Guest Editorial
Bonnie Knopf 2013 Chair
SME Member Council smeSpeaks Members Helping Other Members I
t’s been an exciting year for SME, its members, volunteer leaders and staff. As the world continues to change, so does SME. By now, all of you have been introduced to the 2017 SME Strategic Direction and new branding initiative from the SME Board of Directors. Revamping both the strategic direction and the brand was a lengthy process to make SME more relevant to today’s manufacturers. I am proud to have been chair of the Member Council during this time, leading all of the council members and various committees in their charges. We, as a society, need to embrace both the strate- gic direction and branding initiative as a way to connect with everyone involved in manufacturing. As technology drives us forward, we need to stay on the leading edge of progress in an effort to bring the latest methodologies, techniques, informa- tion and best practices to the next-generation workforce. The most current opportunity to interact virtually with all SME members is through SME Connect (visit
www.sme.org/ members or download the MemberCentric App on your smart- phone to learn more). Several years ago, as a younger business owner, I reached out to the SME member community to help solve an engineering issue my company was having. Within an hour, I had several responses from people in similar indus- tries, including Boeing and other large organizations. With the information provided, my problem was solved quickly. Several hours and dollars were saved because of our member network. Because SME Connect is relatively new, we are continuously improving it to make the networking opportunities and ability to exchange information even stronger. We have an unbelievable amount of talent, resources and material that can help advance any SME member in his/her manufacturing career. In addition to SME Connect, I strongly encourage you to search
sme.org to become more familiar with all of the products and services SME has to offer. The Ask the Librarian
member benefit, for example, gives SME members unlimited information from a robust database. It’s an incredible resource that should be utilized by every SME member. There’s also a great deal of technical content available through events, we- binars, discussions, blogs, KnowledgeEdgeSM, Tooling U-SME and Manufacturing Engineering Media.
I would also like to encourage you to contribute your knowl- edge to SME. We know that several of you are the top experts in your fields. Imagine the impact you could have for future members! The lifecycle of SME includes New Members, those who take knowledge from the experts; Existing Members, those who give and take knowledge; and finally, Expert Members, who have a career’s worth of knowledge to share. We need to provide avenues for all members to share their wealth of knowl- edge so that we can all be the best we can be. Having access to so much knowledge not only makes us stronger profession- ally, but also personally. Having access to knowledge makes you a better employee and employer. Helping each other in this endeavor is what being an SME member is all about. At the same time, as an organization, SME and its volun- teer leaders understand that time is the one thing people have less of these days. Because of that, we are all working hard to create and strengthen the resources that allow you to become the most effective manufacturer, while also building your personal skill set. SME could not be an effective organization without you, and I encourage you to give your input on ways that, as an organization, SME can improve at all levels. Ultimately, I hope you continue to be persistent in your quest to be the best in manufacturing that you can be. From all of us at SME, we truly appreciate your membership and continued contributions. Thank you for being a member of one of the most distinguished manufacturing societies in the world today. ME
November 2013 |
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