COMING UP! Candidate Chat with Rose Lounsbury (10/16), Trap Shoot and Happy hour (10/17), and Workforce/HR Meet Up  (10/22)! Be sure to scroll down to the Events section to find out more.

Tell us your “hot button” issues via the 2-question Top Issues Survey. Didn’t get a link? Contact Amy Schrimpf. Survey deadline is 10/18.

THANK YOU to the 18 members who are hosting student tours this month for MFG Day; see some great pics here. Remember, we’re doing student tours year-round, so you didn’t miss your opportunity to build your pipeline of future workers. Learn more here.

Couldn’t make it to the Business & Bourbon event? See photos here.

Preparing your 2025 budget? Don’t forget to include membership in your local industry association! You can look forward to DRMA upholding our mission to strengthen member companies and to serve as the advocate for manufacturing in the Dayton Region.

Don’t miss these upcoming workshops, exclusively for DRMA member companies. Contact Shay to register

• Supervisory Excellence – Designed to unlock your employees’ leadership potential with practical insights that are vital for excelling in a supervisory role. Presented by Brixey & Meyer. $1,500 for 6 half-day sessions + accountability and coaching sessions.
• GD&T – Learn to read and interpret engineering drawings. Presented by the Workforce Division of Sinclair College. $195 for 2 sessions.
• Blueprint Reading – Learn how to read and interpret basic blueprints. Presented by the Workforce Division of Sinclair College. $140 for one 4-hour session.

DRMA’s Wage and Benefit Survey Report will help you adjust your compensation program in order to attract and retain employees. Did you participate in or purchase the report? If so, attend the Workforce/HR Meet Up on 10/22 where we'll do a deep dive in to the results. Click here for more information and to register! Contact Shay to purchase the report.

DRMA is partnering with the Federal Reserve to give members the opportunity to participate in the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, which is now open through 11/1 for your responses. Owners and key financial decisionmakers of for-profit businesses can share recent experiences about whether and how you use debt, financial conditions you face, and more. Answers to these questions contribute to data that directly inform the Fed, federal government agencies, service providers, policymakers, and others – which ultimately benefits your business and others in our region. We hope you will share your experiences. Take the 12-minute survey now.

Safety Alert! Check out these tips from our workers comp program administrator, Sedgwick:

• One of the many ways the Ohio (BWC) works to protect the integrity of Ohio's workers' compensation system is by identifying and preventing workers’ comp fraud. Understanding the signs of fraud helps protect the system; read more on the types of fraud and how to identify it here.
• Cold weather is right around the corner which means it’s time to change our thinking from heat safety to cold safety. Cold weather hazards can be just as dangerous to our employees as the heat, so it is imperative we take the steps to protect them from these hazards. Read more on protecting your employees in cold weather here.

Have you taken advantage of the 20% OSHA tuition discount offered to DRMA members? If not, contact Shay and she’ll help you get started! 

Volunteering . . . promotes personal growth and self-esteem; strengthens the community; teaches you a lot; gives you a chance to give back; encourages civic responsibility; and provides you a way to make a difference. Want to find out more about volunteering at DRMA? Contact me.

THANK YOU to our Bourbon Event Committee for planning another amazing event last week! Brian Ault (Bruns General Contracting), Kim Coomer (D &E Machine Co.), Laura Fenlon (Cat-Wood Metalworks, Inc.), Jon Foley (Johnson Electric), Colleen Gilardi (A & B Machine, Inc.), Chris McHenry (Lincoln Electric Automation), & Jon Schmiedebusch (Acuren). This group has worked hard to put on this classy event to help raise funds for the DRMA Foundation! DRMA appreciates and thanks the entire Bourbon Event Committee for their commitment to our organization and to the Dayton Region manufacturing industry as a whole.

Member exclusive! WorkAdvance, a proven initiative to supplement your recruitment strategies, will bring you quality candidates to fill your entry-level positions. Candidates are ready now to interview! Contact Susan to learn more.

Join us Workforce/HR Meet Up on 10/22, 11 – 12 p.m., virtual! At this Meet Up, we will do a deep dive into the results of the 2024 Wage and Benefit Survey, with analysis provided by Strategic HR, a division of Clark, Schaefer, Hackett. Free and for only members that participated in the survey or purchased a copy of the report! Register here.

We have a ton of career events coming up that need volunteers! These events are mission-critical for your company to grow YOUR future workforce. They are also a lot of fun! DRMA staff does all the hard work; your job is to talk one-on-one with students when they come up to our display table. We’ll be at Van Buren Middle School (Kettering), Northmont High School (Clayton) and Bethel High School (Tipp City)  – contact Kara to sign up.

We rely on our volunteers to keep our career events running! Click here to see who helped us out recently!

Want $$ to offset your training cost for tech credentials? Funding is available thru TechCred, a program that reimburses employers for employee training up to $2,000 per industry-recognized credential and up to $30,000 per company each application round! The next application round opens soon! Contact a DRMA education partner now – they can help you apply! Learn more here.

We know that finding, hiring, and retaining quality employees is members’ #1 concern. Industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) can help employers validate the knowledge and skills of potential employees and save time in assessing applicants’ competencies. DRMA is playing an integral role to ensure that students are earning credentials that members need. Learn more here.

Considering options to build your new employee pipeline or re-skill or upskill your workforce? DRMA and SOCHE have you covered! SOCHE is hosting a virtual event on 10/30 from 10 – 11 a.m. about new workforce development offerings available through Walsh University – SOCHE’s newest consortium member. Register here.

Supplement your recruiting strategy by attending the following career fair:

• College and Career Fair at Stebbins High School, Dayton, 11/12. Email Jeff to register.

Your Government Relations Committee is holding a series of virtual Candidate Chats leading up to the November election, giving you the opportunity to talk with candidates in a small, focused setting. On the schedule are Rose Lounsbury running for Ohio House District 36 (10/16); Kyle Koehler running for Ohio Senate District 10 (10/23); and Adam Miller running for US House District 15 (10/30). Click on each name for more info and to register. Free and for members only!

10/17, 1:30 - 4 p.m., Trap Shoot; 4 – 5:30 p.m., Happy Hour, Wright-Patt Rod and Gun Club, Fairborn. Presented by Bruns General Contracting and Back to Business I.T. Have fun with your DRMA peers! Fill out your registration form ASAP to reserve your spot! Sponsorships are available, contact Amy! Not a trap shooter but want to attend happy hour? Register here.

10/23, 12 - 12:30 p.m., Lunch & Learn Webinar: CMMC Updates and Potential Impacts, presented by Back to Business I.T. (The Greentree Group). Join us to learn about the expected timelines for contracts and what impacts could be in play for subcontractors or suppliers that process CUI. Register here.

11/7, 4 – 6 p.m., Shoptalk: Voice of the American Workforce, AIDA, Dayton. Hear a short presentation from ResourceMFG about the results from their Voice of the American Workforce survey, followed by peer-to-peer networking and drinks at this impressive manufacturing facility! Register here.

12/5, 4:30 – 7 p.m., – Annual Meeting, The Steam Plant, Dayton. Presented by Sunbelt Business Advisors. Join us for our most essential meeting of the year. The short program will cover 2024 accomplishments, the 2025 budget, and the ratification of new board members, followed by networking festivities – cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, socializing with your DRMA peers. Register here.

WorkAdvance Info Sessions, 1 - 1:30 p.m., Virtual - This grant program is designed to bring you quality candidates to fill your entry-level positions. Attend a FREE info session to learn more.

• 10/23 - Register here.
• 11/13 - Register here.

Meet-Ups - They are FREE and for members only. Join the conversation on these topics.

• 10/16, 4 - 4:45 p.m., Candidate Chat with Rose Lounsbury, candidate for OH House District 36, virtual. Register here.
• 10/22, 11 - 12 p.m., Workforce/HR, virtual. Register here.
• 10/23, 4 - 4:45 p.m., Candidate Chat with Kyle Koehler, candidate for OH Senate District 10, virtual. Register here.
• 10/30, 4 - 4:45 p.m., Candidate Chat with Adam Miller, candidate for US House District 15, virtual. Register here.

DRMA 101 – Whether you are a new member or a seasoned member, kickstart your membership ROI and learn what DRMA does to help you strengthen your business. Contact Shay to sign up!

• 10/31, 8 – 9 a.m., at Huntington Bank, Downtown Dayton (breakfast provided).

For more information on any of our events, visit our website.

Community Event:

• 10/16, 7:30 - 4 p.m., Miami Valley Safety Council 72^nd Annual Conference, Dayton. More information/registration here.

How does saving an extra $4,392 on your workers’ compensation premium sound? That is the average savings of members in our Workers’ Comp Group Program. You need coverage, and DRMA is here to help! However, time is running out to enroll in the 2025 Group Rating Program. The enrollment deadline is 11/18. Contact Paul Feck with Sedgwick at (614) 906-0535 today!

You probably know that we hold small group dialogue sessions called Meet Ups. They are organized around a topic area and are designed to connect members with other members who are interested in the same topic area, so that you can learn from each other in a casual, comfortable atmosphere. What you may not have thought about is that Meet Ups are a perfect professional development opportunity for your staff . . . they will be able to talk with, and learn from, a group of their peers about issues that impact their work responsibilities. I encourage you to encourage them to attend. Click here for more info. 

DRMA is proud to partner with The Abilities Connection and SOCHE in their Bridging Abilities program: You get your light assembly work done at a low price AND help students learn manufacturing skills! Send SOCHE an email at soche@soche.org to learn more.

Attention Manufacturer members: Click here to see manufacturing-pertinent resumes I have received.

Welcome new DRMA members:

• Reliance Matrix
• Starwin