Well, there has been a BLIZZARD, not a flurry, of activity over the last month. We are continuing to make preparations for the Automation EXPO…signing contracts, following up with vendors, assigning booths, nailing down speaker schedules, THE WORKS! We are also gearing up to gather information for this year’s Section Performance submission, helping to plan portions of the Joint-District Leadership Conference to be held in front of the Spring Leaders Meetings, and last but absolutely not least, preparing for next month’s meeting on PID Loop Design Strategies with Bob Rice. Those of you that attended last year’s PID meeting will remember our 2008-099 speaker of the year winner as voted by our members. Last year’s meeting was far and away one of our best attended meetings. This year’s PID meeting will NOT be a repeat of last year’s meeting, but rather a second installment on the topic, covering advanced strategies. Mark your calendars now to attend!

   In the midst of all of the chaos that is our Section’s life, we received some exciting news from Mark Lawson (2009 Ranken Grad and 2009-2010 Section Board Member) that I would like to share…

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LinkedIn

Mark Lawson has sent you a message.

Date: 1/19/2010

Subject: Great News!

I just wanted to keep everyone updated. I was recently hired by Solutia Chemical Company at the William G. Krummrich plant in Sauget, IL. I will be an E & I Maintenance Mechanic. I am very grateful for the opportunity because I know there are millions of people that aren't so fortunate. I feel this is a great way to broaden my skill-set and to get some great job experience dealing with anything from working on their power distribution throughout the plant to troubleshooting process instrumentation to dealing with their Delta V system. I started on Jan 10th and I am enjoying it so far!

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   Mark has been searching for employment in the Automation Industry since graduation, but during his search, he did more than just focusing on himself and going on interviews. He has volunteered, in the midst of his need, to serve our membership on the Section Board. I believe he has reaped the benefits of his service in the form of this job. Mark stood out from the Student members last year and was asked to serve this year on the Board. He took advantage of the networking and mentoring opportunities that the Section and ISA as a whole has to offer. In the process he has been able to rub shoulders with people in our industry that he would otherwise not have been fortunate enough to even meet. We took Mark down to the Fall Leaders Meetings as part of the St. Louis Section entourage to expose him to the Society as a whole and what it had to offer him. Essentially it turned out to be a weekend-long job interview for Mark because he decided to make the most of his opportunity. During the process of this weekend, he received multiple employment opportunities from people that did not know him from Adam. Why would people do that you ask? Because they were impressed that Mark was taking the time and effort to serve our Section and attend a Leaders meeting. Mark’s personality didn’t hurt either. His story caught the ear of one of the Society’s staff, and they interviewed him for a publication handed out daily at the show. Not bad exposure for a student that simply decided to give back! We commend Mark for all he has done with ISA over the last year. It is not often that a person his age truly ‘gets’ the big picture of their life opportunities and takes advantage of them. His story is not being retold here to heap accolades on him…Rather it is simply being repeated to remind us all of the power of networking, making the most of our opportunities, and serving others. Mark found employment, but he would be the first to tell everyone that he found a lot more on the journey to his new job.

   The 2010 St. Louis Automation EXPO is quickly approaching on April 14^th. The reason the Section Board decided to hold this event was directly due to your requests. We haven’t held this event in St. Louis for at least 5 years, and as you can imagine, these shows succeed or fail based on the support they receive. Particularly those that are for all practical purposes new shows again like ours. They are harder to sell if there is not a recent track record of attendance and participation. That does not mean that they will not be an overwhelming success. I am proud of St. Louis, our region, and our Section. I know that with a little faith and a little work, this show will be a resounding success. As local members though, we all have a part to play in that success. If you own or work for a company that could benefit by exhibiting or sponsoring at the EXPO, we would like to ask that you please take time SOON to explore this opportunity personally or make the effort to send it to the decision maker in your company. Even if you cannot participate as an exhibitor or sponsor, please consider partnering to help us out by advertising the event to your co-workers and clients. This can be accomplished easily by simply putting the EXPO ad that you received recently from the Section into the signature of your outgoing emails. Lastly, make sure to come out and support the event yourself by marking the event on YOUR calendar. We are doing everything within our power to make this a successful event worthy of your time to attend and participate in. If you take an active, or passive role to support it, it will be a spectacular event for all and a jewel of a show for our industry and region. If you procrastinate…well, the converse is unfortunately bound to be true. The show’s success is ALL of our responsibility. You may find all of the information you could ever hope to want to know about the EXPO at www.isastl.org/expo2010.html . Registration and sponsorship forms are available for download by clicking on the Exhibitor and Sponsor Info link on this. If you don’t see what you need to see, call me directly. Our goal is to make this show worth YOUR while. For those companies that are still on the fence about participating, bear this in mind. The Annual National ISA EXPO going forward will not continue to exist as we have known in the past. It has been downsized to the equivalent of a regional show. Regional shows like ours in April are the future of our industry’s offerings. Time IS running out. Make the most of YOUR opportunity to support the 2010 St. Louis Automation EXPO TODAY!  We look forward to seeing you there!