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Call for Nominations: Board of Directors

By Kendra Ansley, NATM Executive Director

Nominations are now open for the 2023-2026 term of the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) Board of Directors. Would you like to be a part of the future success of NATM, or do you know someone who would be a strong leader for the Association? Nominate yourself or someone else!

For more than 30 years, NATM has been guided by committed and visionary members serving on the Board of Directors. It is because of these board members that NATM has a Compliance Verification Program, responded to issues such as tandem towing and tariff challenges, created a national campaign to raise awareness of safe trailering, and launched the Dealer Affiliate program. Through strategic planning, meaningful discussion, and decisive action, the NATM Board is tasked with ensuring the industry and the Association continue to thrive and grow.

For this election, there are four board seats up for election, with one of those positions being the end of term and three are able to run again. There are two associate seats up for election, and both current board members are able to run again.

Nominations Process

Per the NATM Bylaws, the Board of Directors calls for nominations from the Association’s membership. Election of directors takes place by email ballot before the annual NATM Convention & Trade Show. Nominated candidates fill out a questionnaire, which is reviewed by the Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee, chaired by the current vice president, selects a slate of candidates for approval by the Board of Directors. Ballots are sent to all NATM Regular and Associate Members in November. Regular members (trailer manufacturers) elect the regular member directors, and Associate members (suppliers) elect associate member directors.

Board Member Essential Duties and Responsibilities

› Attend all board meetings and committee meetings, training sessions, and special meetings, as appropriate in accordance with the board participation policy (must be available for occasional conference call meetings throughout the year).

Annually, there are four in-person scheduled board meetings that include one at the annual

NATM Convention & Trade Show. The Board may, in its discretion, choose to host a virtual meeting in lieu of in-person based on various factors.

› Attend and participate in the NATM Annual

Convention & Trade Show. Board members are expected to attend and participate in as many convention meetings, luncheons and agenda events as possible.

› Attend meetings at your own expense (hotels can cost up to $300 per night, and total meeting expenses, including airfare, will range from $1,000 to $1,500 per meeting).

› Understand and support the Association, its mission, goals, objectives, programs, operations, and functioning.

› Participate fully and openly in board meetings, sharing insights, ideas, and suggestions that may benefit the Association and the industry.

› Serve and actively participate on one or more committees, as appointed by the president.

› Keep informed about and know what is happening in the industry and never hesitate to ask questions or request information to enhance that knowledge.

› Make decisions on Association and industry-wide issues, policies, programs, goals, and objectives based upon careful consideration of all relevant facts and data.

› Provide advice, counsel, and encouragement to staff, including outside professionals, but offer constructive criticism when necessary and appropriate.

› Serve as an advocate for the trailer manufacturing industry and the Association, placing those interests ahead of your own and your company’s interests, consistent with the Board’s Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Policy. › Carry out special assignments as requested by the board president.

Terms and Term Limits

Board members may serve two consecutive terms of three years each on the NATM Board of Directors. A member who is appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors is eligible to be elected for two complete terms following appointment to the board.

How to Apply or Nominate a Candidate

If you are interested or know someone interested in serving on the NATM Board of Directors ,scan the QR code to submit your information. If you would like more information about the responsibilities and time commitment for serving on the board, contact NATM Executive Director Kendra Ansley at (785) 272-4433 or Kendra.Ansley@natm.com. Nominations must be received by Sept. 30, 2022 to be considered. ■

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Nurturing the Next Generation of Manufacturers: Vermeer’s Child Care Center

By The National Association of Manufacturers News Room

A new study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute says 2.1 million jobs could be unfilled by 2030 because of the gap in manufacturing skills. Read more about the study at https://www.nam.org/2-1-million-manufacturing-jobs-couldgo-unfilled-by-2030-13743/?stream=workforce. Nationally, 4.1% of women quit their jobs in January, reportedly because of COVID-19 related child care disruptions (read more at https://www.nam.org/the-direct-link-between-childcare-and-women-workers-16242/?stream=workforce).

Issues in child care are affecting the industry in numerous ways, but companies are seeking solutions.

In 2012, Vermeer management realized it had been hearing the same refrain from team members for some time: There was a shortage of available, high-quality child care in the Pella, Iowa, area, and it was complicating parents’ work schedules.

Workers’challengesarethecompany’schallenges: Rather than respond with a collective shrug, the company recognized there was a problem—and it vowed to find a solution.

“Especially with early morning shifts, you heard a lot about people leaving their children at a neighbor because parents had to be at work before the bus came or school started,” Vice President of Operations Mindi Vanden Bosch, a third-generation Vermeer family member, recalled.

“We put a task force together and brainstormed. Over the next year and a half, we built the Yellow Iron Academy, Vermeer’s early childhood education center. Every answer from employees since has been, ‘It’s been a game-changer.’”

Notjustcare,buteducation,too:The Yellow Iron Academy, which gets its name from the company’s yellow products, isn’t just a nod at child care. With day-to-day operations run by award-winning third-party child care services provider Bright Horizons, it is a full-fledged center led by qualified professionals, and it aims to ready children for academia—and eventually, careers.

“We’ve had teachers say, ‘Wow, these Yellow Iron kids are coming in with a strong readiness to learn,” said Vermeer Vice President of Human Resources Kate Guess, whose own children attended the center. “Yellow Iron Academy is taking the first steps to encourage kids to consider STEM careers like those in manufacturing,” Guess said.

During Engineering Week, Vermeer professionals come in and talk to the center’s older kids about their jobs as engineers. The kids take regular field trips “across the road” to Vermeer’s facilities to see its museum, equipment and Global Pavilion. “It’s a place where they get excited about all the disciplines of STEM,” Guess said.

Meetingacommunity’sneed: The center, which remained

open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, has achieved its intended goal of providing parents with top-of-the-line supervision and education while alleviating worry about having to cobble together care solutions for the next shift.

Yellow Iron Academy isn’t just for Vermeer kids, though. While Vermeer team members and others with a connection to the company (grandparents, for example) receive discounted care rates, the center “is for the whole community,” Vanden Bosch said. “There is a need for child care in the area and across the entire state.”

Out of the approximately 130 kids at Yellow Iron Academy, about 75 have Vermeer connections, Guess added.

Fillinginschoolgaps: One of the most appreciated aspects of Yellow Iron Academy is its offering of before and after care, or programs prior to and following the school day.

The center opens at 5:30 a.m. and is a pick-up and drop-off point on local school bus routes, so Vermeer team members don’t have to worry about school transportation for their children.