1st Place Winner: Stephen Sun, Hawken Upper School in Gates Mills, OH.
“Polymer Based Modification on Peristaltic Locomotion of a Modular Mesh-based Robot”.

2nd Place Winner: Carly Justice, Firestone High School in Akron, OH.
“Recycling Plastics in Lightweight Concrete:  Reducing Global Waste”.

 3rd Place Winner: Charles Pafford, Incarnate Word Academy in Parma Heights, OH.
“Materials and Design Optimization for Fused Deposition Modeling Application of Vehicle Suspension Parts.”

2019/2020 SPE Scholarship Winner – Teegan Smith
Shawnee State College in Portsmouth Ohio, Associates Degree in Plastics Engineering and Computer Aided Design.

SPE Council Committee of the Whole met on November 14 and 15 at the new SPE Headquarters in Danbury, CT.  The facility is larger and more modern than the previous location as well as has the ability to host small to medium size conferences.  The building includes large meeting rooms, A/V services and a cafeteria that can be used for any catering associated with prospective conferences.  HQ was able to negotiate the new lease with a 10-month rent deferral to offset the cost of moving and new furnishings.

Financial Review:

We reviewed the SPE Financials which reported that International projects will have a 2019 operating budget shortfall of $492,832.  This shortfall will be offset by $523,888 in projected investment income.

HQ is also projecting a $492,990 operating budget shortfall for 2020.  Projecting expenses to remain roughly the same as 2019 and again with projected investment income making up the shortfall.

New Revenue Projects:

1. Offering a new price structure for their Conference services that will encourage Sections, Divisions and Special Interest Groups to use their services when hosting conferences at their various locations, thereby increasing revenues to HQ.
2. Encouraging Sections, Divisions and Special Interest Groups to use the Danbury, CT facility to host their conferences. Possibly lowering conference expenses and reducing the loss of revenue associated with poor attendance or having to cancel a conference event.
3. Plastics for Life Award Competition.
   
   Plastics for Life Program is an Awards contest for businesses that produce products under the following criteria:

   Protecting Life – This includes products that protect life from harm by prevention such as tamper evident packaging, traffic safety, automotive safety, containment such as landfill liners, and safety in general.

   Quality of Life – This includes products that give that raise the quality of life by making work easier, fun, convenient such as Automotive, Aeronautical, Marine, and Recreational, Building, and Transportation applications.

   Improving Life – This includes products that improve the life of people directly by medical, food preservation, hospice or pharmaceutical means.

   Sustaining Life – Products that make the most of our global resources and help reduce, recycle, reuse or reclaim.  This would include applications that involve sustainability, recycling, reduction, bioplastics, resource conservation, and weight reduction.

   Revenue is generated by the entry fees charged.  Advantage to participants is International recognition in SPE Journal and other local and national and International publications.

4. Jobs Fairs: Local plastics employers are charged a fee.  SPE sections, Divisions or HQ hosts the program at a suitable venue.  Attendees will be students looking for career positions.  Employer companies will make presentations to the student attendees and after the presentations employers and attendees will be given time for “speed interviews”.   The advantage for employers will be an opportunity to “Pitch” their companies at a centralized location and with interested students.  Students get a good look at prospective employers and an opportunity for a first interview.  Jobs Fairs can be tailored for high school graduates, undergrads, and grad students.

   Revenue will go to the local section or division.  No splits with the HQ unless we use their conference services.

   I hope members will go to the SPE Website, www.4spe.org for more information on these programs.

New Governance Proposals:

Two years ago, the Executive Council assigned a task force to look at ways to streamline the governance of the Society by allowing the Executive Committee the Authority to run the day-to-day operations of the Society.  The proposal will reduce the need for the Council of the Whole (80 plus members) to approve much of the operating related functions while still maintaining the function of oversight and the ability to reverse decisions made by the Executive Committee.  Two proposals were discussed with no approval from Council.  A compromise agreement was agreed upon and the Governance Task Force will prepare language and by-law amendments to conform.  This compromise proposal will be voted on at the ANTEC meeting in March 2020.

Tour of Entec Ravago Americas new polymer distribution, recycling and compounding building in Medina, Ohio. The 500,000 square foot building includes a large warehouse, plant and office space. The new sixteen by sixty feet high silos provide storage for the plastic pellets that will be shipped around the world to meet their client’s demands.

Ravago Manufacturing produces a wide range of plastic and rubber materials from high performance engineered resins to recycled post-consumer materials. The facility will include pulverizing equipment to make rotational molding grades of plastic resin. The state of the art facility also includes extensive material testing capabilities along with 17-20 silos, railway sidings, and boxing and bagging equipment.