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78 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 working behind the scenes at Mission Control. All aspects of the mission had to fit together perfectly to achieve a common goal of putting human footprints on the moon and returning to Earth safely. ose of us working in printed circuit engi- neering know the importance of information and accuracy as it pertains to the footprints which are made to be placed—and forever remain—on the surface of our printed circuit boards. Component footprints must represent current, accurate information and feedback from all the PCBA's project stakeholders. Rep- resentatives from circuit engineering, mechani- cal engineering, supplier management, compo- nent manufacturers, suppliers of solder paste, solder stencils and all the personnel who are in the business of looking at, considering, or hav- ing to place and inspect a part of the compo- nent footprint must be represented within its geometric imprint on the surface of the PCB. e Printed Circuit Engineering Associa- tion recognizes that people from all the realms of electronics must come together for printed circuit assemblies to work properly. We con- sider this our mission. Our goal is to make sig- nificant, lasting footprints on the face of the electronics industry through meaningful col- laboration between our membership and the electronics industry overall. We seek to make giant leaps in educating our membership over the next few years to "dock" with new technol- ogies coming from beyond the horizons. We hope our actions will leave lasting footprints on the surface of the entire industry, and which will serve to inspire those who come aer us. Message From the Chairman by Stephen Chavez, MIT, CID+ January 2021 came and went. I feel it's a month that always seems to fly by very quickly. Most or all of us in the industry hit the ground running at the beginning of each year. With new aspirations or continued focus on attaining our respective short- and long-term goals, we come off the holiday break eager to get in the mindset and attack the new year with refreshed and rejuve- nated minds. Each of us approaches January in our own individual way. Some start off with an aggressive attitude and game plan for success, others may be a bit hesi- tant or cautious in their approach to the new year, and some simply take it one day at a time as they let the new year unfold. Whichever way you start your new year, my advice is to go aer it with passion and a positive attitude for suc- cess. I believe by doing this, we set the tone for the entire year. PCEA is doing just that. PCEA hit the ground running in January and by the time the month ended, we were in full stride; I feel we had set the tone for the new year. As we headed into February, we contin- ued to accelerate our momentum of success. We are doing it with great passion and with the most positive attitude as possible. I see this by the great activity within PCEA: Our individual members, existing regional chapters and newly formed chapters, new chapters in their infancy stages, newly added sponsors (Polar, American Standard Circuits, and NCAB Group) with oth- ers in the works, and finally our internal PCEA Executive Board members all continue to have lots of excitement; the PCEA buzz is in the air. Coming off a successful dual San Diego Chap- ter and Phoenix Chapter virtual event at the end of 2020, I was extremely excited to partici- pate in our second multi-chapter virtual event in late January. e newly formed Minneapolis St. Paul Chapter, the Ontario, California Chap- ter, and the Greater Michigan Chapter held a successful tri-chapter virtual event, which was sponsored by American Standard Circuits. I highly recommend to any individuals in those respective local areas to get connected and involved with these local PCEA collectives. As PCEA continues our core mission to Collaborate, Inspire, and Educate within the Stephen Chavez