As we rebuild the local chapter, we will initially focus on the latter two reasons above, planning events based around either plant tours or dinner meetings with a guest speaker on manufacturing topics.  We are planning a busy 2nd half for 2009 with events each month.  We plan to alternate event locations between Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami/Dade counties to the extent possible, so that our members will find events close to home no matter where they live and work in the area. 

On September 22nd we held our most recent event at Hollywood Woodworks.  We had an excellent turn-out, with 27 participants, some from as far away as Northern Palm Beach County.  We enjoyed a spirited question and answer session with many useful tips on implementing lean principles.  For our next event, we want to expand opportunities for professional networking, and so this will be a dinner meeting.  We have a speaker from FPL who will share some ideas on how to implement "green" principles in our operations after dinner, but don't hesitate to come early for the cocktail hour and opportunities for networking with your colleagues in the South Florida Manufacturing Engineering community.

 Our events this year will be open to SME members and also to non-members interested in what SME has to offer.  I encourage you to participate in as many events as you can; the broader the participation of companies and individuals, the more rewarding the social and professional networking aspect of Chapter 150 membership will be.  I hope to meet you soon at one of our events.