Hitting The Little White Ball Across The Pond

07/06/2008

My son Brandon and I just got back from one unbelievable trip!!! He was lucky enough to be chosen on a Hilton Head all - star junior golf team of 8 golfers that were invited to compete in a "Ryder Cup" format event against 8 junior golfers from Dornoch, Scotland. It was the 3rd annual Morcott Cup Challenge.

For the 1st time, the Scottish boys squeeked out a very close victory. The venue rotates back and forth each year between Dornoch and Hilton Head. The next event will begin April 1, 2009 in Hilton Head. The golfers competed at the prestigious Royal Dornoch Golf Club as well as Andrew Carnegie's Skibo Castle (where Madonna was married). Royal Dornoch is the 13th most prestigious golf course in the world. The British Open would definitely be here except it's so remote - way up on the North Sea.

I even got to sneak out on both courses and "hack and wack" the little ball around. Nothing like links golf to make a lousy golfer like myself even more humble. The courses may never be the same.

Another highlight of the trip - our lives passed before our eyes as I drove 80MPH on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car following a crazy Swiss dad (father of one of the other junior golfers) from Edinbergh to Dornoch for several hours - white knuckles the whole way. Thanks Ernst.

The scenery was spectacular, the village of Dornoch so quaint. It was such a treat to get away for a week with my son. And yes, we did get down to St Andrews in the rain. If you ever get the opportunity to go to Scotland and especially Northern Scotland, jump on it.

The Start of A WILD Ride as SMA President!

06/06/2008

Hi All,  

Two weeks into my SMA Presidency, I find my calendar already full of upcoming SMA related events and meetings to attend. Here is just a sample of the SMA related things that are on my calendar in the coming months.

This week was the School to Career Manufacturers Symposium in Hartford. What an outstanding event bringing more than 3,000 students through the exhibit.

Next week, Wednesday evening, I will gladly represent the SMA at W. F. Kaynor Technical High School's Senior Night where we will continue our tradition of providing Machinery Handbooks to 8 graduating seniors. On Thursday night, I look forward to attending the New Haven Manufacturers Association Annual Meeting. Friday morning, I will attend the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Training Program's Governing Board meeting where the Governing Board will conduct the Program's annual review of the program, the facility and safety percautions.

Coming up on June 26th, is the SMA Summer Picnic. I encourage all of our members to consider attending this event as it is coordinated for SMA member companies and their employees to enjoy a night of fun, food and activity.

I'm currently working on the details to solidify a July Board of Directors Retreat where we will take a closer look at the Association's Mission Statement and consider updating our Strategic Planning initiatives.

During this summer, I will also be serving on the Golf Outing Committee in an effort to produce a great outing on Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at the Watertown Golf Club. As the Golf Outing is our Association's key fundraiswer, I encourage all members to participate, at a minimum, as a golf flag sponsor. I'd like to acknowledge the Demsey family at this time and thank them in advance for the attention they will give to this project during the summer.

As your President, please know that I am available to discuss matters of importance to you at any time. I look forward to my year ahead and I look forward to seeing you at the events held throughout the summer.

These are exciting times at Traver IDC!!!

05/22/2008

Welcome to Jack's Corner! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this interesting enough to get you to come back again and again. 2008 has been a really exciting time here at Traver IDC.

After working with Jack C. and others from Connstep for over a year, we put the finishing touches on our 5 year Marketing Plan late in 2007. We set a lofty goal to double the size of the company in 3-5 years, all the while improving our level of customer service to all of you. 2007 was a record year thanks to all the hard work and dedication by everyone here at Traver IDC and we're well on our way.

Well, finally our new website has arrived. Thanks to Charlie, Julee and all the great people at Worx Group for all their help. It only took us 70 years but I think we finally got it right. That's right, it's our 70th anniversary this year. I wonder if my grandfather had any idea that we'd still be grinding it out when he left Scovill and started his own motor repair shop right in the middle of the depression, back in 1938.

Another cool thing in 2008 - we've begun our lean journey. Tom and Fred from Leanovations and Ron, our internal Lean champion have pushed us hard and basically turned the whole place on it's ear as we've made it through our 1st 3 Kaizen events. Everybody here is psyched with the amazing progress and we're looking forward to having you, our customers, come visit us and see what we're up to.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon.

Jack