ASQ Phoenix Chair’s Message April 1, 2023
Greetings ASQ Phoenix Section Members –
March was a big month for the Phoenix Section – I April fool you not! We held our first in-person hybrid member meeting following the pandemic and had the pleasure of partnering with two wonderful organizations, Venture Cafe and the Future Cities Competition, who contributed to the success of the evening’s program.
The event on March 9th was held in downtown Phoenix at Venture Café, an organization that provides weekly themed programs that include speakers who present on various topics. These presentations and the diverse crowds they draw then encourage business development and innovation through networking and personal connections.
We opened the evening with our regular business meeting which included a brief presentation by the Future Cities Arizona 2023 winner, Team Bunjil from the Mesa HomeSchool Group. The Future Cities Competition provides middle school students (6th-8th grades) an opportunity to collaborate on solutions to global issues. Each team selects an international city they wish to represent in the competition. They are then provided with a common challenge they must work together to overcome. In the process, the students must author an essay addressing the issue, create a model of their upgraded city of the future (using no more than $100 of recycled or repurposed materials), and make a formal presentation to the FC and Society judges (ASQ Phoenix Section judges included), as well as family and peers the day of the event.
This year’s challenge was to address climate change, and Team Bunjil was the clear AZ Regional winner on all counts. For their efforts, they received scholarships from various sponsoring organizations, and had the privilege of competing in the national Future Cities Competition in Washington D.C. where they placed 14th. The three young ladies comprising Team Bunjil, (2 - 6th graders and 1 – 8th grader), delivered an outstanding presentation to our hybrid audience during the ASQ Phoenix’s March member meeting. We thank them for presenting their future city to the Section and wish them the best of luck in their upcoming endeavors with Future Cities and beyond.
Once the business meeting concluded, we transitioned to the presentation portion of the evening. The ASQ Phoenix Section speaker, John Choate, provided the first of three outstanding presentations. His discussion on Manufacturing in Arizona drew a crowd of approximately 60 individuals in person and around 30 online. It was well received by those in attendance and generated many follow up questions from the audience. Following his lead were Martin Perez with the City of Phoenix who spoke on Advanced Manufacturing in the city. Laura French with Taiwan Semiconductor Company then closed out the evening with her presentation regarding the deal that brought this successful manufacturing company to Arizona.
Overall, it was a wonderful evening of learning and networking. While I realize it wasn’t a perfectly executed in-person meeting, we do look forward to addressing and overcoming the challenges faced in order to provide you with a smoother experience in June when we attempt another in-person and virtual gathering. To those of you who attended and provided thoughtful feedback, thank you; it is invaluable to us and your future Section member experience. Despite the few minor glitches, we hope you enjoyed the content provided and are looking forward to our future program meetings and networking opportunities.
Both the Bunjil future city presentation and John Choate’s guest speaker presentation were recorded and are available to view on our myASQ site (for now go to the ASQ Phoenix Section site and check the Library for the presentation recordings). In the meantime, I hope you choose to tune in with us for our April 13 and May 11 Programs, which will both be held exclusively over Zoom.
Until we meet again, it is my wish that you stay safe, healthy, and happy!
Cheers!
Hilary Werner