Gratitude and Recognition for All Involved

The fall issue of Valve, appropriately, is published during the Thanksgiving season here in the U.S. This issue also follows VMA’s 86^th Annual Meeting, which is when I have the honor of recognizing all the individuals who contribute to VMA. This season and always, I am truly grateful to all of our members and the VMA staff for all that they do to ensure that VMA provides the most value to our members. 

This year, VMA recognized Andy Duffy of Emerson, with the prestigious Person of the Year Award and Mitch Anderson of Bray International as the Service Award recipient. Both individuals embody the essence of what the awards recognize — contributions that benefit the individual, membership, greater industry and the companies each person works for. With so many retirements and other changes in our industry, what stands out with both winners is their willingness to mentor and share their knowledge. Read more about the Awards in VMA News.

I’m also grateful that each person — whether a member or the VMA staff — is a pleasure to work with and is committed to moving the VMA and our industry forward. Also during the Annual Meeting, the VMA leadership reviewed some of the successes and activities of VMA over the last year. These included a more user-friendly member resource library to access information on regulations, government requirements, technical information from presentations and more. We spent a lot of time on educating our government leaders about the importance and value of many PFAS substances used by our industry to ensure that our products perform as intended and keep air clean, employees safe and other positive outcomes. Additionally, VMA continued to provide fantastic platforms to educate and provide industry networking through many events. None of this would be possible without VMA’s staff or members who volunteer their time and expertise.

At the end of the summer, VMA held its Market Outlook Workshop. The Workshop is unique in that it is held in conjunction with members of the Hydraulic Institute. In addition to the great networking across the flow control industry that takes place with both valve and pump manufacturers and distributors, the speakers also address and provide insights into the end-use markets applicable to both groups. For those unable to attend this time, check out the article in this issue, and plan to attend next year!

As always, if you’d like to find out more about VMA please contact me at hrhoderick@vma.org.