Electric League News

It seems like a good time at the beginning of any year to make an effort to assess certain probabilities and possibilities and their effects on us during that coming period of time. I'll skip the obvious changes in Washington, the Stock Market, Federal Reserve, etc., and try to narrow that look to a few in our industry.

First, let me reiterate that the Electric League is your organization, and if your participation and commitment is low, the probability that nothing will happen is almost 100 percent.

I am now a veteran of two “On Line - Reverse Auction Bids” which will probably be an everyday occurrence in the near future. If you have not participated or you're not sure what they are, read the name very carefully, imagine an auction, on line, except the prices go down, not up. Add a few rules for duration, percent of change, number of participants, and you're there. It's New Economy and Brutal!

Protocol has now been developed for paperless Project Management, flow through and reverse flow “Request/Quote/Purchase” type systems that will speed up the process and make purchasing from an end user, to distributor, to factory representative to factory and then back down the line all taken from the original electronic request. Billings, payments, proof of delivery, and more, all paperless. I think so. Soon!

Obviously these changes, as well as multitudes of others, are above and beyond any of the ongoing normal technical changes in our industry, and promise to be exciting for all who stay in the game. Occasionally I hear comments that, “It isn't as much fun as it used to be,” but think of it this way, this is the “good old days” for about half of our members.

Membership Chairman and good friend to almost everyone, Jay Rains, is recovering nicely from multiple bypass surgery and is expected to return to work soon. Best wishes from all of us!

Congratulations are in order for the Electric League staff and members who worked on our Web site. Studyweb.com has selected a portion of the Electric League web site for use as a study resource for teachers and school students and will be listed along with other top rated educational resources. You will be able to view it in Studywebs Science:Physical Science: Physics: Physics for Kids section very soon.

Look for notices on upcoming Electric League events and programs, sign up for a class, come to a luncheon, write a letter to an elected official, call me and complain if you like, or better yet, call with your thoughts or suggestions, but get involved.

In November, the office of Federal Contract Compliance issued new rules on how affirmative action plans are written. These rules apply to Federal Government nonconstruction contractors and subcontractors with 50 or more employees and contracts of $50,000 or more to prepare and implement a written Affirmative Action Program (AAP) for each of their establishments.

The biggest areas of change are in job applicant definition, work force analysis, eight-factor analysis, and required compensation equal employment survey. Companies with plans in place are not required to implement the new changes until their next plan is prepared.

In the area of job applicant definition, the new rules require disclosure of race and gender for electronic applicants, even those who lack the minimal qualifications for the job. Some applicants will not disclose race or sex. Employers can rely on the traditional self-identification, but other forms are also acceptable, including sending a form requesting demographic information and visual observation.

Electric League members interested in the other changes to affirmative action plans are asked to contact the League office, 816-561-5323, for more information.

Source: “A Change in Rules for Affirmative Action Plans” Rebecca Crowder, The Kansas City Star, January 3, 2001.

February 12, 2001DoubleTree Hotel, Overland Park, KS The Safety & Health Council of Western MO & KS has announced their 4th Annual Kansas City Area Safety & Health Conference set for Feb. 12 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Overland Park. The conference will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes lunch and breaks. According to the Safety Council, this conference is an outstanding opportunity for safety and health professionals in the region to come together to exchange ideas and learn how other organizations are successfully dealing with critical issues impacting safety and health. The conference is priced at $139 for Safety Council members and $199 for non-members. For more information about the Conference, call the Safety Council at 816-842-5223.

The largest crowd in recent memory attended the Electric League Holiday Luncheon, Dec. 14, at Harrah's North Kansas City Conference Center. Activities at the Luncheon included the election of officers and Board members for 2001; the presentation of the Industry Service Award to Duff Greenwood; the presentation of a $1,000 check to First Downs for Down Syndrome, the Electric League Foundation's charitable recipient for 2000; and the distribution of raffle prizes to winners. The Luncheon also included a non-perishable food drive for the Ronald McDonald House. Members participating in the food drive were eligible for a special drawing for a cordless telephone. Electric League staff members delivered several shopping carts of donated food to the Ronald McDonald House near KU Medical Center after the luncheon. The photo below was taken at the Luncheon.

Company	Prize	Winner
Associated Air Products	George Foreman Grill	LeRoy Maurer, Foley Group
Bernie Electric Wholesale	Hitachi Cordless Drill	Gregg Garner, Foley Group
	Hitachi Cordless Drill	Wes Rains, Rains Elec. Sales
Burndy Electrical	$50 Best Buy Gift Cert.	Greg Kornis, Kornis Electric
C&O Electrical Sales	$50 Plaza Gift Cert.	Fred Denney, Foley Group
	$50 Plaza Gift Cert	John Guerdan, Square D Co.
Capital Electric Const.	Two-way Radios	Dave Meglio, Meglio & Assoc
Cleaves-Bessmer-Marietti	$50 Amazon.com Cert.	Bob Herzig, Bob Herzig & Assoc
	$50 Amazon.com Cert.	Tom Angel, ECA
Cutler-Hammer	$50 Home Depot Cert.	Jacque Smith, Siemens
Federated Insurance	Framed Print	Eileen Hess, BICC General Cable
French Gerleman	Garmin Etrex GPS	Art Laudel, Milbank Mfg.
GE Lighting	$100 Plaza Gift Cert.	Bob Betlach, Siemens
George Pearson Co., Inc.	$50 Plaza Gift Cert.	Becky Schroeder, Western Extralite
HE Williams	$50 Outback Gift Cert.	Don Alber, Walker-Loudermilk
	$50 Outback Gift Cert.	Bob Schoolcraft, General Cable
Johnson Electric Sales	$50 Applebees Gift Cert.	Scott Keeler, CBM
Kansas City Power & Light	Mealmaker Express	Dale Nelson, Mark One
Klein Tools	Camouflage Tool Bag	Tony Privitera, Mark One
Kriz-Davis Co.	Kodak Advantix Camera	Rick Howe, Western Extralite
MWE, Inc.	$50 Best Buy Gift Cert	Max Kornis, Kornis Electric
	$50 Best Buy Gift Cert.	Steve Lingle, ECA
Mercer-Zimmerman	$50 Dillards Gift Cert.	Tony Privitera, Mark One
	$50 Dillards Gift Cert.	Tim Van Hoecke, Graybar
NECA	$50 Plaza Gift Cert.	Sharon Todd, Western Extralite
Rains Electrical Sales	$50 Applebees Gift Cert	Pat Morrill, BPU
Rensenhouse Electric Supply	Remote Control Dimmer	Jerry O'Donnell, CBM
	Outdoor Timer	Deanna Miller, Graybar
Shaw Electric Supply	$50 Hereford House Cert.	Don Dawson, NECA
Square D Co.	$50 AmEx Gift Bond	Steve Lingle, ECA
Stanion Wholesale Electric	All-Weather Jacket	Rick Boswell, Missouri Valley Elect
Western Extralite Co.	$50 Plaza Gift Cert.	Bob Nower, Western Extralite
Electric League	$100 Union Cafe Cert.	Brian Wenner, Western Extralite
	VCR	Bruce Nixon, Square D Co.
	Nintendo 64	Dana Blackburn, C&O
	Wireless Headphones	Rick Boswell, Missouri Valley Elect.
	Tiger Woods Software	Kurt Carpenter, BA Electric Supply
	Walkie Talkies	Dan Kohnen, Mercer-Zimmerman
	CD Player	Julia Lee, Western Association
	Create a Card Software	Connie Drake, Western Extralite
Electrical Corp. of America	$50 McCormick & Schmick Cert.	Richard Sheldrake, Mark One
	$50 McCormick & Schmick Cert.	Pat Richey, FCI Burndy
Siemens	B&D Cordless Drill	Rosie Privitera Biondo, Mark One
Meglio & Assoc.	Sony Stereo	Andy Haun, ECA
BICC General Cable	$50 Applebees Gift Cert.	Cindy Lamanno, Graybar Electric
	$50 Applebees Gift Cert	Maurice Richard, Rensenhouse
Food Drive Raffle	Cordless Phone	Collins Tuley, TM Sales
Grand Prize	$500 American Express Gift Bond	Linda Hollon, Graybar Electric

Well, a belated Happy New Year to one and all ... I hope this will be a very happy, healthy, and prosperous year for all of us.

Faces in new places ... Rick Boswell has taken the helm as Branch Manager of Rexel Glasco Kansas City, Missouri along with Carol Mathis who came to the KC branch from Texas as the Operations Manager.

Mike Lind is the local Bussman sales engineer, welcome to the Electric League of Missouri and Kansas.

Something of interest to businesses of all aspects: A new service is being offered by one of our members. Rick Knight of Knight Lights is offering safety training and will give the training on-site, if requested.

And, we're more than glad to hear that Jay Rains (Rains Electrical Sales, Inc.) is “up and about” - think our Holiday Luncheon was just too much for him? He went under the knife for quintuple by-pass surgery the next day! But, rumor has it that he's back at work after only three weeks.