IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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8 8 C O M M U N I T Y M A G A Z I N E FA L L 2 0 2 5 working management industry. Then, in late 1998, I got a call from Dave Bergman. He said, "We've got a couple of positions open if you want to interview." One position was in the IT department and network management, which of course matched my college degree, and the other was in the Standards Depart- ment. I interviewed with Jack Crawford, Chris Jor- gensen, and Dave Bergman. I was intrigued with the idea of getting out and meeting with the members, as opposed to addressing networking issues in an office environment. I wanted to match faces with the names of people I had remembered from high school when I worked in the mail department and stole the occa- sional glance at a standard. I'd pull down a copy of the IPC-SM-840 solder mask performance specification or the IPC-RB-276 specifi- cation for rigid board performance and wonder, "Who puts this stuff together?" I'd look at the names of the people from companies like Vought [Aircraft], ATV, Lockheed, Martin Marietta, and Hughes [Aircraft], and think, "Wow, these are the guys that actually design these systems for use in helicopters, aircraft, missiles, and space technology." I'd always been a big aviation fan. My family would often take me to air shows across the country to see performers such as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. So, I thought this was my opportunity to meet the very same people who designed and created the electronic systems used in these aircraft and see how they developed and revised the very same standards that I used to shove in enve- lopes and help mail out. So, I joined the Association in early 1999. I've attended IPC APEX EXPO for 26 years since then. It was a decision I will never regret. That's fantastic. So, who was running the Association when you were with your mother around the dining room table? It was still Ray Pritchard, and Dieter Bergman was our technical director. It was a small staff. I believe Dave Bergman was hired into the Technical Department in 1980 and it did not take long before he was steering that ship. At the time, the office was in a single-story house in Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago. You've come a long way, from an 8-year-old to now. What's one of the most enjoyable memories you've had here? Seeing some of these standards come to fruition and watching the committees you work with hash stuff out. Some committees involve only a handful of people, while others have over 300 people. It's no surprise that most of them come representing their company's interests. You have the suppliers, their cus- 2025