DRMA strengthened our members by fostering innovation, partnerships, and connectivity while growing the industry through workforce development, economic development, and business tools.

DRMA leads the Dayton Region Manufacturing Workforce Partnership (DRMWP), an OMA-endorsed industry sector partnership (ISP). The purpose of DRMWP is to develop and execute new and enhanced initiatives that strategically align workforce efforts to ensure manufacturing competence and growth throughout the region.

• Applied for state ISP funding to support our workforce initiatives

• Administered WorkAdvance, a program of the OMA-led federal Good Jobs Challenge grant, to increase the entry-level manufacturing workforce through recruitment, training, and placing underserved/underrepresented people; metrics to date: 44 participants; 30 completers; 15 placements, 8 of which were placed in member companies. 32 Manufacturer member companies are participating in the program.

• Completed the Ohio Defense Military Community grant, using funds to provide manufacturing foundations training (Certified Manufacturing Associate credential); 102 employees from 24 Manufacturer member companies participated

• Leveraged relationships with manufacturers and educators to support Ohio’s Auto and Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Strategy grant; completed the process to prioritize requests from 5 regional education institutions to receive state funding for manufacturing-related equipment and facility upgrades

• Continued our push for the adoption of industry-recognized credentials: talking to schools about incorporating them into their curriculum and educating members on the value of credentials

• Conducted or participated in 44 career fairs, and recruited member volunteers to "work" the events, including Power Lunches, career fairs, and presentations - all to foster students' interest in manufacturing careers; 2,870; were engaged; enhanced our display with fun, hands-on activities; invited reps from CTCs and community colleges to join events to talk about education/training opportunities

• Recruited and trained volunteers for our careers speakers’ bureau which simulates a manufacturing business

• Deployed a campaign to encourage members and schools to conduct students tours year-round; helped matchmake and provided support, resulting in 31 tours at 23 member companies to showcase manufacturing occupations and processes; engaged 2,781 students from 51 schools; provided best practice tips to members

• Held 8 virtual Workforce/HR Meet Ups, a roundtable discussion group for members; lined up Subject Matter Experts to answer participants’ questions

• Promoted career fair opportunities to members

• Communicated various government workforce funding, training, and hiring opportunities to members

• Promoted the State’s TechCred program and provided a “how to” virtual session

• Wrote numerous letters to support educators’ manufacturing initiatives

• Fostered collaborative relationships to advocate for members’ workforce concerns with multiple organizations and schools

Greater Ohio Workforce Board

Montgomery County Workforce Investment Board

Preble County Development Partnership

Dayton Metro Library

FASTLANE

TechSolve

SOCHE

Junior Achievement

DO STEM Council

Goodwill Easterseals/Miami Valley Works

Dayton Urban League

NAM/The Manufacturing Institute

Midwest Microelectronics Consortium

Ohio Manufacturers Association

Wright Brothers Institute

Dayton YouthBuild

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Dayton Workforce Coalition

Sinclair Community College

Clark State College

Edison State Community College

Wright State University

Miami University

Central State University

Miami Valley CTC

Greene County Career Center

Upper Valley Career Center

Springfield-Clark CTC

Stebbins High School

Dayton Public Schools

Kettering Fairmont High School

Northridge High School

Liberty High School

Community STEAM Academy

Horizon Science Academy

Dayton Athletic Vocational Academy

Montgomery County Educational Service Center

Miami County Educational Service Center

Preble County Educational Service Center

Greene County Educational Service Center

and many others, both locally and nationally

• Conducted the annual Wage and Benefit Survey and report and conducted a Meet Up where an analysis of the results/trends were presented by member company CSH

• Offered our successful Legal Services Plan, Workers Comp Group Rating Program, and OSHA training discount programs

Sent 6 business lead emails

Offered the members-only Linked In group to foster the sharing of challenges, solutions, and best practices; 265 people have joined

Grew the Associate Board to foster participation of the younger generation at member companies

Launched an annual sponsorship program to provide opportunities for members to elevate their brand presence throughout the DRMA network

DRMA educated our members through sharing relevant industry information, hosting events, conducting workshops, and providing avenues to share knowledge while learning from other industry professionals.

• Published twice monthly News Bits newsletters to provide members information on DRMA activities and pertinent information from partner organizations

• Added 575 new Linked In followers totaling 4,539

• Held 2 breakfast events, 3 Shoptalk events (one celebrating workforce successes and honorees), 2 Happy Hour events, and 1 annual meeting

• Held Economic Update event featuring Connor Lokar from ITR Economics

• Held 3 Manufacturing Operations Meet Ups, a roundtable discussion group for members

• Held 7 Lunch & Learn webinars, presented by member companies and partner organizations, to provide useful information in a format that is convenient for members

• Held 2 successful golf outings, a Business & Bourbon, and a trap shoot event, all fundraisers for the DRMA Foundation

• Held 5 lean manufacturing, 2 GD&T, and 2 blueprint reading workshops, presented by Sinclair; held 3 supervisor and 1 emerging leaders workshop series, presented by Brixey & Meyer

• Held 10 DRMA 101 sessions, 2 new member happy hours, and refined the Ambassador Club to ensure members feel connected to DRMA

• Held 47 executive roundtable discussion group meetings

DRMA advocated on behalf of our members with local, state, and federal public officials, legislators, educators, parents, the business community, the media, and other regional stakeholders by fostering relationships, building trust, and strengthening the position of our region’s industry.

• Conducted a survey and produced a list of members’ top issues

• Wrote multiple letters of support for initiatives that positively impact the region’s manufacturing industry

• Updated and published a fact sheet on the impact of the manufacturing industry on the Dayton Region

• Worked with the media resulting in DRMA being mentioned or quoted in 31 articles/interviews

• Built or enhanced connections with other organizations

Fayette County Chamber of Commerce

Air Force Research Laboratory

Dayton Development Coalition

JobsOhio

Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce

Great Springfield Partnership

European American Chamber of Commerce

Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance

Technology First

I70/75 Development Association

Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority

The Entrepreneurs Center

FASTLANE, TechSolve, and the Ohio MEP network

Ohio Manufacturers’ Association

U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

National Association of Manufacturers

National Tooling and Machining Association

• Strengthened government relations

Strengthened relationships with U.S. Representative Mike Carey, State Representative Tim Barhorst, and State Representative-elect Desiree Tims

Held a meet and greet event with Congressman Warren Davidson

Held virtual meet and greet sessions with 8 candidates running for state or federal positions

Enhanced our collaborative relationships with organizations focused on government advocacy such as the Dayton Chamber, the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Coalition for Prosperous America, US Made, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the US Global Leadership Coalition

• Served on the following schools’ advisory committees to advocate for skills needed by manufacturer members:

Educational Service Centers’ Business Advisory Committees for Montgomery, Miami,

Greene, and Preble counties

Miami Valley Career Technology Center Precision Machining Advisory Committee

Upper Valley Career Center Manufacturing Advisory Committee, both high school and adult programs; and the Welding Advisory Committee, adult program Greene County Career Center Manufacturing Advisory Committee and Superintendent’s Advisory Board

Liberty High School Advisory Committee

Stebbins High School Career Tech and Manufacturing Advisory committees

Kettering Fairmont High School Engineering Advisory Committee

Sinclair Community College’s AMSE Department Advisory Committee

Clark State Community College’s Greene Center and Manufacturing Advisory committees

Wright State University School of Engineering Advisory Board and the Mechanical and

Materials Engineering Department’s Advisory Committee Dayton Public School’s Business Advisory Committee

In addition to member dues, DRMA diligently pursued sources of revenue to help fund DRMA activities including conducting two great golf outings, a trap shoot event, a bourbon tasting event, a Workforce Successes Shoptalk, a Text-2-Give campaign, and participating in the Tour de Gem bicycle ride to raise funds for the DRMA Foundation (which pays for all our career outreach and workforce initiatives).

19 Manufacturer, 10 Affiliate, and 16 Associate members were added in 2024; combined with an 84% Manufacturer retention rate and an overall 83% retention rate, total membership for 2024 is 326 member companies, which includes 186 Manufacturer members. More members = a stronger voice = stronger connections and more programs.