Opportunities: It's Up to Us!
Chairman's Corner
As this year ends, we have a lot upon which to reflect. Our recent Dallas annual conference was spectacular: tremendous attendance, inspirational speakers, and powerful networking. We owe a debt of gratitude to Cheryl Jekiel and the entire conference team for providing this sharing, learning, and growing event.
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| Maria Elena Stopher |
Taking stock of what’s around us, we recognize an unprecedented opportunity. Many of us suffer from a sluggish economy. Debate continues on our national debt and potential options for policymakers, including investing in sustainable jobs and increasing our competitiveness. These are core issues for our association.
Enormous challenges accompany this opportunity. For example, the third annual survey conducted for the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte LLP showed that 79 percent of respondents believe a strong manufacturing base should be a national priority. Approximately 85 percent indicated that it is important or very important to their standard of living and economic prosperity.
But only one-third of parents said they would encourage their child to go into manufacturing. Manufacturing was ranked last on the list of seven industries that 18- to 24 -year -olds said they would choose to start their careers. Those polled expressed concern about job security and long-term careers.
In the “President’s Message,” Paul Kuchuris spells out several action items for manufacturers. I encourage you to work with your communities to demonstrate that manufacturing is strong and will continue to thrive.
AME is committed to growing the number of consortia. A great way to network in your area and share and learn locally, consortia provide membership in a competitiveness-boosting community.
The AME Champion’s Club offers another opportunity to share and learn. This peer-to-peer group plans four hard-hitting sessions next year.
Target magazine and Target Online will continue sharing “lessons learned,” in the quest for world-class performance and stronger global competitiveness.
We appreciate Bill Baker’s effective work as AME’s vice president of alliances. As his tenure ends, we are searching for someone to continue this great work. We will emphasize reshoring initiatives by partnering with President Barack Obama’s newly formed Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP). Through our collective voice, we can help ensure that manufacturing remains an essential cornerstone of America’s future.
Our regional presidents are dedicated to helping you navigate how AME can serve you. Please take the time to get to know your regional president.
It’s up to us to continue working together on improving the competitiveness of our great nation. It will take all sectors, from government and education to health care and manufacturing, working together!
