GAM Spring Meeting 2025: One for the Ages
Rough estimate: Over the course of my work life, I have attended over 10,000 meetings – ranging from one-hour staff sessions to multi-day blow-out conferences.
That’s a lot of meetings. To quote former President Biden, “No joke.”
I can remember the worst of them. An epic yelling match that almost got physical. And then there was the executive who told his 200-person team that no one – I mean no one – could use the restroom till he was done presenting. I was one of the 200.
But what about the best of them? A few stand out for me, but all bias acknowledged, I’m going to put GAM’s Spring Meeting near the top.
At this meeting we celebrated 125 years of GAM. And what better location to celebrate our association and industry than the iconic, historic Jekyll Island Resort. The resort and its famous clubhouse were founded largely by the gilded age manufacturers who formed the bedrock of the industry we know today. Jekyll Island provided the backdrop for relationship building, drop-dead gorgeous outdoor dinners and vigorous rounds of ocean-side croquet and cornhole.
Our special presenters rewarded attendees with rich content. We had a completely candid presentation on the economy from Tom Jalics, SVP and Chief Investment Strategist for Fifth Third bank; an innovative panel session on energy as a technology featuring Cherry Street CEO, Michael Chanin; a presentation on the future of the Port of Savannah from Stacy Watson, Director of Economic and Industrial Development, GPA; and a memorable discussion with Atlanta Braves legend, Dale Murphy, on culture and leadership.
One of the insights I loved most from Murph’s talk: “Believing in people gets them to believe in themselves.”
Another key feature of our Spring Meeting was the recap GAM staff gave to members, covering all the “first-ever” achievements recorded by GAM during just the first half of this year. Consider this:
- We held GAM Day at the Capitol with 100 GAM members, representatives from the House and Senate, and a proclamation signed by the Governor; the day was held to promote the industry and profile our members
- We launched the Georgia Manufacturers’ Playoffs and announced Engineered Floors as the inaugural winner after 63,000 votes were cast to select the most interesting, innovative and “peachiest” thing made in Georgia
- We unveiled our 106-page “Insights Report” that tells the story of Georgia manufacturing and brings recognition to our modern industry
- We launched “Manufacturing Georgia”, an innovative multi-media platform designed to connect future manufacturing workers with manufacturers and generate measurable growth in the state’s pool of workers
- And we made a recognized contribution to the passage of Senate Bill’s 68 / 69 that promise to bring tort reform, restore balance to the judicial system in the state, return competition to our insurance market, and reduce premises liability concerns for our manufacturers
As CEO of GAM, I am more than a bit proud of the leadership and results we provide for our industry, and the events we host to celebrate our people, products and progress. Based on the 100% satisfaction score we received from members in our post-event survey, it is rewarding to see you agree.
Don’t miss GAM’s next Signature Event, the Operational Excellence Conference, happening June 10-12 on Lookout Mountain. Click here to register.
