Here's the news we would love to see you put to good use this month, Section leaders. Don't hesitate to contact me directly with any questions or requests for support. I always enjoy connecting with you, hearing what you're working on, and seeing how I can assist.
Thanks for all you do with and for the AWS.
Most sincerely,
-Darrill
Darrill A. Gaschler Sr. Manager, Sections and Student Chapters American Welding Society® P: 305-443-9353 x260 | E: dgaschler@aws.org
In The News This Month
1. Use AWS Resources to Keep Members Informed
2. What Are Other Sections Doing? See For Yourself!
3. WEMCO Excellence In Welding Awards
Join Us for the Women In Welding Virtual Conference - 3/25
6. AWS Partners with Dell to Provide Discounts to Members
1. Use AWS Resources to Keep Members Informed
We are excited to see AWS Section activity continue to pick up with more and more Sections conducting meetings online and some Sections resuming in-person activity, following all local safety protocols, where appropriate to do so.
No matter which type of activity you are planning, communication is key to getting members - and potential members and Section supporters - engaged.
AWS HQ is here to strengthen your efforts.
We can send emails out on your behalf, update your Section's website, post to your Facebook page, provide information about the members assigned to your Section so you can get to "know" them better (this will help you plan for meetings and events that will be of most interest to those in your area), provide you with complimentary access to a Zoom account to ensure you have a platform for your online/hybrid meetings, provide technical support for those meetings, and even provide you with prepared content for your meetings/events.
And if there is something else you may need; just ask. We will be more than happy to help in any way we can.
If you are a Section that maintains your own email service (Constant Contact, MailChimp, or even distributing email from a personal or AWS-provided Section email account), please be sure to request an up to date roster from AWS HQ. Please note that Section rosters are dynamic with new members being added and lapsed members being removed actively. If the roster you are using is more than 30 days old, please discard it and request a new one. Your messaging will not be getting to the current membership, and you may be missing potentially interested members as a result.
Similarly, please check in with AWS HQ prior to creating new accounts.
We have found some Sections have multiple Facebook accounts or have purchased web hosting services or email platforms because they were not aware that these things are available, at no cost, from AWS HQ. We value your time and effort and want to ensure your Section is run as efficiently and effectively as possible. Reducing the number of these redundant accounts will help to ensure that future Section leaders can keep up with the great foundation you've laid while also ensuring that members who are interested in connecting with you are able to get to you via the correct/active platform - not the Facebook account that was created, forgotten about, and hasn't been updated in 7 years.
Email or call Darrill (1-800-443-9353 x260) to talk more about any of this.
2. What Are Other Sections Doing? See For Yourself!
The Upcoming AWS Section Meetings page was created to make AWS Section meetings and events more visible and more accessible than ever before. Click over to review the page and learn how you can join the AWS Connecticut Section for a presentation on Heavy Equipment Repair by Albert Moore on March 9th or join the AWS Iowa Section on March 19th for "ISO 3834 Review and Accreditation Process" with Jeff Hesse and AWS Past President David Landon.
More events are being added each week, so bookmark the page, share it with others, and check back often to see what is going on around the Society.
Want your upcoming meeting or event to be added to the page? Simply select the "Have your meeting/event added to the list of Upcoming Section Meetings" option the next time you submit a request via the Section Request Form.
3. WEMCO Excellence in Welding Awards
Don't forget that the 2021 WEMCO Excellence in Welding Awards Nomination Form is now open. There is a Section category, and self nominations are welcomed!, so please do let WEMCO know about your Section, and join the likes of the AWS Los Angeles/Inland Empire (2019), North Texas (2018), and Mobile (2017) Sections - and others - as a WEMCO Excellence in Welding Awards winner!
Join us for the 1st Women in Welding Mini Virtual Conference hosted by the American Welding Society. We have invited (4) women who have succeeded in this industry to kick-off what we hope will be a series of these virtual events geared towards topics faced by women in this industry.
Registration is free for active AWS Student Members!
Reminder to join us on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 11:00-11:30AM EST OR watch the recording at your convenience.
March 24 – Section Spotlight: Join us to hear from the AWS Colorado Section as Section Publicity Committee Chair Erich Posdzich shares successes compiled from various members of the Section's leadership team. Click here to join us on 3/24 at 11:00AM EST
Grants up to $25,000 available for Welding Schools - Application Deadline April 1st
Grants are available for secondary and post-secondary education/training institutions to enhance and improve welding programs. Schools must be both AWS Educational Institution Members and SENSE Registered to apply. The first application deadline of 2021 is April 1st. Learn more at https://www.aws.org/workforcegrant.
Scholarships for Educators – Deadline April 1st
Scholarships are available for welding instructors and educators for continuing education or professional development courses. The deadline to apply for National and District Educator Scholarships is April 1st. Learn more at www.aws.org/educatorscholarships.
Welding Helmet Prizes for Competitions and Section Student Nights
The American Welding Society Foundation is providing red or black auto-darkening welding helmets, courtesy of Jackson Safety, to be used as prizes for welding competitions or as door prizes at AWS Section student events.
*Want your Section to support - and benefit from - an upcoming Seminar & Exam that is scheduled to come to your area? Complete the AWS Section Agreement Form to express your interest.
Upcoming Professional Development Webinar
Aluminum Welding for Fabricators, Inspectors & Engineers: March 30 – April 8
Is welding aluminum difficult or just different? This live webinar addresses that question and provides you the information needed to confidently work with aluminum. By the end of the course, attendees will be able to identify aluminum properties that affect its use in welded structures; design, fabricate, and inspect aluminum weldments; and explain how to properly qualify aluminum welding procedures and welders.
6. AWS Partners with Dell to Provide Discounts to Members
Dell Technologies is at the forefront of driving the digital future. Dell gives today's workforce what they need to securely connect, produce, and collaborate; anywhere at any time. Award-winning desktops, laptops, 2-in-1s and thin clients; powerful workstations and rugged devices made for specialized environments, as well as monitors, docking and endpoint security solutions and services, workers get exactly what they need to work the way they want.
Dell provides AWS members discounts on Dell branded technology, access to special events and a team of technology advisers ready to answer your IT questions. Shop at www.dell.com/Welders, call 800-757-8442 (mention AWS), or reach out to our account manager via email at Steven.Shipe@dell.com.
Don't Forget About the AWS Section Toolkit!
Resources like those noted in this newsletter, and so much more, are ready for you in the AWS Section Toolkit. While you're there; bookmark it!
One last request: Please share this with your fellow Section leaders to ensure they stay up-to-speed on all Section-related news.
About this email:
Each month, I will distribute an electronic newsletter to all active Section Officers and Section Committee Chairpersons (who have a valid email address in our database).
The goal of distributing these newsletters is to effectively communicate important details we want you to be aware of.
I encourage you to discuss these details with your Section’s leadership team to ensure everyone is up-to-speed on all relevant news coming from AWS Headquarters as well as a feature on recent successes from some of your colleagues in the field. Reviewing these details as a team is a great way to promote and foster a strong line of communication among Section leadership as well as within your Section.
American Welding Society, 8669 NW 36th Street, Doral, FL 33166, United States, 8004439353
