The Light Green Machine Institute is over a decade old (notice at the top of the newsletter, Volume 13, issue 10). We've been working hard for the last year or so to place the organization on a firmer footing and formalize its operations. I am pleased to tell you we have a new board of directors. Please support them as they work to establish protocols, procedures and other matters necessary to run the organization effectively and sustainably. I have asked Gary Rudemiller and Jeff Smith, both with long experience in educational non-profit organizations, to be key leaders in launching this new phase. They and the other board members have graciously accepted their roles. Please read their opening comments below. Volunteer to help out where you can. Gary can be reached at lgmi.gary@gmail.com and Jeff can be reached at jeffa0954@gmail.com. Below are their first remarks.

Jim Thompson

Stakeholders of the Light Green Machine Institute,

The Light Green Machine Institute is at a critical point where additional structure is needed to sustain the business entity into the future. Since its launch in 2009, a track record of implementing elements of structure has established it as an incorporated 501(c)(3) that now needs to be more formalized. Therefore, we have embarked upon a path to establish a Board of Directors with appropriate committees to bring appropriate governance. Jim Thompson has established a slate of directors for which the objectives of the first-year focus on defining governance practices.

The Board has defined objectives for completion during the next year to accomplish a sound structural foundation for the LGMI:

1. Organize the board administratively

2. Design and implement a broad confidentiality agreement for Board members

3. Develop a working knowledge and understanding of matters such as ASTM's standards writing protocol (or equivalent from somewhere else)

4. Develop a process to select projects to take forward

5. Select four or five projects to take forward and create the associated working groups 

6. Develop a formal board rotation/succession plan

7. Establish a structure for LMGI member dues/other fees to provide financial stability

These accomplishments by the Board will develop the protocols, procedures and functions to make LGMI a self-sustaining entity in the future.

A small group has already engaged in conversations about the governance aspects for a Board of Directors, inclusive of By Laws and Committee structure. That group consists of Gary Rudemiller and Jeff Smith, with Evan Ericson, Georg Handl and Jim Thompson as key advisors. A virtual meeting of all Board members will be held in the near term to discuss the processes needed to accomplish the seven items listed above.

For your information, those who have answered the call to serve are:

- Bryan Norwood, Capital Project Manager, Smurfit Kappa, Forney, Texas

 

- Jim Kicklighter, Mill Manager, Greif, Taylors, South Carolina

 

- Jeremy Rogles, President, Mueller Field Operations, Springfield, Missouri

 

- Georg Hadl, Director, Automation and Digitalization, Andritz, Vienna, Austria

 

- Evan Ericson, Technical Expert, Voith, Appleton, Wisconsin

 

- Tom Brookreson, CFO, NORPAC, Longview, Washington

 

- Joe Broz, Vice President, Tissue, Georgia Pacific (ret), Camas, Washington

 

- Gary Rudemiller, Executive Director, Paper Science & Engineering Foundation, at Miami University Oxford, Ohio

- Jeff Smith, BTG (retired), Alpharetta, Georgia

 

- Jim Thompson, Talo Analytic International, Duluth, Georgia

We want to thank you all for your interest in the future of the LGMI.

Gary Rudemiller & Jeff Smith

4 May 2022