On October 26th, approximately 18,000 marathon runners came to Washington DC to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In the sea of runners, was our own, Susan Martorana of Florida Can. Susan trained five days per week for 5 months to prepare for this event. Susan followed the prescribed "Team In Training" program working her way up to an 18 mile run weeks before the event. Susan ran in honor of Lily, a 4 year old girl from Lakeland, Florida and Neal a senior at All Saints' Academy in Winterhaven, Florida, who have been inflicted with Leukemia. Susan also ran in memory of her father who died of cancer in 1988. JC Industries, Impact Plastics and Florida Can were proud to sponsor Susan, who raised $4,600 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The entire marathon raised $1.2 million. The society sponsors research that has been the catalyst for effective treatments of Hodgkin's disease, lymphomas and other common kinds of cancer, including breast and lung cancer. The research is working. 25 years ago, only 5% of children diagnosed with leukemia survived. Today, 81% of children with leukemia and 93% of those with Hodgkin's disease will live, thanks to the research funded by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

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Meeting in Chicago Calls for Action
There were 24 ICMA members at the meeting in Chicago. Herb Tews was introduced as the new executive director. Herb presented a marketing plan that includes: increasing membership, purchasing programs, building of the ICMA brand recognition and the pursuit of national accounts. There was a presentation by AON Risk Services on workers compensation and general liability insurance. Discussions on painting and painting systems, led to a call for a paint purchasing program. The ICMA is working with the North American Steel Alliance on a steel purchasing program. A freight program with L & A Transportation and a collections program with Commercial Receivables Management were introduced. Weld Direct offered an ICMA promotion on Tweco welding accessories, mig wire and welding consumables. The ICMA 2 yard plastic/steel front load container is gaining popularity. Members have called for rear load and a 3 yard versions. Much of the afternoon was spent on the strategies for the ICMA to earn national account business, beginning with Waste Management. This meeting allowed members to openly discuss manufacturing and marketing issues and many left with new ideas to implement and improve their business.

ICMA Membership Growth In May of 2002 the ICMA was started with a meeting following the Waste Expo in Las Vegas. The concept of the ICMA was conceived by a small group of container manufacturers including: Florida Can, Wilmark Industries, Counts Containers, Poynette Iron Works, Rudco Products and JC Industries. In 18 months the ICMA has grown from 6 to 24 manufacturing facilities, with 5 membership applications pending. Our current service area covers 38 states, 4 Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico.