“I think I want to be a plumber because plumbing seems like a big puzzle,” says 17-year-old Ella, who I met at a National Manufacturing Day event sponsored by in Knoxville, Tenn. Ella is a tiny, timid girl hiding behind glasses and blazing blue hair. It’s an ah-hah moment for me. “Oh, you like puzzles?” I respond. “Manufacturing is an infinite number of puzzles waiting to be solved.” Now I have her attention.
Puzzles come up again later that day when someone asks me, “What exactly does do?” The short answer is we convene, connect, and catalyze, but what does that mean? Celebrating Manufacturing Day in multiple locations this month has given me a fresh perspective. I picture what IACMI is trying to accomplish as a large puzzle, except this puzzle has pieces that are constantly evolving.