If you are looking at your calendar and wondering why the September newsletter was later than usual, it is because we wanted to make sure that we included information from the 2025 Midyear Board meeting in Charlotte, NC. This year’s meeting was different than in the past as it was hosted by Sennebogen, a long time member of the CDRA. In conjunction with providing a beautiful space for us to hold the meeting, breakfast, lunch and dinner, they were gracious enough to give us a private tour of their North American headquarters in Charlotte, NC. Their operation is really remarkable as they grow to continue to serve this market and help solve customer issues. We were also provided with an additional facility tour from Tomra, also located in Charlotte. They are in the process of opening a new test facility and provided us with a sneak preview of their equipment. It is always interesting to see companies who are working to help recyclers and industry operations solve sorting issues. We thank both Sennebogen and Tomra for their generosity and hospitality over the past two days. It has been a privilege to get to know them better. 

If you are not aware, our board of directors meets quarterly throughout the year. Twice in person and twice virtually. This 3rd quarter meeting was extremely productive. We have hit all of our Q3 goals, which we refer to as rocks, with the exception of one. They are: 1. The launch of our new CDRA website. 2. The launch of our new membership portal. 3. Our continued transition from Bostrom (who has been our 3rd party association management firm). The rock we are still working on is our marketing plan. 

We are excited to share that our Q4 rocks are: 1. Our marketing plan (rolled over from Q3) 2. Onboarding all members onto the new membership portal in conjunction with our annual membership renewal. 3. Implement our committee operational plan. 4. Finalize alignment with a 3rd party certification program. 5. Executive Committee and board succession planning. 6. Final phase and separation from Bostrom. By Dec. 31st we will be a self managed association. 

The primary board discussions revolved around increasing services to all of our members. There were exciting presentations from the Gypsum Recycling Committee Chair Terry Weaver, Shingle Recycling Committee Chair Dan Horton, and Legislative Committee Vice-Chair John Thomas, for upcoming projects and resources they would like to have included in the 2026 budget. There was also discussion about providing additional educational services for members through our Issues and Education Foundation. In case you didn’t know, all CDRA board of director meetings are open to all members. If you would like to attend a meeting in the future, you can log into the member portal on the CDRA website and see the calendar of upcoming events or email info@cdrecycling.org and we are happy to send you the information. As members, we are here to serve you. Your attendance is always welcome.