Spring 2022 Deputies, Assistants and Others (DAO) Meeting Recap
By Jeff Stoke, County Administrator, Prince George County
Just shy of twenty (20) attendees joined us at the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) for a discussion on “What’s next?”. As we constantly move forward in our profession and personal lives, we ask – what’s next after the pandemic, what’s next during a rapidly growing economy with a scarce workforce, and what’s next after a 1,000-acre Rolls Royce facility closes and leaves a community. I would like to thank the other “interims” in our group as we shared stories of how quickly life can change. Between the DAO meeting and this story, the interim tag has been removed and for the first time, I am a County Administrator.
The day began with a welcome from Prince George County Chair Marlene Waymack who touched upon the history and advancements that have occurred in our area. As the ever changing CDC guidelines evolve, the group was even treated to an impromptu tour of CCAM that previously was not authorized.
Mr. Lorin Sodell, Director Industry Engagement, CCAM, gave an overview of this entity founded in 2011 under a public-private partnership. CCAM is an applied research center and not-for-profit 501(c)3 with membership from industry, university and government such as Siemens, Virginia Tech, and NASA along with many others. We were informed that even though Rolls Royce is gone, CCAM will remain as a membership-based scientific, research and educational corporation.
Even with the Virginia General Assembly work not yet completed, we received an update from Martha Burton, Legislative Liaison, Crater Planning District Commission. Items discussed included the grocery tax, school construction funding, gas tax, and a fiscal budget not yet finalized. We all still await “what’s next?” from the state as the session continues.
During lunch, (the CCAM tour compressed our time) there was a presentation by Thomas Midgette, Richard Bland College of William and Mary, Program Director, Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME). This unique student workforce apprenticeship combines college coursework with paid, on-the-job training and experience, as well as personal behaviors and core manufacturing skills desired by manufacturers.
Our final topic of the day was an in-depth panel discussion on “What happened to all the workforce?”. I want to thank those panelists who arrived early to better engage in the event: Michelle Rogers, Director of Workforce Development, Virginia Gateway Region; Heather McKay, Executive Director, Virginia Office of Education Economics; Wes Smith, Workforce Development Director, Appteon, Inc. Both private sector and municipal sector workforce issues were deliberated.
“What’s next” can be scary. Challenges await. Change is constant. The VLGMA DAO meeting proved once again to be a valuable networking group that reminds us that we are not alone. Reach out to a colleague in a neighboring community and just talk – what’s next could be a future professional friendship.