Pan American International Movers Association

PAIMA celebrates each year its annual meeting. The two days of our annual meeting, includes the participation of members from all over the world. Participants receive important speeches from guest speakers and members will make decisions in favor of the growth and development of the Association.

The 2006 Annual Convention and General Assembly will be held the 7th and 8th of October, 2006 at the Hilton San Francisco in San Francisco, California. The 22nd Annual Meeting of our popular Convention is coming soon, and you can be a part of it! Join all of the other PAIMA members in San Francisco for this amazing experience! Don't miss this opportunity!

PAIMA held its 22^nd Annual Meeting in San Francisco,California this past October.

It was wonderful to see how all the members came together and shared two whole days with their fellow members.

This year’s program we discussed many important issues, such as the status of the associate and active and affiliate members, whether should be just one or keep them separate. We discussed a payment protection plan for PAIMA members, certification for all etc. We paid tribute for a lifetime work, to our good friend and leader Mr. Abdel Cohn former manager of PAIMA.

As part of our program we invited two very important speakers who talked to us about Emotional Intelligence and the ISO Certification.

But not all was work, work, work; we also found some time to have some fun and shared some good times. The first night after our meeting we made our way down to a cocktail party called Caribbean Extravaganza, where we tasted, drank and danced to the rhythms of the Latin roots. We are happy to say that we all had a wonderful evening.

Finally to end a great two days we took a day tour to the Napa Valley where we sampled wine from some of the most exclusive wineries in the region and found the experienced scenery breathtaking.

PAIMA wants to thank all the participants this year. We were very please with the outcome and the great advances and changes we are making for the greater good of the association.

Thank you for participating and hope that we have an even better convention next year.

The past Annual Meeting of PAIMA was held in Washington, DC on October 19 and 20, 2005, at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel. The meeting was well attended by 136 attendees. We had a fabulous support from our members, that is why we want to thank all of them and to extend a cordial invitation for the next annual meeting that is going to be held the 7 and 8 of October, 2006 in San Francisco, California – USA.

All the members received a beautiful bag sponsored by Sentry International and PAIMA which includes their badge, Annual Balance Statement, the Annual Tonnage Report, the new edition of the PAIMA Directory, the new edition of the PAIMA Report, and many other document related to the General Assembly.

As always all the attendants enjoy the breakfast before the meeting. Mrs. Raquel Castañon, PAIMA’s President opened the General Assembly and welcomed all the attendants and presented and delivered the membership certificate to new members. During the General Assembly, the Board of Directors of PAIMA, discussed all the future and strategic plans for the Association for the coming year, review the Balance Statement Report, and also spoke about the goals of the Association and presented the certificates to the new members and first time attendees.

Sounds grate to attend a convention and business responsibilities while at the same time you experienced a small vacation in Washington, DC and totally came in contact with the attractions of the city you were visiting. Washington is amazing and its monuments are wonderful.

At the General Assembly we heard several guest speakers which are the followings:

- Mr. Steve Livengood, who spoke about “The sites and sounds of Washington, DC - USA”

- Mr. Stephen Tiernay of BASC, who spoke about the important of being certified by them and

- Mrs. Sherry Williams of AMSA, who spoke about the International Program – RIM

- Mrs. Karin Wouters of FIDI, who spoke about their association and their future plans

All the presentations were excellent and the information shared by them was very valuable for all the attendants.

The cocktail reception was special and beautiful occasion held at the Marriott Rooms: Delaware A & B where members, guests, friends and partners spend a wonderful time enjoying a delectable buffet, while they were entertained by the music. It was a tremendous success for everyone involved and as always, it was a pleasure to see old friends and to meet new people.

During lunch, as always, there was an award presentation. The tonnage awards for 2004-2005 were awarded to:

1. Presented to: LA ROSA DEL MONTE EXPRESS - Miami, Florida - United States of America for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage during 2004 - 2005 for Overall Winner

2. Presented to: LA ROSA DEL MONTE EXPRESS - Miami, Florida - United States of America for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage during 2004 - 2005 for North American Region

5. Presented to: ASIAN TIGERS K.C. DAT (S)(PTE) LTD. – Singapore for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage during 2004 - 2005 for Asia - Africa Region

6. Presented to: LA ROSA DEL MONTE EXPRESS - Toa Baja, Puerto Rico for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage during 2004 - 2005 for Mexico-Central America-Caribbean Region

7. Presented to: SWISS MOVING SERVICE AG - Zurich, Switzerland for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage to a New Member with less than 24 months during 2004 - 2005

8. Presented to: TRANSCONTAINER INTERNACIONAL, S.A. DE C.V. - México D.F., México for outstanding achievement for Best Tonnage during 2004 - 2005 to a Member that had the Biggest improvement during the last period.

On the morning of October 21st, after breakfast, PAIMA offered its workshop. The workshop included several presentations made by: Marcelo Fonsi of Granero - Brazil, Paula Colmenares of Portan – Colombia, Abraham Anthony of Raffles – Singapore, Mr. Dave Buchanan presented his report as the Associate Representative, Sherry Williams of AMSA spoke about “Industry Certification Program - RIM” and Karin Wouters Executive Director of FIDI spoke about their organization. Thanks for all of them and if you are interested in being one of our next speakers, please let us know in plenty of time.

At last, the PAIMA Convention included a visit to the Luray Caverns in Virginia with lunch. It was a long trip, but it was worth it. We saw a variety of formations of stalactite, stalagmite ornamentation, stone columns and crystal-clear pools. We had the opportunity to admire this amazing and most largest cavern. All the members share a great time in this fabulous place. We also enjoy the music of the Great Stalacpipe Organ, the world's largest musical instrument. Stalactites covering 3 ½ acres of the surrounding caverns produce tones of symphonic quality when electronically tapped by rubber-tipped mallets. This most unique, one-of-a-kind instrument was invented in 1954 by Mr. Leland W. Sprinkle of Springfield, Virginia, a mathematician and electronic scientist at the Pentagon.

I hope that you will find our magazine better than ever, and invite your comments and suggestions on how we can serve or entertain you better. To you, once again thanks for all the support during the past convention, specially to the sponsors. Please enjoy the following snapshots and to mark your calendar for our 2006 convention that will be held in San Francisco, California – USA.

The 2005 PAIMA Convention