Overseas Moving Network International conference 2012.
Charles Luyckx from Elliott International in South Africa became the 14th president of OMNI (Overseas Moving Network International) at the organisation’s annual conference in May, this year in what was supposed to be a sunny Miami Beach, Florida. The weather turned out to be unseasonally wet (pouring down most of the time) but, except for the purchase of a few raincoats, the organisation’s flagship event went off without a hitch.
As always the OMNI conference is a mixture of business with a liberal sprinkling of fun. The meeting room was packed for every business session, as usual, and the organisation made some significant decisions that undated its rules to help its members remain competitive in today’s global market. The keynote speaker, Jeffrey Otteau, gave an insight into the causes of the US property crash, the current position and the prospects for US growth in the immediate future.
In his opening speech Charles thanked Tom Ansley who introduced him to the moving industry 25 years ago. “Tom has been a great mentor, a great inspiration and largely the reason that I am here today,” he said. He thanked him business partner Brad Barker, his wife, Moira and all the Board members with whom he dad served for their support. “I will always strive to work in the best interests of OMNI and to uphold the values that have been established and entrenched in the organisation,” he said.
OMNI also welcomed two new Board members: Nigel Mayo Saunders (Nuss International) and Keith Meader (Asian Tigers Mobility, Thailand). The other members of the new OMNI Board are: Willy Toedtli (Trafimar Relocation, Mexico); Bill Graebel (Graebel Movers International, USA); Nick Kerr (DT Moving, UK).
The OMNI conference is renowned for the quality of its social events. The golf tournament was held at the Miami Beach Golf Club with Willy Toedtli and Karin Milivoyevich (TEAM, UK) winning the respective men’s and women’s competitions. The opening night was held on a cruise ship in Biscayne Bay with entertainment including the multiple Grammy award-winning violinist Federico Britos; on day two the US members entertained the whole conference to dinner at Larios restaurant on Ocean Drive owned by Gloria Estefan; and the gala dinner, in the form of a Rat Pack themed evening was held in the conference hotel, the 5-star Eden Roc.
The weather kept most people from venturing too far from the hotel base but a planned visit to the Everglades did go ahead and turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire conference.
Above photo: Charles Luyckx, new OMNI president.