Hillsborough Vineyards - Suprise Visit

A week ago, Julie and I had dinner in Harper's Ferry and then, with no planning beforehand, make a last second stop in one of Loudoun County's many Wineries.  We stopped at Hillsborough Vineyards for a few glasses of wine. John was in town for a funeral and he and Michael were visiting their grandparents in Burke.  John and Michael made a decision coming home from Burke to stop by Hillsborough Vineyards.  We were there for 20 minutes when both Julie and feel these hands on our shoulders, we look up and it is John and Michael. 

NAMII Visit - National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute

We had an MTConnect Institute Board Meeting last week at NAMII - National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute and we were very fortunate to get a tour from Ralph Resnick!  Everyone in manufacturing knows Ralph as being a true industry icon and thought leader.  Ralph is President & Executive Director for the National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining (NCDMM) as well as the Founding Director National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).  I am sure there are many more hats he wears, but I believe those are the two primary hats he wears today.  Ralph's a great guy.  Ralph is on the MTConnect Board of Directors is why we were there in Youngstown, Ohio at NAMII.

When President Obama talks about the cool stuff going on in manufacturing, he will directly reference NAMII.

Below is from NAMII's homepage discussing NAMII's Vision:

"NAMII’s singular focus is to accelerate additive manufacturing technologies to the U.S. manufacturing sector and increase domestic manufacturing competitiveness by:

• Fostering a highly collaborative infrastructure for the open exchange of additive manufacturing information and research.
• Facilitating the development, evaluation, and deployment of efficient and flexible additive manufacturing technologies.
• Educating students and training workers in additive manufacturing technologies to create an adaptive, leading workforce."

 I love the sign NAMII has (photo below):



Checkout the cool photos below at NAMII of Ralph showing us the cool additive technology!