Congratulations to the 2018 Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM) Scholarship Recipients!

Corbin Gustafson—Belvidere North High School, 2018 Milwaukee School of Engineering

Cole Skadeland—Hononegah High School, 2018 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

William Snedegar—Auburn High School, 2018 University of Michigan

Payton Staman—Hononegah High School, 2016 University of Indianapolis

Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM), a non-profit professional association founded in 2003, provided a Mid-Year Update to its members this week at an event at Lino’s Restaurant. The organization announced a new Mission, Strategic Plan, and Executive Board to launch its impact to a new level. WOTM has always been a leading Northern Illinois team of women and men, focused on educating its members through presentations, interactive dinner meetings, company tours and networking. The new mission will refocus the organization on achieving a clear objective:

Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM) is an organization that supports the creation and advancement of career pathways for women in local manufacturing.

“We arrived at this mission after surveying our members, and hosting a series of strategic planning sessions with members, potential members, and business leaders who will be impacted by our new mission,” said Carrie Zethmayr, President of WOTM. “We found that our members wanted a clear reason for participating, and a mission that they could accomplish together.”

“In 2017, there were over 200 female high-school graduates from the Rockford Public School System who didn’t have plans to go to college” said Dr. Doug Jensen, President of Rock Valley College and participant in WOTM’s strategic planning. “There is a huge opportunity for us to tap-in to this demographic and engage them in our regional manufacturing workforce.” 

WOTM has three strategies which will help them accomplish this mission:

• We host educational programs targeted to manufacturing leaders and line workers, providing them with practical knowledge that empowers them to be on the cutting edge of their industry.
• We provide scholarships to individuals seeking to advance their skills in STEM and manufacturing related fields.
• We connect with partners throughout the state line area to communicate and provide clear career pathways to individuals of all ages that want to pursue a meaningful and fulfilling career in manufacturing.

To execute these strategies, WOTM hosts “Committee Nights” on the first Monday of every month, 5:30 – 7:00pm at the operations of a local manufacturer. All members are welcome to attend committee night to participate in planning and execution of the three strategies. “We feel that hosting committee nights at the same time and place every month make it easy for our members to find a pathway for engagement with our organization. They can come, learn about our work, meet other members, and become directly engaged in carrying out our mission,” said Teresa Beach-Shelow, Vice President of WOTM. “All are welcome to our committee nights.”

The new 2018 Executive Board that leads the organization in accomplishing its mission includes:

• President – Carrie Zethmayr, President & Owner at Zethmayr
• Vice President – Teresa Beach-Shelow, President at Superior Joining Technologies, Inc.
• Assistant Vice President – Darlene Steeves, Executive Assistant at Barnes International, Inc.
• Treasurer – Amy Hendrickson, Controller at Rockford Ball Screw
• Secretary – Kristy Reynolds, Human Resource Manager at Bourn & Koch
• Assistant Secretary – Elaine Dyke, Scheduling Manager at Rockford Ball Screw

WOTM also has three chairs to lead the strategic plan initiatives:

• Chair, Scholarships – Ruthann Gaston, Customer Service Representative, Engman-Taylor Company
• Chair, Career Pathways – Chris Agnitsch, Vice President Commercial Lending, Midwest Community Bank
• Chair, Educational Programming – Janie Clark, Service Manager, Hexagon Metrology

WOTM is seeking men and women of all backgrounds that are inspired by our mission and would like to participate in having an impact on my region. We encourage them to connect with any of us directly, via our website at www.wotm-rockford.com, or e-mailing wotmrkfd@gmail.com. All are welcome!

About Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM)

Women of Today’s Manufacturing (WOTM) is an organization that supports the creation and advancement of career pathways for women in local manufacturing. WOTM began in 2003 by three women with a passion for manufacturing. The organization has proudly donated thousands of dollars to community high school and college students with its membership enrollment increasing annually. Community members find value in the unique networking opportunities the organization offers, and value the relationships they have established. www.wotm-rockford.com. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

Carrie Zethmayr, President
Women of Today’s Manufacturing
312-221-1115
carrie@zethmayr.com

Thank you for helping WOTM accomplish its mission tosupport the creation and advancement of career pathways for women in local manufacturing Learn more about how WOTM accomplishes this mission at www.wotm-rockford.com

For Immediate Release

GM Recognizes Barnes International, Inc. for Performance, Quality, and Innovation

Rockford Illinois, April 30, 2018 – Barnes International, Inc. was named a GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors during its 26th annual Supplier of the Year awards ceremony held Friday, April 20 in Orlando, Florida. 

GM recognized 132 of its best suppliers from 17 countries who have consistently exceeded GM’s expectations, created outstanding value, or brought new innovations to the company. The announcement represented the most suppliers GM has recognized since debuting the Supplier of the Year event in 1992. This is the 1^st time Barnes International, Inc. has received the award.

“This is an opportunity for General Motors to honor those suppliers who are truly the best of the best,” said Steve Kiefer, GM senior vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.  “The automotive industry is transforming at an incredible rate. The relationships we have with our supply base means everything when it comes to delivering a strong vehicle lineup today and the cutting-edge vehicles and mobility services of tomorrow.”

 GM’s Supplier of the Year award is reserved for suppliers who distinguish themselves by meeting performance metrics for quality, execution, innovation, and total enterprise cost.  Award winners represent companies who provide products and services to General Motors in the areas of vehicle components, supply chain and logistics, customer care and aftersales, and indirect services.

“We are honored to be chosen as GM Supplier of the Year for 2017. Our long term strategic partnership with General Motors has helped Barnes International grow in levels of sophistication and systems which drive quality, on-time delivery and product innovation that is honored with this award. We look forward to continuing meeting the challenge and surpassing it.”

David Gollob
CEO and Chairman
Barnes International, Inc.

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com

Supplier Media Contact
Eli Nicolosi
Astute Web Group
eli@astutewebgroup.com

From Winnovation team coordinator, Karen Hill:

Winnovation, FIRST Robotics Team 1625, will be competing at FIRST World Championships in Detroit, MI, April 26-28, 2018. 405 FIRST Robotics teams will be gathering from around the world to compete in the Cobo Center and Ford Field. Winnovation is one of 15 Illinois teams making the trip. The 405 teams have been divided between six divisions – Archimedes, Carson, Curie, Daly, Darwin, and Tesla. Winnovation will be competing on the Darwin field with 66 other teams. 10 of the these teams are international, 8 coming from Canada, 1 from China, and 1 from Poland. Teams will each play 10 qualification matches over Thursday and Friday. The top 8 ranked teams on each field will draft their alliance partners early Saturday morning, and complete elimination rounds Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, the Champions from each Division will have a Round Robin Tournament. The top two alliances will move onto Championship Finals at Ford Field Saturday evening.  

The Championship event will also include FIRST Lego League Junior, FIRST Lego League, and FIRST Tech Challenge teams from around the world. Thousands of youth will be engaged in competition and celebrating STEM activities. This is the first year the event is being hosted in Detroit. 

Over Winnovation’s 14-year history, the team has qualified to compete at Championships 10 times. In 2010 and 2014, they won their Division and played on the Einstein Field, finishing 3rd in World Competition both times. 

The team is very grateful for the support of a long list of sponsors: United Technologies, Woodward, Boeing, Winnebago School District, Pecatonica School District, Pecatonica Fans Club, ThermoFisher, RegEllen, Wipfli, Alpine Bank, Ticomix, Co-Lin Metals and Fabricating, Hennig, Inc., Area Erectors, Turn Off the Heat When You Leave, LLC, Mediacom, Ginny Meyer, Winnebago Fans Club, Danfoss, Midland States Bank, Prairie Grange, IEEE, Skateland, Continental Machine, Speciality Screw, Women of Today’s Manufacturing, and Future Fastener. Along with gifts in memory of Dale Falconer, Jake Fuller, and Roger and Ruth Freeman.

Visit https://twitch.tv/firstinspires_darwin to see the Team 1625 in action!

Karen Hill
Coordinator of FIRST Team 1625 Winnovation
815-742-0873