June 2021 Update from SAI President, Charles Lee ('22)

I hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. As we approach the middle of the summer, our busiest period of operations is well underway. Big Red Shipping and Storage, Campus Promotions, and Hired Hands are all working hard to ensure a successful peak period.

Through the tail end of May and the start of June, the Big Red Shipping and Storage team ran a profitable and unique peak. This year, the team transitioned to a fixed price model, charging customers based on box size brackets. This change increased the efficiency of our field reps who no longer needed to tediously measure and weigh each individual box. Peak was much smoother with reduced customer complaints and increased margins. Furthermore, due to the successful marketing efforts of Drew and Alayna, the Big Red team was able to conduct more appointments on-campus than in recent years. Big Red is now preparing for pre-arrival. Given our success in August 2020, we hope to grow our customer base from pre-pandemic levels and reach a larger number of freshmen with this service.

Campus Promotions managers Bridget and Natalie have spent the last two months visiting a wide range of local businesses to gauge interest in their publications. While the impacts of Covid are still felt by the local business community, many business owners seem optimistic about the full-fledged return of students to campus this fall. Capitalizing on this excitement, the Campus Promotions managers have used their slick salesmanship and persistence to exceed their budget for the Map and Gorge and will be finalizing the publication in the next two weeks.

Hired Hands has also had a very strong start to the summer. This year, we have experienced a high demand for long-distance and residential moves. To meet this, Hired Hands has recruited a core group of Cornell athletes and Ithaca College students who have been reliable and willing to work a significant number of jobs. Thanks to their exceptional work ethic, the team has also secured several commercial contracts. They will be working closely with Cornell to assist in the renovations of several on-campus buildings. Managers Louis and Josh have built out a strong pipeline in July and are optimistic that they will be able to exceed their summer budget.

Finally, the Student Agencies Building is almost complete. With an expected Certificate of Occupancy date in the first week of August, the final walkthroughs for the building are now underway. Overall, I have been impressed with the quality of the units, especially the floor-to-ceiling glass in the units facing Oak Avenue on the third and fourth floors. The furniture, signage, gym equipment, package systems, and trash compactor will be arriving over the next four weeks. Once these items are installed, the building will be fully operational and ready for tenants to move in! The building’s new front desk is also nearly complete and, with the support of Bonnie, I am working towards offering a full range of services to our expanded tenant base.

I wish everyone an enjoyable July and look forward to reporting on the opening of the building.

Yours Sincerely,

Charles Lee '22

President, 2021