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16 SMT Magazine • December 2015 work and the association as a whole. We con- tract to JoAnn's company to provide all the hard services that our volunteers don't have the time to do. We've benefited from this structure; for 29 years JoAnn has staffed and managed all those important things to pull this off. The Board of Directors gives direction for the Association and they carry out all the ex- ecution. This is somewhat of an understatement because JoAnn and team do so much to make everything work just right and ensure our mem- bers get the most out of the organization as pos- sible. That business now will be run by Tanya Martin. We're very happy to have Tanya, whom JoAnn handpicked and has been working with for 18 months now. Most companies don't have that kind of transition, so we've been very for- tunate to have the foresight of a good Board, and of course JoAnn's continued commitment to hand this organization off in a far better condition than she found it some 29 years ago. She certainly has done that. I met with JoAnn yesterday before the big event, and she's going out on top. Our membership has been growing year over year. Everything at SMTA is on the up- swing, and we're so glad she's going out on this grand slam. Goldman: may it continue. What can tanya ex- pect as she comes in? Barthel: Tanya is inheriting a well-oiled ma- chine and we have utmost confidence in her. The Board has reviewed her background and ca- pabilities and what she's able to bring to the As- sociation. It will be different. We look forward to that because as we heard last night at JoAnn's recognition dinner that with change comes op- portunity. We're looking for these new opportu- nities to be a little different in the way we work, but definitely there are things that aren't go- ing to change. The networking, the openness, and the camaraderie that you get with SMTA will remain. I've participated in other associa- tions, but you will not find this level of esprit de corps anywhere else in our industry. We're really proud of that and we welcome anybody who is going to read this to reach out and join us. They'll get all they need to know about join- ing on our website www.smta.org. Goldman: now i know this is an organization for ems companies, but not solely. how broad is your membership? Barthel: Excellent that you bring that up. First of all, we want to be very clear that it's not only an EMS association. Members are SMT suppli- ers, consultants, research institutes, higher ed- ucation, manufacturing, and users of SMT like OEMs, etc. We make a conscious effort that the Board of Directors is made up of a mix of Sup- pliers, EMS, OEMs, and academic leaders. Goldman: does one have an individual member- ship or company membership, or both? Barthel: Our foundation has been and still is individual memberships. The vast majority of our association members are individuals, but there are many companies that recognize and ask, "Why should I pay for just one person? Can I get Corporate Membership so that everybody at this location will benefit from membership in SMTA?" There's an initial membership level that we came up with several years ago called a Global Membership, or global corporate. A company like mine, Plexus, has sites around the world. We take advantage of SMTA offerings all around the world at Plexus with the global member- ship, which allows everyone in my enterprise to get SMTA services and events at a discount. Goldman: i suppose you have a student member- ship also? SmTA: WorKInG HArD For THe GLobAL InDUSTry FeATure inTerview " our membership has been growing year over year. every- thing at sMTA is on the upswing, and we're so glad she's going out on this grand slam. "