Motivated by a chance meeting with Steve Howard at one of the conferences , he took his first steps to give back by joining the Membership Committee . Since then , he ’ s served on multiple committees , including Member Benefits , Vendors , Final Mile Forum , Government Affairs , Final Mile Focus , and its predecessor , the Executive Leadership Summit . He has been a member of the association ’ s Board of Directors since 2017 and part of its Executive Committee since 2022 .
Along the way , he created the Member Benefits Program . “ That was when Steve Howard was president ,” he recalls . “ I thought we should pool our resources to give us some buying power . I wanted to provide more member value through the program by negotiating discounts on things members need daily , like gas , truck rentals and office supplies . As president , I want to beef up that program to give everyone increased value for their membership .”
Pinsky didn ’ t join the CLDA with leadership aspirations . “ It wasn ’ t something I sought out when I first got involved with the CLDA ,” he says . “ I just wanted to be able to give back and help people . I wanted to pay it forward . That ’ s what I want to be able to do as President . I want to help the organization , but I also want to make sure that people who started like I did have the same opportunities I had . I was fortunate enough that people could share their stories with me , and I want to ensure that continues for everybody else who comes along because it ’ s so important .”
The Value of CLDA Membership
What does Pinsky see as the value of CLDA membership ? Even though he ’ s an accountant , he stresses it goes beyond the numbers . “ The return on investment for CLDA membership goes beyond the business it generates for its members . This ROI is not just based on dollars and cents . It ’ s the ROI of becoming a better leader because of who you connect with and what you learn through your involvement in the association . You can ’ t put a hard dollar value on that . I can tell you that since Day One when I joined this association , I ’ ve had the resources through the CLDA , who I can lean on to help me grow , answer my questions , and learn about things I would have never even thought about . As a result of my involvement with CLDA my company has begun working with verticals I didn ’ t even know existed when I came to my first meeting . Our company now does reverse logistics and temperature-controlled deliveries . These are verticals that we had never ventured into , which I learned about in the CLDA meetings . With the support of other CLDA members , we ’ re now in those verticals .”
Pinsky also pointed out how often members refer business to each other . “ Members give other members business ,” he says . “ Membership in the CLDA signals a level of professionalism that inspires mutual trust . Members don ’ t have to prove themselves to each other . If I need to find somebody in another city to help with a delivery for one of our customers , I can connect with them through the association . And because they are members , I already know they have similar values . That ’ s another value-added to being a member of this organization . You are jumping into a pool of people who look at business in a similar way . Plenty of people on our membership list will attest that they get calls out of the blue or from another CLDA carrier just because they were looking for a CLDA partner .”
50 customized logistics & delivery Magazine I spring 2024