A milestone for automation professionals

I received this email from Steve Huffman, the President of ISA. I am stoked. Keep on going, Steve! Walt: To follow-up on our dinner conversation in Baltimore, a small group of ISA, WBF, and senior staff members had the opportunity to present our case under the Automation Federation banner for automation advocacy last week on Capitol Hill. Not being a beltway type, I was thrilled by all the obvious monuments to the center of power in our country, and privileged to lead this group into what had been the great unknown to ISA. If workforce development as we intend it for the automation profession is going to succeed, our lawmakers have to know who we are, what automation does to the bottom line in industry, how many professional and skilled jobs automation creates, and most importantly, our critical plans to replace we baby-boomers who got here by accident and evolved with the technology. This ticking time bomb needs awareness and education programs that make sense to people considering this kind of career. In short, your last paragraph of the June editorial is a broad expression of our plan with industry, government, and university relations activities and connectivity. It started last week with visits to two Senators and will continue with more visits, invitations to industry summits, academic relations and programs. Again, in keeping with how most of this year has gone for our leadership team and me at ISA, it has been and continues to be"¦ a thrill and a privilege. Thanks, Steve