Widespread Manufacturing Month Events Across Florida

Manufacturing Day and month is an exciting time to see STEM-at-work and play. In addition to

the industry tours for students and educators, Manufacturing Month drew community-wide support & drew attention of politicians well. These included: A proclamation from Governor Rick Scott recognizing October 2016 as Manufacturing Month was issued earlier this month. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties each issued countywide MFG Day/Month proclamations. The City of Clearwater, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg, FL, also each issued proclamations, with similiar proclamations issued by cities and communities across the state. MFG Month events also include panel discussions featuring area manufacturers and Chambers of Commerce events, open house events at community and technical colleges and association events. 

FLATE (the Florida‐based National Science

Foundation Regional Center of Excellence in Manufacturing), FloridaMakes (part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership), Manufacturing Alliance of Hillsborough County, the state’s Regional Manufacturers Associations partnered with regional manufacturing companies, Florida’s community and college networks and school districts across Florida to support industry tours and events across the state. “This is the 5th year for Manufacturing Day/Month, and students, parents, educators and manufacturers all tell us that opening the door for these events is an eye-opener, heightening awareness of and interest in manufacturing as a potential career for many students,” said Dr. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE. “Most students, parents and educators don’t know how diverse and robust Florida’s manufacturing sector truly is,” said Greg Britton, CEO of Fort Walton Machining, Inc., Fort Walton Beach, and a board member for FloridaMakes. “We need to help build awareness of the tremendous opportunities available in manufacturing so we can build a pipeline of future workers and future company owners.”

Additional October Events for Manufacturers
During October 2016, a number of special and/or ongoing events are taking place for manufacturers, including:

• October 6 – Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Awards Dinner, Oldsmar, FL.
• October 7 – Suncoast Technical College Open House, Sarasota, FL. 
• October 8-9: Roboticon at USF Sundome. Tampa, FL. 
• October 8: An Afternoon with an Astronaut at the Museum of Science & Industry. Tampa, FL. 
  
• October 20 – FloridaMakes’ free webinar for manufacturers: “Cybersecurity: What You and Your Employees Need to Know, Now.” October is also National Cybersecurity Month. 
• October 20 – Women in MFG Movie & Discussion at Middleton High School. Tampa, FL. 
• October 21 – Manufacturers Association of Central Florida: 25th Anniversary - Annual President’s Dinner and Manufacturing Awards Ceremony. Maitland, FL. 
• October 22 – MFG Run, Walk, Paddle hosted by MasterCut Tools, Tampa, FL. 
• November 5 – STEM Festival at St. Petersburg College, Clearwater Campus. Clearwater, FL.

For a listing of 2016 Florida’s Manufacturing Day news and events, visit the Florida

Manufacturing Day page at http://madeinflorida.org/manufacturing-day, or contact your local Regional Manufacturers Association. In addition, many of Florida’s events are also listed on the national MFG Day website here; you can also visit the Manufacturing Day in Florida website at www.mfgday-fl.com. Manufacturers and others will be sharing news about manufacturing month using the hashtags #MFGDay16 and #FLMfgMonth16. For information on other national manufacturing day events and tours visit www.mfgday.com, or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.