Congratulations to the 2024 FLATE Award Winners!

FLATE (Florida Advanced Technological Education Center), FloridaMakes and FAITE (Florida Association for Industrial and Technical Educators) are pleased to announce winners of the 2024 FLATE Manufacturing Awards. This year’s Awardees include:

• David Yocum, Advanced Manufacturing Teacher, Anclote High School, Clearwater, FL will receive the 2024 Distinguished Manufacturing Secondary Educator-of-the-Year Award.

• Gil Burlew, Advanced Manufacturing & Production Instructor, Manatee Technical College, Bradenton, FL will receive the 2024 Distinguished Manufacturing Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year Award

• Pauline Sevigny, President & Owner, GRACE Aerospace, LLC will receive the 2024 Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award

• Most Innovative Manufacturing Month Student Event Award Winners (tie for 1st):
• St. Petersburg College: 2023 Manufacturing, Engineering, Construction, and Architecture Expo (MECCA) Discovery Day, Clearwater, FL. Partners for this event included Pinellas County Schools, Urban League, and Homeless Empowerment Group.
• Bausch + Lomb Pharmaceuticals: Manufacturing Month Student Industry Tours, Tampa FL

This is the 17th year FLATE has recognized educators at the secondary and postsecondary level and industry partners for their outstanding contributions to promote manufacturing related technical education in Florida.

"The FLATE Awards shine a spotlight on the dedicated educators and industry partners shaping the future of manufacturing. Their unwavering commitment to advanced technical education empowers the next generation of skilled workers, driving innovation and prosperity within Florida's manufacturing landscape," said Ernie Friend, Executive Director of FLATE. "Congratulations to all the applicants and winners of this year's prestigious awards."

The Most Innovative Manufacturing Month Student Event Awards recognize outstanding and innovative ways to promote manufacturing career awareness and technology education through innovative student outreach events. In-person or virtual events include student tours of manufacturing facilities or other events that engage students in innovative ways directly with manufacturers.

Awardees were selected from a distinguished pool of nominations submitted from across the state and were judged by an awards committee comprised of industry representatives, FAITE board members, past awardees, and members of the FloridaMakes Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Leadership Committee (AMWLC)

"FloridaMakes is proud of the 2024 FLATE Awardees for their work in manufacturing education in Florida," said Kevin Carr, FloridaMakes CEO. "It is important to continuously build our pipeline of youth entering the manufacturing industry and recognizing excellence in manufacturing education is one way we can do this.”

The recently released 2023 Florida Manufacturing Report by FloridaCommerce with support from FloridaMakes highlights Florida manufacturing GDP of $72.9 billion. This GDP outpaces many key sectors in Florida. Find the report here.

Awardees will be recognized at the 2024 Florida Association for Career and Technical Education (FACTE) Annual Conference & Trade Show that will be held July 15-17, 2024 at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The winners will also serve as panelists for the Best Practice Award Winners Panel at the conference.

About FloridaMakes

FloridaMakes is a statewide, industry-led, public-private partnership operated by an alliance of Florida's regional manufacturers associations with the sole mission of strengthening and advancing Florida’s economy by improving the competitiveness, productivity and technological performance of its manufacturing sector, with an emphasis on small- and medium-sized firms. FloridaMakes is the official representative of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) National Network in the state of Florida, a program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more information visit FloridaMakes.com.

About the Florida Advanced Technological Education (FLATE) Center

FLATE is a Center of Excellence for advanced technological education and is committed to ensuring that Florida has a well-prepared workforce for advanced and emerging technologies in manufacturing by providing educational resources and strategies for curriculum, professional development and student recruitment in secondary and post-secondary education. FLATE was created in 2004 through a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program which is focused on improving STEM education to meet the needs of American advanced technology industries. In 2020, FLATE became a part of the FloridaMakes network. For more information visit www.fl-ate.org.