The Coronavirus, no doubt, has touched all of us. We are working hard at my company, producing products that matter in an uncertain, rapidly changing world. I have the utmost respect and pride for my employees who are coming to work and doing what needs to be done to ensure we make it safely through the pandemic, as well as support our US economy. It is my guess that many of you are doing the same thing, as the industries we serve are vital to the United States infrastructure. It is at this moment that I would like to personally commend each and every one of you who are proudly and patriotically serving your country through manufacturing. TLARGI is a community and, as such, we can come together to help each other.

It's hard to believe that this is the 92nd annual April Newsletter! I want to thank all who attended our February Dinner Meeting themed Spouses Night. We met in the Phoenix Club's Pavilion Room, which was nicely appointed with up-lighting and draped linens. It was a very nice setting for a night of casino gaming. We had a great time and there were some big winners! The TIPS session, which was organized by our Technical Committee Chairman Ragin Amrutiya, featured guest speaker Rick Zeibell from RD Abbott presenting the Application and Technology of the Hydrogen Cell.

Sadly, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, our dinner meeting on April 7th at the Knott's Berry Farm Hotel has been postponed until further notice. Safety is our number one focus and right now the recommendation from the CDC is to cancel gatherings of more than 5 people. May you and your family be safe in these trying times.

TLARGI's Basic Rubber Technology Class welcomed a new graduating class on March 12. Instructors Rick Ziebell and Matt Rodgers presented the 20-week course to the class which graduated 46 students, 10 more than last year. We thank Rick and Matt for their continued dedication to the class. They do an exceptional job and the class gets better and better every year. TLARGI would also like to thank Wacker Silmix, Hexpol Compounding, MR Mold & Engineering and R & S Processing for opening their facilities for class tours. We'd also like to thank guest speaker Kevin Kulbaba for bringing his expertise to the class.

THE SUMMER CONFERENCE IS ON!!!! We're all looking forward to the Summer Conference which is just a few short months away. The Summer Conference Committee, led by Gabriel Gonzalez and Jackie Gandara, will be taking place in fabulous LAS VEGAS on the weekend of June 5-7. This is a new location for us and we're all excited for the new adventure. It appears to be KID FRIENDLY complete with a lazy river! Please find more details of the conference in this month's newsletter.

2020 is now in full swing and there's been a lot of work to put together a year's worth of meetings and activities. I want to especially thank Darren Marcoux for all his help in putting this year together with me. Also, I want to thank the Board of Directors and all the Committee Chairs and committee members for their work and commitment to making TLARGI a successful organization.

Bernardyne Gillespie Campana
2020 TLARGI Chairman