Talking Points for Thanksgiving Day Table

 

There’s a lot to talk about this Thanksgiving Day.  Be careful.  It’s always true but especially true this year, politics should stay out of the table talk. 

I’m in the industrial development business as a career. I subscribe to the point of view that everyone has a role in industrial development though.  Accept my humble list of things to consider as talking points for your Thanksgiving Day turkey time.

Homesick Ohioans.  The number one illness among former Ohioans is homesickness.  The antidote may very well be served at the family Thanksgiving table.  The reasons to move back to Ohio are more and more numerous.  Visiting grandma is good.  Job opportunities are the top draw to bring people back to Ohio.

Less People Moving Out.  Out migration is something demographers track.  Trends are trending in our state’s favor.  Many will be surprised to learn that Ohio is net positive for out migration in recent years.  As a state, we’re number one in improving this measure since 2015.  Ohio ranks eighth for retaining college students.  

More People Moving In.  We have seen some anecdotal trends in the last few years of more people moving into Ohio. My mind goes to new families I’ve come to know from New Jersey, California, and Missouri among those moving here in just the last year.  One report showed 87,000 job seekers moving to Ohio since 2019.

JobsOhio has tied the Ohio “Heart of it All” campaign to successful efforts to help connect opportunities for homesick Ohioans and people new to Ohio at FindYourOhio.com.

STEM Learning.  Ohio needs to fill jobs requiring STEM skills more than ever.  STEM careers span many growing industries in Ohio. It starts before kindergarten.  I’ve found that STEM learning experiences as a family are key.  Inspiration is the key to finding that STEM career path and the higher paying job it brings.  It happens in more than just our schools.

Reshoring Manufacturing. Reshoring of manufacturing is real and Ohio is high ranking in achieving investment from manufacturers.  Despite some tough economic factors this year, the list is growing.  Behr Paint opened in Licking County in April with the ability to make seven million gallons of latex paint a year.  Joby Aviation is hiring in Dayton.  Honda/LGES nears day one in Fayette County.  Ohio is a vital part of this national trend that has truly just begun.

Energy Independence.  Manufacturers need electricity.  Ohio is at the heart of our national energy independence.  80% of U.S. energy independence is owed to three states—Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  We need to seize our strengths and emphasize that Ohio does have power.

Making Chips.  The semiconductor industry is a rollercoaster, and Ohioans have been on that rollercoaster now going on three years. Stay the course is what I say. We can’t forget that Intel is part of a ten-fold increase in investment in the chip making industry in the U.S. that is absolutely vital to our national security.

Bottom Line: The job opportunities promised, in both the high-profile projects as well as the less high-profile reshoring of manufacturing, are going to materialize over the next few years.  The end result of our collective efforts to prepare will be Ohio better seizing the opportunities that exist.  We all benefit.

It all could start at our Thanksgiving Day tables.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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This column is a regular development column for the Newark Advocate.

The March Madness of STEM Learning Hit Licking County

 

March Madness is upon us.  From my point of view, it’s already hit Licking County.  Three days of STEMfest! at The Works recently took place in downtown Newark and really brought a spotlight to how much STEM learning is part of our day to day.

STEMfest! has always been the science equivalent of a basketball tournament. Fueled by the energy of our kids learning about the value of science, technology, engineering, and math skills in a hands-on way, the 2024 edition didn’t disappoint.

Over 1,000 people went through the doors at The Works coupled with demonstrations by a dozen local manufacturers.  There were 100 teams from four counties, including students from public and private schools from most of Licking County’s school districts competing in industry challenges.

Our Licking County version of STEM learning has the greatest value because of local relevance.  There are places to learn STEM skills and there are places to work that need those STEM skills. 

Our industries crave STEM skills.  I’m glad to share just three examples on the Port Authority campus in Heath how STEM ties into their day, though it was really hard to stop at just three. 

Kaiser Aluminum’s hot rolled aluminum is a niche process that provides the strength essential to aircraft.  The metallurgical science involved is unique to Kaiser in Heath.

MISTRAS Group sees all of the metal for Space X rockets stream through their doors. Ultrasound, submersion, and x-ray techniques are the technologies behind their material testing processes.

Boeing inertial guidance systems require the precision ability to hit the equivalent accuracy of a pencil point on a football field.  Engineering aided by decimal point levels of math is what make their gyroscopes work.

STEM learning is what makes STEM careers happen.

Though inspiration for a STEM career can come from just about anywhere—that next door neighbor who tinkers in his garage to that aunt who leads a local manufacturer--it’s the school experience that counts. 

That’s why I’m impressed by Newark City Schools and their approach.  For more than a dozen years, Newark has embraced STEM in all grades.  Pre-engineering and robotics hit middle schools 10 years ago.  Advanced classes in engineering, math, computer science, and physics are now commonplace.  Newark’s STEM summer camp offerings are icing on the curriculum cake. 

Par Excellence STEM Academy is all-in on STEM too.  The school rebranded with STEM in a big way this school year.  Par has embraced engineering and project-based learning approaches that are already gathering attention.  National attention.  Later this month, Par’s elementary school students will meet one of our local company leaders to learn about brain tissue research.  Yes, brain tissue research is happening in Licking County and, now, it’s being demonstrated to fourth graders.

It’s important we keep introducing the next generation to the value of STEM learning and STEM careers.  The Works STEMfest! is a vehicle for that and has been for 15 years.

March Madness has already come to Licking County.

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This column is a regular development column for the Newark Advocate.

Yes, Vienna, There is a Santa Claus (And He Likes Ohio)

 

An open letter to my granddaughter for Christmas.

Yes, Vienna, there is a Santa Claus. I talked to him and, just like every year, there will be a toy, a tool, and a toothbrush in your stocking. You will have a couple nice gifts too. 

My conversation with Santa went beyond your stocking and what was to be under the tree.  I also talked to Santa about some economic gifts, and my wish for a bright future for you. Grandpa thinks that way. 

Manufacturing. Grandpa subscribes to the thinking that a strong economic base is found in industry that makes more than it would sell locally.  Manufacturing has been the beating heart of the Heart of It All.

When I was your age, the factories were strong and kids watched their parents go to work earning good pay. For much of my lifetime, though, a robust Ohio manufacturing scene was not the case.  However, it sure looks to me that your future sees a growing manufacturing base again. Ohio is leading the way among the states with onshoring of manufacturing jobs.

In your hometown, Behr Paint will open a new manufacturing facility next year.  Behr is creating jobs that would have gone overseas just a few years ago.  Boeing is at its highest level of employment in the last twenty years. 

We don’t have to drive far for more signs of growth. Ohio has seen its share of onshoring good news for a few years in a row now.  Intel’s plant should be more visible at some point next year.  Honda and LG Chem are already above ground near I-71 in Fayette County. 

Workforce. Grandpa also believes that a healthy economy requires population growth among the working age population. Ohio has some challenges there. My hope is that efforts to get homesick Ohioans back home and put out the welcome mat for new Ohioans is part of the mix of building our healthy state economy. 

My hope for your generation is that a good economy is a reason to stay in Ohio when you are working age. My generation scattered and created a long list of people homesick for their home state.  The cure for homesickness is coming home, or never leaving in the first place.

STEM Learning. My wish is for you to experience a country with a different outlook on women in STEM careers. Girls, at a younger age, talk about STEM careers, but statistics show more tend to stop talking about them as they get older.  I don’t get it. There’s no reason for women to only fill 25% of STEM jobs.  I hope you and your generation reverse this trend.

If your God-given talents call you towards a science and technology career, answer the call.  Opportunities are here, in Ohio.

Your hometown science museum, The Works, has had a STEM learning focus and so do many of the schools in your home county.  There’s a clear link between STEM learning options and STEM career opportunities.

It’s no surprise that companies that have chosen Ohio remark on the history of manufacturing, a manufacturing culture, and STEM learning infrastructure as key reasons to invest in the state. 

Santa didn’t leave these under the tree, but they are gifts Ohio enjoys nonetheless.

So, yes, Vienna, there is a Santa Claus.  And he likes Ohio.

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This column is a regular development column for the Newark Advocate which also appeared in the Columbus Dispatch.