STRATEGIC RESILIENCE
DEAR READER
Welcome to the Spring 2022 Edition of HV Mfg
President, Council of Industry
True Grit is the title of a Coen brothers film about a determined teenager (Mattie Ross) who hires a U.S. Marshal (Rooster Cogburn) to bring her father’s murderer (Tom Chaney) to justice. Set in 1873 Oklahoma, the film is a remake of 1969 John Wayne film.
“I aim to get Tom Chaney, and if you are not game, I will find somebody who is game…” Mattie says to Rooster. “They told me you had true grit and that is why I came to you. I am not paying for talk.” I don’t want to spoil the film for those who have not seen it, but I think it’s safe to say that Mattie gets her man.
The film came to mind as I reviewed the content in this edition of HV Mfg. Determination and perseverance are themes that run through many of the articles, most especially in an excellent piece written by Nicholas Batson, a Doctor of Psychology at Crystal Run Healthcare, one of the Council of Industry’s many valuable associate members. In his article, “Grit and Resilience,” Dr. Batson makes the case that these characteristics are key to helping us navigate an increasingly disorderly and distracting world. He offers strategies to help you, and the people you work with, achieve your goals through sustained, intentionally focused actions and decisions, find the optimism to know that obstacles will happen, and the confidence to overcome any barriers that arise.
Grit, determination, and resilience are underlying themes in several other articles in this edition. Taylor Dowd profiles Poughkeepsie’s Dorsey Metrology. The third-generation family business, run by wife and husband team Devon Luty and Mark Swenson, has survived many challenges over the years, not the least of which was the recent pandemic. TD Bank’s Bill Fink and Philip Derasmo write about the inflation challenges facing Hudson Valley manufacturers and offer some strategies to help determined leaders manage through it.
We turned to our friends at the Manufacturing Institute in Washington, D.C. to write about the changing manufacturing workforce. The institute’s director, Carolyn Lee, writes about the importance of “All of the Above Hiring.”
The digitization of the factory and how to prepare yourself and your workforce for IOT is the subject of our SUNY New Paltz intern Claire Leibowitz’ article. Our Leader Q&A is with retiring SUNY New Paltz President Don Christian, who talks about his 11 years at the college that saw the addition of a mechanical engineering degree and a center for innovation built. He also talks about what it took to keep their nearly 9,000 students safe, and their education on track during the pandemic.
The magazine also includes a directory of our members and associate members, as well as an index of advertisers. I want to once again thank those organizations that support HV Mfg with their advertising dollars. Without that support, this publication would not be possible.
For 112 years, and particularly in the past two, Council of Industry members have shown that they are “game,” and they have “true grit.” It appears we will all need to continue to demonstrate that grit and determination in the coming months, as the world does not seem to be getting any less disorderly or distracting.
The Council of Industry is here to help. And this magazine is just one of our many tools to help determined Hudson Valley manufacturers thrive.
Sincerely,
President
