U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance Annual Meeting
April 7

8 a.m.: Strategic planning
Open to all members.

1 p.m.: Welcome

USDA High Quality Specialty Grains program update

1:15 p.m.: Annual Meeting

Chair and Executive Director reports

Action team reports

Membership Report

Staff Reports

Elections

Awards and recognition

5:30-7:30 p.m.: Boat Reception
For pre-registered annual meeting and Transportation Go! participants

Transportation Go!
April 8

Welcome – 8:30 a.m.
Bryan Severs and Randy Duckworth, U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance

Featured speaker: The view from the mouth of the value-added supply chain funnel
Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles and Jeff Bellerud, Northwest Seaport Alliance

Featured speaker
Patrick Fuchs, Surface Transportation Board

Road transportation panel
Brett Bennett, Calhoun Truck Lines; Todd Main, Illinois Soybean Association; Max Fisher, National Grain and Feed Association

Featured speaker
Anthony Fisher, U.S. Maritime Administration

Instability of Port ERDs: An Analysis
Vijay Harrell, Trade Lanes

Panel: Digital Freight, Data Sharing, and Legal Risk in the Value-Added Ag Supply Chain
Carlos Pozuelo, Barnes and Thornburg; Ashley Craig, Partner, Venable LLC

Lunch -12:15 p.m.

The Cost of Business on the St. Lawrence Seaway: A Great Lakes Transportation Cost Comparative From the Vessel View
Sten Konst, Spliethoff

Inland Waterways Funding and Grants
Libby Ogard, Prime Focus LLC; and Travis Back, U.S. Maritime Administration

Break

Intermodal Transportation: Investments and Opportunity, Barriers, and State of the Railroads
Larry Lloyd, CPKC

Transloading panel: Rethinking export resiliency
Dwight Robinson, LA Grain; Ted Prince, Tri-Cities Intermodal; Danielle Adams, Pasha Logistics

Issues, threats and opportunities for Class II and III railroads panel
Mark Wegner, Twin Cities and Western Railroad Company; Andy Bradfield, Iowa Interstate Railroad

Day 1 closing comments
Jennifer Schneider, Puris and Gary Williams, U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance

Reception at InterContinental Hotel – 5:30-8 p.m.
Presented by Ports of Indiana

Transportation Go!
April 9

Day 2 Welcome – 9 a.m.
Randy Duckworth, U.S. Identity Preserved Alliance

Featured Speaker
Mike McCoshen, Administrator, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Priorities & current projects for increasing trade & utilization of the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway Panel
Ken Carey, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation; Peter Hirthe, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

Featured speaker
Max Vekich, Federal Maritime Commission

BNSF Intermodal transportation investments and opportunities, barriers, state of the railroads
Lindsay Claycamp, BNSF

Great Lakes ports investments & growth panel
Jody Peacock, Ports of Indiana; Burns Harbor; Brian Oszakiewski, American Great Lakes Ports Association; and Erik Varela, Illinois International Port District

Lunch – 12 p.m.

Preparing for 2027: The “other side of the haul – imports”
Jonathan Gold, National Retailers Federation

The Union Pacific & Norfolk Southern merger: The Transcontinental Railway
Reed Janousek, Union Pacific Railroad

Closing comments- 2 p.m.