Electric League News

Reserve December 11 for Annual Holiday Luncheon

The always popular Electric League Holiday Luncheon will be Thursday, December 11 - mark your calendar. We are at a new location this year, the Ameristar Casino.

It’s not too early to think about what door prizes you or your company plans to contribute to the luncheon. Don’t wait until the last minute, let’s help the Holiday Luncheon Committee out and send in your gift basket, gift cards, electronics, or even cash. The luncheon is full of holiday cheer and your door prize contributions add to the smiles of all the guests. The grand prize will again be $500 cash. The luncheon will also include the presentation of the Industry Achievement Award and recognition of the Electric League Foundation’s charity recipient for 2003. A food and household supplies drive is again included in the Luncheon plans. Be sure to bring a nonperishable food item or a household supply and be eligible to win a valuable prize.

To make a contribution, please call Kim Swank at

(816) 561-5323, or e-mail kswank@swassn.com at the Electric League office to make arrangements.

We look forward to seeing you December 11!

Electric League Legislative Meeting Set for December 17

The Electric League will host a legislative meeting to inform the members what of what we can expect to see discussed in the Missouri and Kansas legislatures in 2004. Joining us will be John Jones, Missouri National Federation of Independent Businesses, Hal Hudson, Kansas National Federation of Independent Businesses and Ken Daniel a business-owner and active participant in the Kansas NFIB with Midway Wholesale in Topeka.

The details for the event :

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 17
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Where: Western Extralite, 1470 Liberty, Kansas City, MO

Please send any issues you would like to see addressed during this meeting to Jane Male, CAE, Electric League Executive Director at jmale@swassn.com or give her a call, 816.561.5323.

People Column

Belated happy October birthday to Bob Lagerstrom (Rains Electical Sales) and happy Nov. birthday to

Doug Rehfield (C&O Electric). Happy 50th birthday to John Guerdan at Square D. Co.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Glenn Crawford (French Gerleman) and Harold Barber (Rains Electrical Sales) and Deanna Rudd (Rains Electrical Sales). Welcome back to Fred Thalheim (Graybar) after a long absence.

Meglio KC has announced their merger with ESI. The new corporation is named Meglio ESI Group (MEG) and will cover Kansas and the western half of Missouri. The phone number for the new corporation is (816) 246-2008. The Electric League congratulates Meglio and ESI on the formation of this new corporation.

Congratulations to Stefanie Spicer (Pearce) (Crescent/Missouri Valley) on her recent marriage. Congratulations also to Brian and Jill Shaw (Shaw Supply) on the birth of their first baby, Lauren, on October 19th. We understand that baby, mom, dad, and grandparents, John and Sue (Shaw Supply) are all doing well.

Familiar Faces in New Places: Pam Lickteig and Ben Harmon are now with T&B. Chuck Englemann is now with Western Extralite and Chris Keepes is now with Graybar.

We hope all of you have a happy and healthy thanksgiving.

Keep those e-mails coming in - this is YOUR column! We’ll print what you send us to share with your co-members.

e-mail to: peoplecolumn@electricleague.org

Factory Orders Climbing; Factory Activity Slowing

The Wall Street Journal says manufacturing activity continued to expand for a third straight month in September, but at a slower rate than in August. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing-business index slipped to 53.7 from 54.7 in August. Readings above 50 indicate expansion in manufacturing activity.

Economists had expected the index in September would be flat with August’s reading.

The new-orders index rose to 60.4 from 59.6, offering hope for the sector’s future as it struggles to recover from the economic slump.

However, employment in the sector showed contraction for the 36th consecutive month, a trend that has tempered recent enthusiasm about signs of recovery in the economy. The employment index slipped to 45.7 from 45.9. The production index slid to 57.3 from 61.6. The group also reported that many purchasing and supply managers found energy prices to be high and that several industries were sluggish.

Source: Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association, October 15, 2003

The 2003 Lighting Awards program was quite successful. Thank you to everyone who entered projects. There were a lot of great entries unfortunately, we cannot give awards to all of them. Congratulations to all of the winners, judges and committee for a great program!

Congratulations to our Winners:
Commercial General - Sprint Experience
Commercial Office - Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
Commercial Merchandise Area - Grandview-Winnelson Showroom
Institutional - Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Hospitality - Jeremiah Johnson’s
Outdoor Building - Cerner World Headquarters Icon Tower
Lighting Innovative Technology Award (L.I.T.) - Mark One Electric Co., Inc.

Special Thanks To Our Panel of Judges In This Year’s Lighting Awards Competition
First & Second Round Judges: Gina Brown, Foley Group, Inc.; T.J. Ellis, Shaw Electric Co.; Greg Fendler, Lankford + Associates; Katie Green, Derek Porter Studios; Jay Guerra, Gibbens Drake Scott, Inc.; Dan Kohnen, Mercer-Zimmerman, Inc.; Andria Odrowski, Bredson & Associates; Ginger Rucker, Impact Illumination; Terri Seyl, Western Extralite Co.; Dustin Shaw, Shaw Electric Co.; Kathi Vandel, LightWorks, Inc.; and Kate Wimer, Mercer-Zimmerman, Inc.

Final Round Judges: Brian Czerw, Klover Architects; Jeff Linscott, R.F. Fisher Electric; and Phillip Parra, W.L. Cassel.

The Sponsors Who Make the Lighting Awards Banquet Possible:

BENEFACTORS Electrical Corp. of America Graybar Electric Co. Kansas City Power & Light Lankford + Associates Mark One Electric Co., Inc. National Electrical Contractors Assoc.	PATRONS Dean Machinery Co George Butler Associates Power Equipment Sales Co Premier Lighting & Controls RA Sales Yarnell Associates
ASSOCIATES Aquila Cleaves-Bessmer-Marietti, Inc. Crescent Electric Supply/ Missouri Valley Electric Foley Group, Inc. Henderson Engineers, Inc. Kansas City Board Of Public Utilities	FRIENDS C&O Electric Sales Co. Gibbens Drake Scott Holophane Jay Consulting Engineers Rains Electrical Sales, Inc. Shaw Electric

The Second Annual Thomas Edison Electrical Awareness Awards

The Electric League of Missouri and Kansas, Time Warner Cable and Cable in the Classroom present the Second Annual Thomas Edison Electrical Awareness Awards. It is time to get your favorite schools interested in developing a five minute information video that relates to: Careers in the Electrical Industry or Electrical Safety. There is an information sheet available by going to the Electric League web site at www.electricleague.org

Winning schools receive cash prizes ranging from $350 to $850.

Encourage your school to participate this year. Intent to participate deadline is February 2 and the completed project must arrive to Time Warner Cable no later than April 2. For additional information contact Jane Male, CAE, Executive Director at 816.561.5323.

The purpose of the Electric League of Missouri & Kansas Scholarship fund is to provide annual scholarships to both entering and continuing college students who are employees of member companies, their children or grandchildren. The applicant must be pursuing a Bachelor or higher degree program in a full-time program at an accredited college or university. The fund was established in 1996 to provide an ongoing service to members of the Electric League. Awards range from $500 to $1500 each year.

The application is available in PDF format on the Electric League web site, www.electricleague.org The application deadline is March 5, 2004. The awards will be announced on or before May 1, 2004.

Missouri Legislative Update

In less than two months, Missouri lawmakers will be returning to Jefferson City to begin the 2004 legislative session. And the spotlighted issue remains the deteriorating state budget situation.

The past two years, the legislature has cut over one billion dollars from the state budget. And this coming year, state budget officials predict up to another one billion dollars may need to be cut to keep the state budget balanced. The state constitution says the state cannot spend more than the revenue it takes in during any budget year.

Several legislative committees are reviewing aspects of the state tax code. The Republican leadership in both the Senate and House have stood firm on no tax hikes to ease the budget crunch. Rather, they have promoted cutting the budget. The bottom line is we foresee no major changes in the state tax structure in the 2004 session.

Other pro-business initiatives will be promoted in the 2004 legislative session, including tort reform, revision of environmental rule development and employment security changes.

The 2004 Missouri Legislative session begins January 7.

Note: This information was provided by Dale Amick, SouthWestern Association Missouri Legislative Director.

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