Groundwork
Groundwork Officers Chairman R. Dale Vaughn OCT Equipment, Inc. Oklahoma City, Okla. Vice Chairman WalteR BeRRy Berry Companies, Inc. Wichita, Kan. Treasurer DaViD Scott Intermountain Bobcat Salt Lake City, Utah President BoB henDeRSon The AED Foundation Oak Brook Ill. Immediate Past Chairman Don Shilling General Equipment & Supplies, Inc. Fargo, N.D. AED Board Representative laWRence F. glynn CMW Equipment St. Louis, Mo. Executive Director SteVe JohnSon The AED Foundation Oak Brook Ill. DirectOrs al ceRVeRo AEM, Milwaukee, Wisc. Mike hayeS Komatsu America Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill. chRiStopheR R. WilMot CWPartners, Inc., Orlando, Fla. Michael hinRichSen Caterpillar, Inc., Peoria, Ill. Mike FeSting-SMith NORTRAX, Inc., Moline, Ill. Duane WilDeR Liebherr Construction Equipment Co., Newport News, Va. a. Roy keRn Equipment Corporation of America, Coraopolis, Pa. DenniS l. VanleeuWen GE Capital Solutions, St. Louis, Mo. Dan SneDecoR Volvo Construction Equipment, Asheville, N.C. chRiStopheR peRa HiReach Group, King of Prussia, Pa. DR. John RichMan North Dakota State College, Wahpeton, N.D. RonalD RieckS Wells Fargo Construction, Tempe, Ariz. JiM anDeRSon Anderson Machinery Company, Corpus Christi, Texas November 2009 Construction Equipment Distribution www.cedmag.com 13 attendees at the aeD/QualcoMM Executive Forum in September heard steel industry executive Don McNeeley pose the challenge in this headline. He admon-ished equipment dealers not to forget their role as the chief of their organizations. Despite the blows the economy has dealt to the equipment industry, The AED Foundation has not stopped looking to the future, and has not forgotten its role in securing the abun-dant workforce AED dealerships will require when the turnaround occurs. And it is coming. Are you looking ahead? Product support personnel who have been cut over the last 12 to 24 months will be diffi-cult to replace, having found jobs in parallel industries or entering new fields altogether. Consider this fact: By 2012-2013 it is expected that every industry will be short of techni-cians, resulting in fierce competition to hire the best and most qualified. Technicians are one of your most valuable assets and the best source of return on your investment. This is an important time to continue to support the Foundation's Annual Fund campaign for workforce development. Through 22 AED Accredited Technical Colleges and one AED Education Alliance College, the community-based, school-to-work programs turn out more than 500 quality technicians each year. The continuity of this initiative is imperative to the future strength of our industry. In addition to the Foundation's technical college accreditation program, your invest-ment supports our broader workforce devel-opment program. Seven new Evaluation Team Leaders have been recruited and trained these equipment industry profes-sionals volunteer their time to travel to colleges and evaluate curricula against AED's rigorous technical training standards. There's also an AED AEDWorkforce.com, Foundation site that provides dealers with qualified technician applicants within your specified zip code radius dealers receive an immediate e-mail notification of each new applicant posting. Dealers are also welcome to search the nationwide listings on the site at any time for technicians in their area as well as those listed as willing to relocate. Dealer recruitment resources offered on the Dealer Tools page of are AEDWorkforce.com continuing to be developed and expanded. Lastly, the Foundation has introduced a high-school initiative as a means to accom-plish two key workforce and school partner-ship objectives. First, the bar can be raised as to the quality of secondary technical educa-tion programs. Second, it will facilitate tech-nical colleges, technical high school programs, equipment dealers, and other industry busi-nesses to communicate and develop strong relationships. The first high school to be recognized via this initiative, and as a pilot program, will soon complete all requirements. It is time to plan for tomorrow. Please support The AED Foundation's workforce development initiatives as part of your business plan. Call Carol Schrader in the Development office at 630-468-5113, or e-mail cshrader@ aednet.org for an investment form. Are You Putting Out Fires or Looking Ahead Three to Five Years? Your support of The AED Foundation's 2010 Annual Fund Campaign will help produce more community-based, school-to-work technician programs for the future. The AED Foundation's school-to-work programs turn out more than 500 quality technicians each year.