From standing room only breakout sessions, to inspiring panelists, brand new awards, and so much more in-between UMA wrapped up their 3rd annual Women in Manufacturing Conference.
This year’s theme was “Lace Up & LEAD” inspired by our team’s desire to be comfortable working big events and pointing out how men’s fashion allows for a nice suit/blazer and fancy sneaker combo. Well, we decided to flip the script and encouraged women throughout manufacturing and manufacturing adjacent industries to lace up their favorite pair of sneakers and rock them with jeans, dresses, and in one special case boxer-inspired robe. A huge shout-out to our President/CEO Todd for coming up with catching name and our marketing manager Jenn for bringing his words to life.
This year’s conference brought in over 200 women and men from across the state of Utah, with some travelling as far as St. George, ready to learn, network and overall have a great time. I mean can you think of a better way to spend a Wednesday? We owe a huge thank you to our event title sponsor Autoliv. Their support of women in the industry and generous donation allowed us to expand this year conference and create a bigger impact in the industry.
The morning started off with a delicious continental breakfast sponsored by Marathon Petroleum and networking in the showroom of the SLCC Miller Campus. Attendees also were treated to a swag bag and a t-shirt (printed by local company Truwear) featuring the new UMA Women in Manufacturing logo. Thank you to those who donated to the swag bags this year: Girl Power Puzzles, Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets, Superior Grinding, Jenn Sparks Photography, Taffy Town, Nucor, and Spectrum Recruiting Solutions.
Soon everyone gathered into the main auditorium to listen to the keynote speaker (sponsored by Rocky Mountain Medical Clinic) Ginger Chinn, Manager of Government Relations at Northrop Grumman. She gave an amazing welcoming message of always pushing yourself to try new things and to not let your fear stop you.
Attendants then poured out to attend the first round of breakout sessions (sponsored by Utah Inland Port Authority). A few made sure to take a quick stop at our free headshot station shot by Erin Salas Photography. We couldn’t be more grateful for our breakout speakers who kept their talks engaging and informative. Our first round included Nichole Harrop, Career Coach and Founder of Growvio discussing the power of networking. She tackled the negative connotation associated with the word networking, by reframing it as you are out to make new friends. We also had Megan Ware, VP of Member Affairs at UMA, drawing a crowd as she discussed the hot topic of how to effectively work and lead a multi-generational workforce. Keep an eye on upcoming UMA events or join our mailing list if you want to delve deeper into this topic. Finally, we had Tulinda Larsen, Special Advisor at UMA, and Marla Trollan, Utah Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, helping women gain their woman owned business designation and finding resources such as grants to help them grow their business.
Our next round of inspiring breakout speakers (sponsored by Nucor) covered topics such as emotional intelligence, standing out when job searching, and finding funding. Marty Moore, Director of Training and Outreach at UMA, had the room filled to capacity (and then some!) as he discussed how to make emotional intelligence your superpower. This soft skill is in high demand and don’t worry if you were not able to attend. This topic is a cornerstone section of our Frontline Leader Series. Check out our Frontline Leader page for upcoming workshops! We also were treated to Katie Smith, Director of People & Culture at Reading Horizons giving us relatable advice and movie clips to illustrate the importance of a clean standout resume and once you get the job how to know and ask for what you are worth. Our last session was led by Seth Parkinson, Business Advisor, and Rachel Pegouske, Underwriter both from JB&B Capital as they discussed how to obtain financing for your business. They went beyond equipment to answer questions about the variety of funding options for different purchases to help attendees find what they need.
Attendees once again descended onto the showroom for a delicious catered lunch of kabobs (sponsored by Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets). They mingled, took photos in front of our custom backdrop, and relaxed. We want to give a shout-out to Second Star Balloons for the gorgeous arches. Service partners such as Select Health, Spectrum Recruiting Solutions, and Ossine Shoes were available to discuss how they could help these individuals and companies. On their way to the auditorium to hear the women’s panel attendees were able to stop and get a custom soda courtesy of Swire Coca-Cola and Lakanto and a Women in Manufacturing branded cookie (sponsored by Compass Minerals).
The highly anticipated women’s panel was moderated by our Board Chair Karen Griffin, VP of Programs and Compliance from Jas D. Easton/Hoyt, who also sponsored the panel. She asked a mix of humorous and thought-provoking questions to the panel. Our diverse panel included (from left to right) Sue Lyons, Director of Manufacturing at Lakanto; Erin Barry, VP of Governmental Affairs for Merit Medical Systems; Misty Sessions, Business and Marketing Specialist at EMS Solutions; Bayley Hedglin, Mayor of Monticello and Associate Director of Development at Utah State University; Becky Marquette, Career Coach and Co-Founder of STEMheads, and Jenean Goodsell, Chief People Officer of Paramount Machine. Each woman provided a unique perspective to each question and were relatable as they discussed their careers, struggles, work/life balance and more.
Next came the brand-new UMA ForgeHER awards (sponsored by Select Health). These awards were given to women who had made outstanding contributions to the manufacturing industry in leadership, innovation, mentorship, and technical expertise. We were flooded with nominations highlighting some amazing women in the industry. We were proud to award to eight outstanding individuals.
Kaitlyn Ladwig, Shipping Lead at Five Star Airport Alliance Inc
Natalie Koyle, Manager of Production/US logistics at NuSkin Enterprises
Sherry Van Mondfrans, Glass Specialist with 3Form
Gretchen Hasenoehrl, President of CNC Fabrication
Vida Moss, Operations Manager at Country Lazer
Cari Dietrich, Principal Engineer of Research and Development at Northrop Grumman
Rebekah Stuart, Group Product Manager at Hexcel Corporation
Elena Balasa, Senior Systems Engineering Manager at Northrop Grumman
Afterwards it was time for the final breakout sessions (sponsored by Rio Tinto). One of their choices to end the day were Kari Kovar, CEO and Kylee Trapp, HR and Business Partner at Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets. They discussed the importance of building a company culture and branding to drive growth and employee satisfaction. Next door was Gregg Robinson, CEO of RAM Aviation, Space & Defense. He talked with passion about the importance of creating a healthy balance in leadership and in life. Kate Bradshaw, Bountiful City Council and Director of Government Affairs for Holland & Hart, led an insightful discussion on how people can get involved in their local government.
Finally, everyone gathered one last time to end the day with a raffle. We had an amazing selection of prizes. Winners were treated to gift baskets from Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets, a fun night in from Girl Power Puzzles, Minky Couture blankets, Frontline Leader Series seats, flowers, Lace Up & LEAD sweatshirts, custom cornhole boards from Cottonwood Millwork & Cabinets, shoes from Ossine Shoes, gift bags from Everything Utah, and marketing overview with Brand Addict Media.
We want to once again thank everyone for attending. Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we watch women and male allies’ band together for a common goal. We cannot wait to start planning next years event!
