Chris on the Hill: Matt and Chris in the Big Apple
I have the pleasure to co-write this Chris on the Hill with my colleague Matt Mantione who is TIA’s Vice President of Membership. On Friday, November 1st, Matt and I traveled to the Big Apple, New York City, to host the first-ever TIA Member Plug-in Event with our cohost Transfix. The event was a huge success where TIA Members and potential Members were able to network and make business connections with their local peers.
When Matt and I were recently talking about hosting a regional networking event for our Members, we wanted to make sure that we facilitated an event that appealed to Members and prospect members. One of our goals was to fill that gap between TIA’s big three annual conferences, the Annual Conference in April, the Policy Forum (Fly-in) in June and the TIA Technovations Conference in November. We completely understand that not all Members have the time and resources to attend these conferences and the TIA Member.
Plug-in Events could hopefully provide a venue to fill that void and allow those Members an opportunity to network with their peers and meet with TIA staff members.
The TIA Member Plug-in Event in New York allowed us the opportunity to briefly update the group on the Association and the current state of play in Washington, DC, including the legislative and regulatory environments. Additionally, TIA raffled off a complimentary full registration to the 2020 Policy Forum in June (a $400 value!), and congratulations to Mackenzie McGowan of Kinetic-Supply Chain Solutions for being the big winner!
After the event, PJT Logistics’ Michael Mecca, had this to say, “The plug-in event in New York City hosted by TIA was a tremendous experience. It’s so nice to loosen up the collar in a relaxed and casual setting after a hard day at the office connecting with great people in our industry. This event brought back the good old days of Happy Hour on a Friday to a new level! Networking with other members that are locally domiciled in my region is a brilliant idea/opportunity offered by the TIA.”
Further from Mecca’s perspective, “I really enjoyed myself on Friday night. I met great professionals that all share the same experiences, problems, headaches, stress, obstacles, and enjoyment that I experience each day in the wonderful world of transportation brokerage. I got to collaborate with companies I knew of their name but never got to understand how similar we are to each other. Also, how we can assist each other in business being from New York/ New Jersey whether it may pertain to resources or even on the customer level. If it wasn’t for the TIA and their networking event; these great experiences would never have happened. Glad to be part of the event and a TIA member. Thank you, Chris and Matt, for the time and personal attention. You guys definitely knocked it out of the park. It was casual, personable and comfortable to just be ourselves. I had a great time! I look forward to more fun events from the TIA.”
Matt and I look to continue this success throughout this great country with other TIA Member Plug-in Events. Keep an eye out for the next city, it may be yours.
If you have any questions or want to learn more about TIA’s Advocacy efforts, please contact Chris Burroughs ([email protected]).