FRESNO – Over 850 registered for the 2017 Manufacturing Summit-Thriving in the Valley, including 205 local students. The day was dedicated to the “thriving” manufacturing community in the San Joaquin Valley.
The third annual event took place at the Fresno Convention Center and featured 85 vendors from manufacturing, education, finance and government. Additionally, 24 diverse workshops were offered, created based on feedback from previous year’s attendees. These practical workshops pointed a spotlight on a range of topics for manufacturing from financing and taxes to diversity and veterans.
Opening remarks were provided by Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith, and San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA) Chair Mike Betts. Former President of Shell Oil Company and Founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy, John Hofmeister, provided the morning session keynote address, where he focused on energy related issues and its impact on manufacturing. The lunch keynote was delivered by Katherine A. DeRosear, the Partnership Architect for the Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI), and facilitator of the Dream it. Do it. Virginia Network. DeRosear’s presentation centered on increasing the manufacturing capacity of communities by closing the career planning and skills gaps faced by advanced technology industries.
Planning for this year’s event was carried out by SJVMA committee members, led by Chair Mike Betts and Business Development Director, Sam Geil. Since rebranding itself in April 2016, SJVMA has reached a membership milestone of more than 500. Committee members and their hard work were recognized at a VIP reception held the night before the Summit at Mechanical Associates.
The Summit’s success shows what can be accomplished when people from different professions come together under one common vision: support a thriving economy where our Manufacturing industry can meet its full potential. SJVMA has many more projects to support this goal in the pipeline, and are already planning for next year’s Summit!