Statewide Industry Tours & Events Planned for 2016 Manufacturing Day/Month. Make Florida #1 Again!

October 7 is the official kick off for 2016 Manufacturing Day, and Florida is poised to celebrate

MFG Day/Month in a BIG way this October. Manufacturers, School Districts, Regional Manufacturers Associations, and hundreds of students, parents, and teachers throughout Florida are gearing to participate in the “Made in Florida” industry tours for 2016 Manufacturing Day/Month. Counties across the state are also set to issue proclamations marking October 7 as the official kick-off date for Manufacturing Day/Month. Additionally, several colleges and manufacturers will be hosting open houses on site with other statewide events planned throughout the month!

2016 is once again projected to be another banner year in Florida Manufacturing. “FLATE’s manufacturing day strategy and cohesive partnerships with regional organizations across the state has helped build an effective model that has over the years enabled greater involvement and statewide participation” said Dr. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE. Even as old partners are empowered and have branched out independently on their own to host MFG Day/Month tours and events, there are new companies that have joined hands to make Florida Number #1 again. This strategy, Barger states, has also empowered many regional manufacturers associations across the state to take a leading role in implementing a customized, regional strategy for manufacturing day/month that has strengthened industry-education ties.

Outlined below are a list of industry tours that have been finalized so far in the greater Tampa Bay region that includes: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota counties. 

County	Industry Tour	MFG Day Team Coordinators
Hillsborough County	Cott Beverages Inc., Southern Manufacturing Technologies, SIGNSTAR, Measurement Supply Company, Somatron, EMS-USA, Tampa Bay Steel, Pro-Tools	FLATE Marilyn Barger, mfgday@fl-ate.org Janice Mukhia. mfgday@fl-ate.org Bay Area Manufacturers Association Becky Burton, becky@bama.org Rick Concotelli, rick.concotelli@lmco.com  Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Association Jerry Custin, JCustin@utbchamber.com School District of Hillsborough County Lauren Walden, Lauren.Walden@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Pinellas County	Hydro-Dyne, Lockheed Martin, Sign Age, Monin, Molex, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, American Tool & Mold, Conmed, Mastercut Tool Corp., Bausch & Lomb (Clearwater), H & S Swansons’ Tool Co.	Bay Area Manufacturers Association Becky Burton, becky@bama.org Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Association Jerry Custin JCustin@utbchamber.com Pinellas County School District Mark Hunt, Huntwi@pcsb.org Greg Taylor, taylorgr@pcsb.org Marty Giancola, giancolam@pcsb.org Bob Hawkins, hawkinsr@pcsb.org FLATE Marilyn Barger, mfgday@fl-ate.org Janice Mukhia. mfgday@fl-ate.org
Polk County	JC Machine, Inc., Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), Kegel, Inc., Rockford-Ettco Procunier, Coca-Cola, Givaudan Flavors Corp., Pepperidge Farm, MaxPak, ITW Professional	Polk State College Christopher Yannes, cyannes@polk.edu Howard Drake, hdrake@polk.edu
South West Florida Sarasota and Manatee Counties	The Cavanaugh Company-Black Diamond Strings, PGT Industries, KHS USA, Inc.,	SAMA Peter Straw, pdstrawpds@comcast.net FLATE Danielly Orozco, orozco@fl-ate.org Sarasota County School District Martha Proulx, Martha.Proulx@sarasotacountyschools.net Manatee County School District Doug Wagner, wagnerd@manateeschools.net Carol Lewis, lewisc@manateeschools.net

Many regions across Florida are still in the process of setting up “Made in Florida” tours for Manufacturing Day/Month; FLATE will be updating this list on a continuous basis and posting it on the Made in Florida site at http://madeinflorida.org/manufacturing-day. So stay tuned for news and updates on tours and events in your region, or contact one of the MFG Day Coordinators in your region listed below:

County	MFG Day Team Coordinators
Alachua County	Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Staci Bertrand, staci@gainesvillechamber.com
Baker & Columbia Counties	Florida TRADE at Florida Gateway College Margaret Lee, Margaret.Lee@fgc.edu John Piersol, john.piersol@fgc.edu
North East Florida Duval, St. John, Clay, Nassau	First Coast Manufacturers Association Sherri Mitchell, sherri@fcmaweb.com FL TRADE at Florida State College at Jacksonville Michael Collins. mcollins@fscj.edu
North West Florida Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Okaloosa, Jackson, Calhoun, Bay & Gulf Counties	Northwest Florida Manufacturers Council Cindy Anderson, cindy@nwfmc.org
Florida Heartland Highlands County	Sebring Airport Authority Beverly Glarner, bev@sebring-airport.com
South West Florida Lee County	Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association Max Dean, max@srma.net Polygon Solutions Peter Bagwell, peter@polygonsolutions.com
Capital Region Leon, Wakulla, Madison, & Gadsden Counties	Tallahassee Community College Rick Frazier, frazierr@tcc.fl.edu
Marion County Region Marion and Citrus Counties	Marion Schools Sara Lefils, sara.lefils@marion.k12.us Marion Regional Manufacturers Association Rob Adamiak, mrma.email@gmail.com
Central Florida Orange, Brevard, Lake, Seminole & Osceola Counties	Manufacturers Association of Central Florida Amanda Marcusky, Amanda.marcusky@macf.biz Sherry Reeves, sherry.reeves@macf.biz Paul Wahnish, paul_wahnish@scps.k12.fl.us Kenneth Bush, Kenneth.bush@ocps.net Dennis Soboleski, Soboleski.Dennis@Brevardschools.org Adam Sumner, asumner@lakecountyfl.gov Timothy Burdette, burdett@osceola.k12.fl.us
South East Florida Palm Beach & Broward Counties	Atlantic Technical College Kevin Finan, june-wolfe@att.net South Florida Manufacturers Association June Wolfe, june-wolfe@att.net HOERBIGER Corporation of America, Inc. Karen Elordi, karen.elordi@hoerbiger.com David Gonzalez, david.gonzalez@hoerbiger.com
Pasco Hernando Counties	Pasco Hernando State College Margie Burnham, burnham@phsc.edu Jessica Ball, ballj@phsc.edu AmSkills Tom Mudano, tmudano@amskills.org Jady Vargas, jvargas@amskills.org Alissa Bosworth, ABosworth@amskills.org

Following up on the successful model that FLATE has established over the years, FLATE will once again be surveying statewide industry hosts, educators and students who participate in this year’s “Made in Florida” industry tours for 2016 Manufacturing Day/Month. Post event surveys will be tabulated by FLATE and shared with statewide partners and stakeholders. FLATE will also help connect regional groups together, and will distribute MFG Day T-shirts, provide educator resources, write/publish/distribute and report on MFG Day/month related news, and compile all student, educator, host survey data.

To support students’ and educators’ learning and engagement in manufacturing, FLATE has 

also developed an extensive array of resources specifically designed for industry, educators, or anyone interested in MFG Day/Month. A list of these comprehensive (free) resources are listed on the Florida MFG Day/Month page at http://madeinflorida.org/manufacturing-day. There is even a 2016 Manufacturing Day in Florida poster that teachers can use as a curriculum tool and/or to decorate their classroom. To access these resources, visit the FLATE’s Wiki at: http://flate.pbworks.com/w/page/10889505/FrontPage and http://mfgday-fl.com. 

If you would like to be connected with a regional manufacturers’ association to discuss additional outreach activities for students in your community, contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org. For tours in Sarasota and Manatee counties and “Made in Florida” lesson plans for manufacturing day contact Danielly Orozco, Associate Director of at orozco@fl-ate.org. For information on tours for Hillsborough & Pinellas counties contact Janice Mukhia, FLATE outreach/project manager at mukhia@fl-ate.org.

We look forward to working with each of you and making it another successful 2016 MFG Day/Month! Let’s make Florida #1 Again!