has the talent and dedication to produce videos that show the sizzle and dramatic flair of these careers. When I met Jeremy he was fighting to gain the financial momentum necessary to continue his dream to make a difference that is desperately needed then and is needed even more so now. We agreed to combine some resources to work together and then added the SME Education Foundation to the team shortly after. We started down the road to collectively make a difference in changing the perception of manufacturing in this country. Here is my challenge: We need to stop talking. We need to start acting. We need to lead, follow, or get out of the way. We need to act in a way that will set this country up for success. We need to act so that the next generation and those that follow can succeed in professions that offer good-paying, chal- lenging careers. We cannot continue to allow our children to go to college and come out debt-ridden and unable to find a
Iverson & Co. (Des Plaines, IL). Each attendee was interested in and supportive of the priorities outlined in this article. We have started the process of getting people behind this cause. Organizations in attendance included the Society of Manufac- turing Engineers, Manufacturing Engineering Media, Gardner Publications, Sandvik Coromant , the Association of Manufac- turing Excellence, The Manufacturing Institute, the Reshoring Initiative, the Tooling & Manufacturing Association, the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, the Fabricators & Manu- facturers Association, the Foundry Educational Foundation, the Cast Metals Institute, Sound Quest Productions, the Automation Federation, the National Center for Manufacturing Education, Edge Factor and C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.-NOW. Our collective mission is to conduct a C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.-
Edge Factor’s Jeremy Bout makes his case at the Alliance meeting at Iverson & Co.
job. If we don’t act now then we need to stop complaining and accept the fact that our industry will not lead this country out of the national debt crisis and the economic uncertainty. Making things can do this, however not without our gen- eration doing what is required to bring in the next talented, inspired, and passionate generation. We need to allow them to follow professional opportunities. These are not voca- tional careers. They are professional manufacturing careers that are also full of entrepreneurial opportunities. In Europe these skilled people are viewed and respected as the most esteemed professional craftsmen. Why aren’t we sending the same message?
On May 2 SME-EF initiated a C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.-NOW Alli- ance meeting of industry leaders. It was hosted by my family at
NOW National Manufacturing Day that would impact the en- tire country. Edge Factor would provide the inspirational video highlighting what today’s manufacturing technologies look like and why they are relevant to everyday life. Plant tours and open houses could be held around the country—al- lowing the public inside
to see for themselves the world-class operations that we know are the backbone of manufacturing. This would allow us as industry leaders to begin changing and improving perceptions in the minds of the general public.
So HOW do you act? How do you make a differ-
ence? You Lead—lead by financially supporting both the C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.-NOW and Edge Factor projects. Go to either website; go to the SME Education Foundation and make do- nations so that these good, needed actions continue. You can FOLLOW—by engaging with our alliance. Or you can get out of the way, and allow those of us in- spired by our fathers to do our best and make a difference for our country and our youth of tomorrow. Let’s ALL be a C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N.—NOW! ME