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Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
October 1st, 2016 #09207 Page #16
The End is here….maybe It is with a great deal of thought and careful consideration that I am thinking this may be my last story. I have enjoyed being back in this game and offering perspective. The strong, positive responses to my stories and articles is making this decision that much more difficult. First, let me apologize to anyone who felt I took personal aim at them in my articles. That was never my intent. I always tried to offer something fun to read, but occasionally, usually in a moment of levity, I apparently offended a few people. I’m sincerely sorry. I do at times offer opinions that may not be in alignment with those of other people. We disagree on issues. It isn’t personal. I have been on all sides of it and have generally referred to my experience in this industry as “having it surrounded” and those experiences sometimes provide me a different perspective. So, here we are. Over the years that I have been engaged in this industry, I have always tried to offer my contributions and “leave it better than I found it.” Along the way, I made many dear friends and gained a great deal of knowledge and insight. I’ve worked in just about every aspect of this industry and it has always been fulfilling to me. This industry picked me up in my greatest moments of need and I have always tried to repay that debt. I spent a great deal of my career as a component manufacturer. It was a grand time. We dealt with the market peaks and valleys much as manufacturers are doing today. I’ve always told people that this industry is incredible. You meet lots of great humans and the customers become your closest friends. I still have former customers who stay in touch, and when I am in their area we arrange to have lunch or dinner and catch up on all of the goings on. My most critical customer at one plant became one of my closest friends. Because he demanded excellence, he made me a better component manufacturer. I learned things by doing. How to be successful in this industry can be challenging. It takes a lot of hard work and extreme focus, but the rewards are very enriching.
as was done during the meeting. In a more relaxed atmosphere, all ego was set aside, and we could talk about the issues and arrive at a solution that would receive an affirmative vote the next day. We were able to move the industry along and we were all proud of the effort and the result. I haven’t seen many of the committee members in years, but we have all remained friends and still speak……not as regularly as I would like, but we speak.
I look back and realize I had opportunities that I might not have appreciated in the moment as well as others may have in the same position. With time and perspective, I would change some of my actions as BCMC Chair. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate being the BCMC Chair, which I did, but it was just one of those times where I did a lot of reacting to things rather than giving a great deal of thought to them while in the moment. Through that experience I learned a great number of things which I would be pleased to pass on to others though. I will save those thoughts and comments for a time when I’m asked for input on what should be done. I remain grateful for all of the help I got. Jill and the committee members were awesome to work with. They all seemed to be “idea people” and just needed someone to wrangle all the ideas into one corral. It was fun and there was room for everyone and every idea. We argued, don’t get me wrong, but at the end of the day we laughed, had a beer, and moved on to more important topics.
It seems I have spent a great deal of time attending WTCA/SBCA quarterly meetings. There was a time when I hadn’t missed a meeting in many years. We lobbied in Washington, D.C. where we managed to get some important work done and someone thought it would be hilarious to capture a picture of me speaking with Senator Feinstein and put it on the cover of a magazine. She and I disagreed on almost everything and that is probably why everyone thought it was so funny. I have very fond memories of joining the Texas contingent after I moved back. We had a very strong group that included industry heavyweights like Rip Rogers, Kent Pagel and Jack Dermer. During those years we spent the days scurrying about Capitol Hill “we were all proud of the effort and result” and the afterhours exploring the Capitol and all of the oddly enjoyable places most people don’t generally have on the tourist route. I had an excellent guide, I had the unique opportunity to be on the ANSI/TPI 1 project committee years ago. Jack Dermer. Jack had grown up in the area and knew At the first meeting, I was consumed with self-consciousness. I was in a room full of many of the best places to enjoy the colorful sights many of the brightest minds in our industry. I also soon realized that getting 40 engineers and sounds of D.C. in a room and trying to agree to anything was going to be tough. Sometimes it seemed Continued on page #18 they couldn’t even agree on what to have for lunch, much less the industry work that was being proposed. I will say that there was as much work done after the day of meetings CARL SCHOENING V P
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