Welcome to our last FLATE Focus Newsletter of 2010

We are very excited to end 2010 with the long awaited re-launching of our Made in Florida website.  In response to our fall 2009 stakeholder survey that many of you responded to, we found that we could address much of the feedback and many of the comments by making additions and upgrades to this site.  Please take a look at the new www.madeinflorida.org. 

We now have a more focused area to highlight industry including our FLATE honor roll of companies who have partnered with us in our outreach efforts.  We also have new pages dedicated to introducing the breadth of Florida manufacturing industries to our students and rising employees that we expect to grow with help and input from our industry partners.  These pages provide quick information about what different companies actually make here in Florida and some of the jobs that are available at these companies. Other industry links include Partner Industry Profiles; Corporate Honor Roll; our popular virtual tours; industry based educational challenges; FLATE Awards; and also Florida industry facts.  Early in 2011 we will be adding interactive maps of Florida industry, colleges and high school programs supporting manufacturing. 

Another new highlight is our link to student profiles. Watch for this section to grow as educational institutions disseminate the request for student responses, and please let us know if you have a student to add! Other highlights this month include state recognition of FLATE’s degree program implementation at St. Petersburg College as well as by the Occupational and Workforce Commission of the Florida Association of Community Colleges (FACC). Check up on the FESC and BITT project activities and don’t forget to try the new sTEm puzzle.  Dr. Gilbert’s 2011 New Year’s resolution is to reveal the solutions and we hope they will come early in the year.

Please congratulate Kati Prosen, our BITT project manager who was awarded her Masters of Science Degree in Microbiology from USF on Dec 6.  Finally, please welcome Janice Muhkia’s new son, Ethan, born December 1.  Both Janice and Ethan are doing well – and we will be glad when she is back with FLATE in February to take over the newsletter publication duties. Happy holidays to all. Be safe, rest and relax, enjoy your families and friends.