This seems like a perfect spot to place the old Uncle Sam poster pointing at you and asking you to join the U.S. military, because we need you! We need you to get involved, give us your opinions, make your voice heard, contribute your knowledge and help us grow this industry.

After all, that is what Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) and its member group Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) are all about. There are several other groups like the Chesapeake Marine Canvas Fabricators Association and the North East Canvas Products Association, among others. No matter where you take your talents, expertise, knowledge, experience and passion, we want you to take it somewhere.

The fabricators within our industry are the life blood that keeps these organizations moving forward with the goal of improving our industry as a whole. The suppliers, distributors, vendors, manufacturers and staff members at associations like ATA are also vital to the success of the industry, but they would not be here without the folks that built this industry stitch by stitch, fastener by fastener and yard by yard. This industry belongs to the fabricators, creators and artisans and it’s up to us to push it forward in a meaningful way.

We have a unique industry in many ways, in my opinion. Ask anyone who has crossed into the marine fabrication world from another sector of business—maybe even another division of the ATA apart from the MFA—and they will tell you that they are generally blown away by the willingness of most fabricators to share their knowledge and help fellow fabricators, even if they might be across town and considered a business competitor. It’s out of that same spirit that volunteering is born.

Deeper engagement

You have shared a couple of comments during a great group engagement session at one of the conferences put on by these great trade associations, or maybe you have given attendees some valuable information during one of the roundtable discussions. Maybe it was as simple as responding to one of the posts on social media that helped a fellow fabricator.

Those are all great ways to dip your feet into the pool of giving back to your industry. But I want to challenge you to go a little further. I want to ask you to volunteer your time and expertise for anything as small as hosting a roundtable at a conference to as large as putting in an application to join the advisory board for your trade organization. Volunteering is vital to the continued success of these organizations. The people behind the scenes that are planning events, educational sessions, meals, lodging, shop tours and the numerous other resources we have are what keeps this all going.

More volunteers, more support

We tend to have a little bit of an issue in the MFA with “streakiness.” I think volunteers go in streaks around these parts. They show up, give it a shot, realize they really enjoy it and want to help in any way they can, dive into the deep end, and end up starting to feel burnt out eventually before taking a step back. We tend to have a few people doing a lot and it produces a revolving-door effect.

For this reason and more, it is important that we keep bringing new volunteers into the fold. It spreads out the time required by each person to avoid the burnout effect. It also keeps the representation and overall direction of the organization very diverse and not narrow-minded.  Furthermore, it’s great to hear from different folks with different viewpoints.

There are many opportunities to volunteer from small moments to larger commitments. We are always in need of volunteers at the various events put on by the MFA and ATA. We need folks to introduce our speakers and mention any housekeeping notes at the beginning or end of educational sessions. We need folks to lead roundtable discussions. We need folks to help with the various behind-the-scenes tasks to help our ATA staff. We also need someone to emcee the awards dinner each year.

The role of the MFA board

The MFA advisory board meets mostly via web conference call and in person at the Marine Fabricators Conference to keep the organization moving forward and plan everything that goes on within the MFA. Board members serve three-year terms and can serve up to two terms in a row. Some folks go on to become the board vice chair or chair after that. We also have many committees, which are usually chaired by a board member who seeks to add a team of other volunteers from a diverse background to their committees.

Separate planning committees are responsible for the annual conference and regional workshop events, educational sessions and the MFA Roadshow that happens at Advanced Textiles Expo. A committee that I co-chair is currently working on modernizing the MFA certification programs. There are several other committees as well that work together to share the workload needed to keep the member group running each year.

There are also volunteers needed to judge the MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards and the International Achievement Awards each year as well as reviewing any certification candidates. These folks are usually chosen from industry veterans that have been involved for a long time and volunteered for many years, just to make sure we have a good knowledge base when judging these various items.

I fully understand that the ability for anyone to give their time for free is dependent on the more important things in life. My wife and I have a 16-month-old as of this writing and that little toddler commands more of my free time than pretty much anything I’ve encountered before, and I’m more than happy to give as much of my time to him as I can. Still, I try to remain as involved as I can with the MFA, because it’s something I enjoy and I think it’s great to give back to an industry that has given so much to me. I would ask each of you to give it a shot and do the same!

If you are interested in learning about opportunities to get involved in any capacity, reach out to member programs supervisor Christine Gerard at Christine.Gerard@textiles.org or +1 651 225 6926. You can also get in contact with me—I would be happy to chat with you about ways you might be interested in being a part of the engine that keeps this MFA train rolling down the tracks. If you’re reading this at the Marine Fabricators Conference, don’t forget to find me and say hello! 

Kyle Van Damme, MFC, is the owner of Marine Tops Unlimited in Omro, Wis., and sits on the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA) advisory board. Contact him at Kyle@MarineTops.com and +1 920 420 2677.