Report From The Executive Director

As we near the end of another fiscal and program year, I want to be sure readers know about the PMPA staff, association finances and our volunteer leaders.

Mike Duffin, executive director, is in his 6th year with PMPA. He and June Roesch administer board of directors’ activities and meetings. He also has responsibility for the work of the Government Affairs and Human Resources Committees and the PMPA Education Foundation.

Mike regularly attends meetings of the NAM Council of Manufacturing Associations and the Manufacturing Metalworking Coalition. This interaction with other manufacturing trade association executives provides new ideas and benchmarks for meetings and member services. 

Miles Free joined the association in 2003 and is our director of industry research and technology. Mr. Free is responsible for periodic “Business Intelligence” reports and articles. He works regularly with member companies on raw material and lean manufacturing problems. He also authors the “Material Impacts” report and developed the online materials grade translator. Mr. Free is our in-house resource for environmental, regulatory and safety issues. He is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Walsh University in Ohio. He was recently recognized for academic excellence with introduction into the Sigma Beta Delta honor society for business students.

He and Nancy Dimitris compile benchmarking and survey information from members and develop statistical reports for the association. Mr. Free also introduced the iLumen Financial Network to PMPA. This online survey tool gives participating members access to secure online benchmarking data.
Monte Guitar, director of technical programs, joined PMPA in 2004. His primary work is to plan, organize and produce the annual National Technical Conference and the biennial Precision Machining Technology Show. Mr. Guitar and Carla Pillar make sure these events run smoothly for the benefit of all attendees.

We are pleased to announce Mr. Guitar’s recent appointment as an examiner for the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. He will serve on the board that conducts reviews of the applications for the award. He is also a certified quality auditor and is a valuable resource to the PMPA Quality Committee as well as members with quality and process control problems.

Rob Kiener has served PMPA members since 1991. As director of marketing and communications, Mr. Kiener is responsible for new member company recruitment. He developed the trial membership program that we use to introduce companies to our services.

Mr. Kiener and Renee Merker work with the Management Update Committee to plan and produce this annual conference. Thanks to their work, attendees take home valuable management ideas. Mr. Kiener also works with the PMPA Executive Committee to develop the program for the annual meeting. He is very proud that he has delivered to members the “Weekly Reports” e-mail newsletter for the past several years. He is also responsible for the PMPA pages in this magazine.

Mr. Kiener is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and regularly attends its professional development programs and seminars. Just as our members take home value from PMPA conferences, Mr. Kiener has brought back many good ASAE ideas that we have incorporated into our events.

Bobbi Paul manages PMPA accounting and office “backroom” activities. She is now in her 40th year of service to the association. Ms. Paul provides the board and finance committee with timely reports on association finances. She and Andrea Jeric make sure members get accurate dues statements. John Kalafa works with Ms. Paul to produce all of our meeting notices, materials and
publications.  

PMPA Finances. The association fiscal year is July 1 to June 30. Each year, at the June board meeting, a complete detailed budget of planned expenses is developed by the staff and approved by the finance committee and board of directors. The budget is a financial plan to provide resources that allow us to meet our operating and strategic objectives. This process ensures that finances are transparent and accountable to the members. PMPA retains an auditor to provide the board with an annual certified financial audit.

Thanks to the foresight and stewardship of PMPA leaders 30 years ago, PMPA has a reserves account to help smooth out any financial peaks and valleys. The reserves provide revenue to supplement member company dues. Also, the Precision Machining Technology Show has grown to provide more revenues to PMPA. These non-dues sources of income help fund our operations.   

PMPA Board of Directors and Governance. Member contributions to the association are found in many ways—committee participation, local district leadership and board of directors service. The board has 11 directors elected by the members in their districts. Also serving are as many as six at-large directors elected by the membership. The technical member companies elect three directors from their ranks. This board then elects four officers that also serve and vote as members of the board.

All of these leaders serve as unpaid volunteers. They willingly share their time and knowledge to make sure our association remains viable and relevant to our members. Certified representatives from job-shop member companies who want to serve on the board should contact any current board member or the PMPA staff.

Having approved a revised Code of Regulations in 2004, the membership gives authority to the board to govern the association. The board then hires the executive director to manage association business and carry out the policy directives of the board.

The board has begun a review to examine the makeup of our districts and look for ways to improve association governance.