Happy Valentine’s Day to our continuous improvement community.
In true celebration of the season, I am grateful to all of you for your ongoing support and dedication to AME and our community. I love Maya Angelou’s quote, “Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs. The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.” AME truly is that family.
We are honored this week to have a guest writer for my weekly letter. Who better to share her love for AME than volunteer extraordinaire, Ellen Sieminski? Ellen serves on the AME National Board and Management Team as VP, volunteer support. More importantly, Ellen is a true believer in AME’s mission to “share, learn and grow.”
Roses are red, volunteers are gold
WRITTEN BY: ELLEN SIEMINSKI
AME volunteers,
It’s your (maybe) favorite volunteer liaison (or your only one!), here to wish you an early happy Valentine’s Day with an HR-approved love letter. Thank you for the time and energy you so generously give. As I’ve said before, your dedication is the driving force behind everything AME stands for, and your impact is felt far beyond any single event, meeting or initiative. Quite simply, AME couldn’t function without you.
Because of you, thousands of professionals are able to connect and share, learn and grow. Through conferences, workshops, plant tours, regional events and more, you create opportunities for meaningful learning and collaboration that simply would not exist without your commitment. You bring ideas to life, build bridges within and across organizations, and help spread continuous improvement thinking in ways that strengthen individuals, teams and entire enterprises. In short, you keep AME members moving forward. And to think that you do this in your spare time. For fun!
You step up to lead, serve, coach and learn — often behind the scenes. You do this because you are laser-focused on ensuring that every AME experience reflects excellence. You indulge my love of dad jokes (or maybe you don’t, but I send them anyway!). You are the ultimate networkers, ensuring that people feel included, valued and empowered to contribute. You host regional events. You host virtual events. Ahead of the annual conference, you sign up to greet attendees, be a room host, be a bus captain and take strangers to dinner. By the end of those dinners, there are no more strangers. You raise your hand when I say we need help. I will forever be grateful for this — and for you.
Picture me getting teary and sniffly at this point. Thank you for your passion, your leadership and your unwavering commitment to making a difference by giving some of your precious free time to AME. I am so appreciative of all that you do and thrilled to have spent time with so many of you over the years. What an honor it is to serve alongside you fabulous humans.
As a love letter coming from me, I would be remiss not to end with a joke.
Where do you find love in a grocery store?
Aisle B (there for you)!
But really… you know where to find me. If there is anything I can do to help make your AME volunteer experience more fabulous than it already is, please let me know.
Thank you, Ellen, for your lifelong love for AME and all the volunteers who have served this organization for 42 years.
I also want to acknowledge an incredibly special volunteer, Dave Hogg, whom we sadly lost last week. Dave served in many roles at AME and was among the first to welcome me when I joined six years ago. When people talk about Dave, they always share how people-centric he was — always there to mentor and help others. He gave all of himself to others and was a true friend.
Bob Kerr shared in a LinkedIn post, “If I had to describe Dave in one word, it would be ‘giving.’ Dave was giving with his time, his knowledge, his energy and his support. In business, Dave brought that same spirit. He didn’t just want things to succeed. He wanted people to succeed. He believed in making a difference that matters. This was his vision. Dave made a real difference in the lives of the many people who crossed his path. His impact won’t disappear. What he gave continues through all of us who were lucky enough to know him.”
AME Canadian board member Richard Evans shared, “Dave was a ‘giver.’ He selflessly gave everyone all of his knowledge and experiences and asked for nothing in return. He inspired me to rethink my lean philosophy, because in the 90’s I gravitated toward the ‘tools’ and Dave steered me toward leadership and the culture to be the secret of successful organizations.”
DAVE HOGG
AME Canadian board member, Jimmy Timm, shares, “Dave was a positive mentor to me throughout my career. He gave generously, of his time, experience and perspective, always encouraging growth without ego or expectation. He believed deeply in people and took genuine pride in helping others succeed. Many of the lessons Dave shared with me — about leadership, integrity and putting people first — continue to shape how I show up today.”
The AME community sends our condolences to Dave’s family.
This Valentine’s Day, I simply want to express my gratitude to all the AME volunteer members of yesterday and today. Because of you, AME truly is a community where people value and support each other, and, as Ellen shared, “Your dedication is the driving force behind everything AME stands for, and your impact is felt far beyond.”
Thank you and Happy Valentine’s Day.
As always, please stay safe and keep looking for one another.
