Dear AWFS® Member,
I am pleased to announce that AWFS® recently installed five new board members for the 2022-2023 board term, beginning their first of two, three-year terms. The new members include:
— Phyllis Crystal, President of Uneeda Enterprizes
— Cassey Gibson, Engagement Specialist at INNERGY
— John Benjamin Henderson, President of John Henderson and Company, LLC
— Phil Polston, National Sales Manager at Cabinet Vision Production Software
— Christina Relyea, Director of Sales and Marketing at JB Cutting, Inc.
The new board members will be joining the returning board, starting with the AWFS® Executive Committee, led by Rob Howell, President of WSI Machinery Inc., and recently installed AWFS® President, for the 2022 – 2023 executive term.
The remainder of the Executive Committee includes:
— Michael Cassell, Senior Product Specialist for Automation Systems and Shoda Machinery; AWFS® Vice President
— Mark Alster, National Sales Manager for Leitz Tooling Systems; AWFS® Secretary/Treasurer (and new to the Executive Committee)
— Bob Brown, Executive Vice President at Royal Plywood; 2023 AWFS®Fair Committee Chair (and new to the Executive Committee)
— Dan Hershberger, Holz-Her Product Manager for Michael Weinig, Inc.: AWFS® Immediate Past President
— Philip Martin, President of 3C-IRM; AWFS® Past President
The following board members will be serving their second term:
— Karl Frey, Western Division Manager for Colonial Saw Co.
— Brian Hansen, Director of Technical and Industrial Business Development for Gemini Coatings
— Randy Jamison, Chief Commercial Officer for Biesse America, Inc.
— Hannah Khalaf, Marketing Manager for SurfPrep Sanding
— Jonathan Thompson, Sales Manager for E.B Bradley Co. & West Coast Laminating
You can learn more about all AWFS board members here.
AWFS® welcomes all new and returning board members. The staff and I are excited to have such a well-rounded group of industry professionals that bring an abundance of experience, product knowledge and viewpoints from various industry sectors. We are certain that this group will help us to achieve the goals that the board and staff established for our organization at our most recent strategic planning meeting this past November. With all the recent uncertainty surrounding our world, we are certainly grateful to have volunteers that are dedicated to helping AWFS in its commitment to ensure that our industry remains competitive and offers growth opportunities for its current workforce and, most importantly, is seen as a viable career path for future generations of talented young people.
These past two years have certainly presented their share of challenges for associations and, even more so, for live events. AWFS® was fortunate to have been one of the few trade shows that was able to host an actual live event over the course of the 2020 -2021 timeframe, having taken place at the very beginning of the Delta wave of the pandemic. The staff and I were extremely grateful to have had the guidance and support of our board during such an unprecedented time. I would especially like to thank our Immediate Past President, Dan Hershberger. Knowing that could I rely on Dan whenever I needed assistance or input, especially since there was no playbook for what we experienced starting in 2020, gave me tremendous peace of mind. Being that all our board and committee members are volunteers, this speaks volumes of the dedication of volunteers, like Dan, to our industry and to the people that comprise its workforce.
I would also like to welcome Rob Howell, as he begins his term as AWFS® President. I have known Rob for a very long time; we share the same high school alma mater (Go Dragons!) having both grown up in the beautiful (and highly underrated) rustbelt town of Niles, Ohio. Now, I have the privilege of working closely with him, along with our entire board and staff, with one of the most ambitious plans that we have ever developed for our Association and our Fair. I am sure it’s going to be just like old times!
Even though I know that we can no longer take anything for granted these days, as uncertainty has now become the rule rather than the exception, I still feel very optimistic about the plans and goals that AWFS® has established for itself. I couldn’t be happier about the group that we have assembled. I look forward to working with our team and to far better days ahead for all of us!
Sincerely,
Angelo Gangone
AWFS® Executive Vice President