January 12, 2023
| IMA Members & Friends: With the new year comes new beginnings! I hope you have started 2023 with a renewed spark for your business and a clear plan for success in the coming year. And in the vein of “out with the old”, it is with mixed emotions that I share that I have asked the board of directors to find my replacement as the IMA Executive Director. There is NO good time to make these tough decisions; but after nearly 10 years of investing in the Alliance to support manufacturing, I am choosing to step aside. I felt the time was right to make a change for me personally and for the betterment of the organization. Many of you who know the story behind IMA may understand why this is difficult for me. As a founder and Executive Director planning for and leading the Alliance since late 2013, IMA (or SWIMA, as some of you still fondly refer to it) has been a part of my life for a long time! While I have mixed emotions about this decision, I am incredibly confident that this creates the opportunity for a new and improved stage for IMA. I am excited about what the future will hold for the organization. We have an excellent team (utilizing EOS!) and an incredible Board of Directors; once a new ED is identified they will have everything in place to lead IMA in connecting, supporting, and promoting Idaho manufacturing in new and powerful ways. As for me personally, I will take some time to determine what my next endeavor will be while supporting our family business interests and paying more attention to home, family, and personal pursuits. I know that I will miss the personal and professional friendships formed with many of you. I am proud of the community we’ve built, and I hope that can continue to be a focus for IMA in the future. I will still be around for a couple of months, so hopefully, we’ll get to connect again through IMA. It has been an honor to see IMA grow to what it is today. Thank you for being a part of it. It would not be what it is without all of you as members, sponsors, partners, ambassadors, promoters, and friends. Here’s to the future of Idaho Manufacturing… Sheri Johnson Founder & Executive Director |
| Follow-up Note from the IMA Board of Directors |
| Dear Members & Sponsors: Speaking for the IMA Board of Directors, there are so many words that we could write in recognition of the great work that Sheri has done in support and promotion of the many manufacturing-related persons and entities within the State of Idaho. More simply, it is the work that Sheri has done from the beginning to now that speaks for itself. No matter the opportunity or the challenge Sheri has leaned in and executed with a level of professional poise and integrity that has benefited us all. We, as her Board of Directors, stand in full recognition of the wonderful work that Sheri has done for nearly ten years. Within that time period, she has nurtured the Southwest Idaho Manufacturing Alliance (SWIMA) into what we now know as the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance (IMA). Behind and in support of that effort, Sheri has also nurtured and grown the IMA staff into a very well and efficiently run entity. As a result, the Board has every confidence that her staff will continue to fully support all of you all as we collectively work through this transition period. What was always probable is now imminent. We will all miss seeing Sheri’s hand at the helm of the IMA. Nevertheless, the Board together with Sheri and members of her staff, are actively working on a transition plan including a full search effort for IMA’s next Executive Director. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in exploring the role of IMA’s next Executive Director, we will be posting the job position the week of January 16, 2023. Please feel free to reach out to us personally or via our email address, board@idmfg.org. We’ll be happy to have that conversation. Be we members, sponsors, or supporters, all of us as a whole are in a great position to continue to build on the strong foundation that is the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance. The strength of this foundation is a direct result of Sheri’s passion to lead and serve our manufacturing community. For that, we are truly grateful. Michael Sieler, President, IMA Board of Directors, 2022-23 Brian Havey, President-Elect, IMA Board of Directors, 2023-24 Andres Oyervides, Past-President, IMA Board of Directors, 2021-22 |