Expo

On March 20 & 21  there will be the West Virginia Construction and Design Exposition at the Charleston Civic Center. This exposition features hundreds of vendors and groups that participate with industry in this state. Many of ISA’s sponsors will have a booth although the expo goes well beyond the chemical and oil industries. This year the Charleston Section of ISA will have a booth. The purpose of our booth is fact finding and informational.

The show has lots of free training for everyone who needs credits and for those who just want to learn the latest trends. This year there will also be a Marcellus to Manufacturing Conference as part of the Expo. The ISA booth will be in that section. That section will enable the exhibitors and attendees who are involved in the oil, gas, and chemical industries to concentrate at one end of the expo.

ISA is looking for volunteers to help man the booth. This is an ideal opportunity to get permission from the boss to support professional development. You can spend two hours helping ISA by talking with people who come by the booth and then spend the rest of the day at free seminars and talking with vendors about the latest industry trends. If done well you could solve the latest technical problem at work with a design that is less expensive and more flexible than you realized.

There are a lot of talented and professional people in this state. These people did not learn everything they know from school and they did not learn everything they know from on the job experience in a vacuum. They have learned over the years by fixing problems and designing solutions with the help of vendors and mentors and associates and friends and learning from the internet and other classes. We want to know their story. ISA has the resources and the charter to be part of the catalyst of professional development over the upcoming years. It is time to listen to the current and future professionals to see how they hope to become the experts in the future and what they need to get there. This show should be a great opportunity to ask lots of them about their vision. And to let them know that ISA is available to help.

Until next month,
Grace MacMillen
Self proclaimed Automation Expert, CAP, and PE