How can we make this Section

beneficial to you?

We will ask everyone to respond to this newsletter in some way, so that we can best make this AWS Section 162 be beneficial to all our members.

Greeting to all members,

I hope this newsletter finds everyone in good health and spirits. This has been a very trying year in all aspects of our lives. Our AWS Eastern Iowa section has had no meetings in the last year, and in our District 16, only a few virtual meetings. The challenges we face as individuals and professionals is more now than ever before.   The big question is how we are going to respond and make things better and more rewarding in the future.

The past Chairman, Erik Soderstrom has moved away to another District and Section as has our Program Committee Chairman. We have 3 remaining active board members that still see the need for an active and flourishing AWS Section. The history of this section’s area is amazing and the amount of welding and talent we have within our boundaries is totally remarkable. As a section, we have around 300 members, and a vast resource to draw from to improve the AWS commitment to furthering the science of welding and technology for all levels of learning. Welding is a vital aspect in all manufacturing and becoming more complicated and specialized. There is also an extreme need for all the basic welding knowledge and skills of hands on welding, that we base the bulk of all welding applications and processes on. There has been and continues to be a huge shortage of welders nationwide, if we can help in any way to be part of the solution. Many within our industry are getting close to retirement, or already retired and have something very special to pass on to the coming generations.

There are many AWS scholarships available through the national AWS organization, the district AWS organizations and we as a section we have money available for scholarships to our local people. Anyone that wants to utilize the money available, please contact us at the email addresses below. We would like all applications completed and back to us within 60 days. Our AWS Section 162 would like any and all ideas from our membership to help make this money benefit the upcoming talent. There are many Community Colleges in our area (some are Kirkwood, NE Iowa at Peosta, Muscatine, Eastern Iowa, Hawkeye Tech and Blackhawk) that are working to fill the void of welder shortages. Thank you to all of them and the High School Welding Programs that do the great job of getting these students inspired, motivated, and started in a very valuable career.

There is an amazing amount of world class manufacturing in our eastern Iowa and western Illinois area that we hope could help us with our goal. We also have many excellent welding distributors (SJ Smith, Airgas, Matheson and Praxair) that add to the quality and ability of our manufacturing companies. We have the best welding machine and consumable manufacturing companies in the world represented here. As part of the world’s largest and most influential welding organization, the American Welding Society, the local chapter needs all the help we can get. As a board member, it might require 1 or 2 hours per month. It is mostly a thankless job but the rewards are there if you wish to notice. The Covid restrictions and lockdowns and the total way it has changed our lives, will not last much longer. It can’t without radically changing our country forever.   In general the people of United States and the welding industry in specific are a people industry. All our lives are busy and complicated, but we need to make time for important things that matter. We need to interact with each other and learn as we all have had mentors in our life that set our path to success. We all have been or will be a positive and lasting influence in someone’s life.

We will ask everyone to respond to this newsletter in some way, so that we can best make this AWS Section 162 be beneficial to all our members. We want to have the most effective Plant Tours, Technical Seminars, Student Nights, Hands on Training, State/National Weld Contests, or Golf Outings. Pease ask anyone interested to be a guest at our meetings (even if they are not a current AWS member). I am positive they can add to what we want to accomplish. Our Section 162 has a very complete AWS Library that is located at Genesis Systems and available to all our members. You only have to ask, and you can borrow any of our current AWS Codebooks or publications.

Thank you,

AWS Eastern Iowa Section 162

Chairman – Brett Baer – [email protected]

2nd Vice Chairman – Ken Trumbull – [email protected]

Secretary – Mike Myers – [email protected]