us, and we are presently making plans for 2005. M-PACT 2004 was a tremendous success, thanks to our members and exhibitors. Our golf outing format changed this year to a scramble format, and it was very well attended and received. The clay shoot attendance was up too! The banquet and door prizes has always been a huge draw. This year we gave away $40,000 (suggested retail price) in prizes, and a special "THANKS" to all who attended, sponsored and contributed prizes!

These two events are extremely important to the Association in many ways, but they are definitely an opportunity for all members to network. The functions are also fundraisers for the Association. The golf outing contributes about 10 percent to the operating budget and the M-PACT Show contributes about 30 percent of the budget. That's 40 percent of our funding. Your support is needed and certainly appreciated.

We have fielded many calls concerning the U.S. EPA's Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules over the past couple of years; however, we have just recently received notice of an extension for one year. August 17, 2005 is now the deadline by which marketers must amend their SPCC plans. In addition, they have proposed that marketers must implement the new plans by February 18, 2006. PMAA is pleased that the agency has announced its intentions and will file comments on the proposal. Watch your "weekly bulletin" for those announcements.

At the time of writing this article, the State Legislature was proposing a monthly budget to "get through" the next month-a band-aid for taking care of business. We are, on a daily basis, watching out for your best interests and are committed to fighting for your rights. We will at some point in time in the near future need your help and support for legislative issues, so if you receive a call or request from our office to help, please do so to help protect your business and our industry.

We are quickly approaching an election year, and the State of Illinois is experiencing a legislature that does not seem to agree on many, if any, issues. So please remember to support the activities the Associanon so that we can support and fight for your rights at the local, state and federal levels.