Hello Alaska Section,
As the new acting section Chair, along with Vice Chair José Owens and Treasurer Creighton Moore, we’ve been getting organized and coming up with activities for the coming year. I have many more ideas than the list below, but like most of us, I still have a day job that takes up much of my time. For that reason, as Chair I’m focusing on the things that are the most important to me in the welding world: getting young people interested in a welding career and supporting welding education.
Here’s what’s on our calendar for now: Student Scholarships – scholarship applications usually open at the beginning of December and are due March 1, 2024. There were only a handful of applicants from Alaska last year, so let’s spread the word and get more money for our students! Check the AWS website for updates and details: https://awssection.com/alaska/scholarships Free Student Membership – along the lines of scholarships, encourage any welding students you know to take advantage of their free AWS membership! It enhances their scholarship chances and gives them a wealth of other benefits. They just need to click “Join AWS” at the top of the homepage: https://www.aws.org/ CWI Part B Exam – we’re planning to host the exam in Anchorage around January or February 2024 if there’s enough interest. Please let us know if you’d sign up for the exam or if you know of a location willing to host. Thanks, Lou, for offering to proctor! Women in Welding – We’re working on some introduction to welding workshops for girls in Anchorage and Juneau. Contact us if you’re interested in volunteering or know of other opportunities to get young people interested in welding. If we can organize a good program, I’d like to make it available in other locations in the state. District 19 Meeting – Mark your calendars for the District 19 meeting in Juneau on June 1, 2024.Hotel information and travel discounts to come. Social Media – Please share any photos or announcements of welding activities, achievements, or general news with us so we can post them on the Section website, on Facebook, and/or submit them to the Welding Journal. Officers – With me in Juneau, José in Anchorage, and Creighton in the Mat-Su, we cover a big part of the state. But an officer or two from Fairbanks, Kodiak, the Kenai Peninsula, or elsewhere would help represent even more of our membership. Please consider volunteering. What else would members like to see from the Alaska Section? Would you attend social meetings or educational ones? Are you too busy for meetings but want to see something else? Please send us your feedback! We are volunteers, but we’ll do our best to make the Alaska Section a success.
Thanks for all you do for the welding profession, and thanks for being an AWS member!
Leslie Daugherty, P
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