Monday Manufacturing Motivation – with Jaclyn Kolodziej

Curt Anderson 0:02
Hey man, Damon. Happy Monday, brother. How are you? I’m great. Curt.

Damon Pistulka 0:06
How are you doing today?

Curt Anderson 0:07
Well, I am just doing ducky. How’s that? Is that a word? That ducky peachy? peachy keen is I’m like showing my age is that from like the 70s and 80s. I know I’m an old dude. So, man. Well, first off, let’s give a shout out. Today is D Day, man. It is June 6. And let’s honor our veterans veterans on June 6, seven, eight years ago today, who conquered the beaches of Normandy? Man, I’m just getting chills. Think about it and watch even Private Ryan just I love watching it on June 6. So June 6 D Day. Let’s celebrate that and God bless our veterans. Damon, we have a really special guest today. I’ve been practicing this all week. So are we ready? Let’s hear it. Let’s hear okay. I Damon, we are blessed with Jaclyn. Chloe J. Yeah. Yay. Oh, you got it. Jaclyn, I think I think you and I connected like in March. So I’ve been practicing that for three months. How that I do. Okay. You did perfect. All right, Jaclyn, from IMEC you are a technical specialist. Happy Monday. Thank you for joining us today. How are you my friend?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 1:14
I’m lovely. Thanks for having me.

Curt Anderson 1:16
Now I’m gonna I’m not I’m you know, I’m glad you’re a technical specialist because I’m a technical technical degenerate. So I’m going to try to share my screen real quick. I’m going to just show you guys something kind of funky real quick. You ready? Alright, so let me add this. Let me add this. Let me do this. Hey, Jaclyn. Who is that right there that step? Do you know who that is? By any chance?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 1:36
I think it looks like me.

Curt Anderson 1:38
Oh my god. Here’s Wonder Woman right on stage with us today. So Damon, what do you think of this one dude, are you like that little to do list with a pencil going out? You’re like,

Damon Pistulka 1:47
oh, the the pencils even in the hand

Curt Anderson 1:49
of pencils. pencils in the hand. So I will get back to ourselves here. So Jaclyn, you are Wonderwoman you are superpower. You are a marketing guru. You’ve brought your talents, your expertise, your specialties. To IMEC we’re going to dig into the IMEC and what the MEPs. Before we do that I have a question for you. So we just saw that little you or Wonder Woman there. When you were a little girl growing up? You have accomplished so much. You’re doing such an awesome job that I met who was your hero growing up? Who was your hero growing up?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 2:23
Oh, you I didn’t You didn’t ask me that?

Curt Anderson 2:26
I did. I don’t little little Damon’s later today, so most of them are softballs, but I’m throwing them throwing certain things off to the curveball. Who was your hero growing up that made you such a Wonder Woman with manufacturers today?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 2:41
I don’t know about with manufacturers. But in terms of my personality and who I am and setting a really good example for being a hard worker and being focused and resilient has always been my grandmother.

Curt Anderson 2:55
Oh, nice grandma. What’s grandma’s name? Yvonne. A grandma advice? Let’s hear a little bit how did grandma Yvonne inspire you to be such a success?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 3:05
This lady who is she recently passed at the end of last year so 93 years old. She lives a full life. There was no challenge too big for her to deal with work through overcome, and always had a sense of humor about her. She would dance all night long, she would party hard with all of her friends and family, even in her 80s was chasing all of us around the yard. So my grandmother has been a very strong example and an influence for me all my life. So

Curt Anderson 3:42
no answer. Well, man you’ve handled while she can handle curveball very well. Daymond. So hey, we want to give a shout out. We got a few friends here today. Guys. Let us know where you’re coming from. We’ve got Snia in the house. Snia was just with us a few weeks ago. She’s a rock star with my dear friend of coals in the house. We’re throwing curveballs here. Nicole Nicole is joining us on our Friday programming. So a lot of good things going on. So Jaclyn, let’s take a deep dive. You are a technical specialist. You have a vast history in marketing for manufacturers. We’re going to dig into that for a second. Let’s enlighten everybody on the program today. If they are not familiar with IMEC or the MEP network, please enlighten us what is the MEP network and specifically what’s going on? What is iMac?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 4:24
Okay, well, let’s start with the MVP network. I’ve got my notes. So I mean, the MEP network is the manufacturing extension partnership. So there are MEP networks in 50 states as well as Puerto Rico. They are run through the Department of Commerce with our government and they’re part of the NIST which is the National Institute of Standards and Technology. So they oversee all of the different programs. Each state has its own MEP The type program so public or private, and so IMEC falls into the state of Illinois. The IMEC is the state of Illinois MEP network. So what’s really cool is not only focusing on just Illinois but nationally with the 50 states and Puerto Rico last year at the MEP centers helped and interacted with over 34,000 different manufacturing companies in the States, they bled to $14.4 billion in sales for manufacturing companies $1.5 billion in cost savings for manufacturers $5.2 billion and new investments for manufacturing companies. And they also helped create or retain over 125,000 jobs nationwide. All right,

Curt Anderson 6:03
little moment of silence right there Jaclyn. How about so guys against Nia dropped a low note here she goes, I’ve learned about the MEP network from man Damon and myself. So how cool is that? So that’s our goal is matter of fact this month is meet the MEP month, every single Monday, we are blessed and fortunate. Amen. We are bringing in a guest from a different state from the manufacturing extension partnership network. And so boy, just guys do me a favor, we have a ton to cover an insert for the time Jaclyn, hit the rewind button or just go back a little bit. And listen those numbers again 34,000 manufacturers, billions of dollars saved out hundreds of 1000s and 1000s of jobs. So incredible resource, what a great network and what a great asset that the MEP network is for manufacturers as a nation as a whole. So this is just wonderful. So now you talked about I met so I met as in the great state of Illinois, I believe you’d have something like 13,000 manufacturers or so in May in, in in the great state of Illinois, wonderful manufacturing state. So let’s take a deep dive. So let’s talk about you know what the scope all about you, Jaclyn, so you’re well now we’re gonna go more all about IMEC. Rewind again, let’s rewind. Let’s get we’ll dig deeper. And because I have a few more questions about iMac but go ahead. Let’s dig into what’s going on at iMac.

Jaclyn Kolodziej 7:22
All right. So specifically with IMEC. If people don’t know Illinois is the what fourth largest manufacturing state in the nation. So we have a very strong manufacturing, manufacturing state and all of us I’m ackers, throughout the state of Illinois get to help impact these different manufacturers who become more clients. And so today is the first rollout of our newest vision and brand standards. So I need to make my marketing team proud of me today and really send home the the mission of who iMac is. So our purpose is for economic and workforce competitiveness. We want to make sure the manufacturers we work with are strong and competing on a global level. And we really help do this by making these manufacturers Excel become more globally competitive, to implement plan and Excel to do all these great things. So are you ready for the elevator pitch?

Curt Anderson 8:28
Lay it on us? All right. Need a drumroll? Are we good? We can drumroll. Okay, Damon, you ready? Ready? Drumroll?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 8:34
Yeah. All right. So I met we are Illinois manufacturers one stop resource for technical assistance and support. Together we can plan for success. Grow your business, improve your operations, focus on your people and make decisions with data to help leaders like you reach your goals.

Curt Anderson 8:59
Man How Dude, that was like, phenomenal. That was that was like a mic drop moment right there. Jay. Let’s run with this for a minute. Let’s let’s take a deep dive. So I have the honor but blessing of working with a number of folks on your team. Boy, you have an all star team and like you said, fourth largest state of manufacturing incredibly, you know extremely heavy duty industrial state. So we have like Michelle fossa. We have Melissa my dear friend Melissa, we have Simone. Paula, your director is top notch. David. Dr. David Belay is phenomenal. Damon, he’s a fellow buckeye. He has his PhD from Ohio State. And so you have an incredible team Noah and I apologize anybody that I’m leaving out Cassie, so you have a phenomenal team at IMEC 50 strong and what’s great is if you’re a manufacturer out there, and you’re like you know man, I feel like I’m in a silo I’m you know, trying to tackle these challenges on my own. You guys have such a deep bench of subject matter experts. I may talk a little bit like it No, you’re gonna, you’re newer, you’re celebrating your six month anniversary. Talk about like, how blown away? Are you with just the wealth of talent and skills and expertise on the IMEC? Team?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 10:10
Oh, every day, I know that my team, I’m surrounded by industry experts who are all mission driven and focused to help manufacturers achieve the best results that they possibly can. Our teams great, we are focused and we anything, anything I wouldn’t know, I can reach out to someone on the team to learn about whether it’s, you know, roadmapping and planning operations. Marketing obviously comes to mind because that’s my skill set, but lean manufacturing, it’s what National Safety Month, so any type of safety standards.

Damon Pistulka 10:57
I mean, the MDP is getting into so many critical things and manufacturers device really is amazing,

Jaclyn Kolodziej 11:03
right? And not only that with our with our state’s team, and Illinois, we also have the MEP network. So no matter if we’re working, if we’re working with a company in Illinois, that also has locations in South Carolina, we can connect them with those same type of resources. And so our network is very strong. And that’s something I’m very proud of.

Curt Anderson 11:26
Yeah, indeed, we’ve had the honor and pleasure of we’ve connected with folks from NIST. You know, we had a Celia you know, your cybersecurity expert at NIST. And so, you know, it goes up and down vertical, horizontal, horizontal, you have a great deep bench, you have third party resources. So again, when there’s a challenge that you guys are everything for everybody, but boy, you really try to be as much as you can for each manufacturer. You know, just to recap, ISO, lean, operational excellence, workforce development. I know Paula is phenomenal recent hire at IMEC. And she’s helping with diversity. Damon, she’s gonna be speaking on our program here in August, someones doing a great job, she took Emily’s place, and we’re teaming up to offer some webinars and some different programming. So again, super, super deep. And so if you are a manufacturer, whether in if you’re in the state of Illinois, you need to connect with Jacqueline, she will get you connected with the right project manager, whatever part of the state you’re coming from, if you’re outside outside of Illinois, boy, reach out to myself or reach out to your local MEP. They do incredible work. So all right, well, how about this, Jacqueline, let’s make it you now know, all about Jacqueline. So I bring a wealth of information of marketing expertise. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve covered like in plastic injection molding, you’ve been told me, you’ve all sorts of great things. So before I take a dive into your marketing expertise, Damon and I love shining a bright light on women and manufacturing, what attracts you. So your marketing guru, what attracted you could go on in any different industry, any different sector? What attracted you to your bringing your skills and your talents to manufacturing?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 13:09
Well, I think, historically, and my background, I grew up in Northwest Indiana, steel belt for sure. Manufacturing is very prevalent. So I always saw the people in my life and my family going to work in manufacturing environments. So that you know, my father and my brother and everyone around me, it seemed happen to work for manufacturers, and even my summer jobs. When I’d come home from college, my mom would bring me to work and the manufacturing environment she was in and I’d work long and hard summer hours and make some money, so I could go back to school. So I’ve just really been a meshed in it most of my life,

Damon Pistulka 13:57
right? That’s not very common, either. I mean, there’s some people we know that are in manufacturing, but it’s not common that that parents and the whole family is involved in manufacturing in different ways. That’s cool. That’s really

Curt Anderson 14:11
awesome. And when you drive through the drive thru Northwest Indiana is so inspiring, especially like historically, you look at you know, just think of like some other great projects, all the steel that has come out of Gary, Indiana, or you know, that whole steel belt, just extremely inspiring. And it’s just straight up just when you look at the filter down of how many small mom and pop manufacturers it took to support that steel industry, you know, and a lot of them are still alive and strong and going well. So that is great to hear what an inspiration that is Jacqueline, let’s talk about your let’s dig into your marketing expertise. So I know like you’ve done an amazing job working with smaller manufacturers, instituting either PR campaigns Google ad, you’re a Google Ad expert. Let’s take a little deep dive for manufacturers out there like man you kind of caught my intention here Jaclyn G I’m manufacture. I’m the best kept secret, I’m struggling with my marketing, maybe some PR, sure a little bit of some of the successes you’ve had, or how you attack projects, the efficiency that you tack with your clients.

Jaclyn Kolodziej 15:13
So I think the biggest thing is really starting to understand who the company is, what their goals are, what their strategic mission is. Is it a growth goal? Is it a workforce goal? Where are you at? And where do you want to be? That’s always the first questions I tend to ask. Next question is do have you ever done any marketing before? And if so, what does that look like? Why why did it end? Why did you stop it? Or why haven’t you started? Right? And then from there, I really like to develop a customized roadmap, depending on what the needs and goals are. So if there’s a goal to get into as many industry publications as possible, all right, fine. Let’s do that. So networking, connecting, building those stories, building that brand, making you look shiny and great, digitally, and on paper, it just wherever I need to be, I want to dig in and figure out what should this look like from a strategic marketing standpoint? And then how do you actually do it and implement it tactically? So that’s, that’s where my, my mojo starts, I guess.

Curt Anderson 16:34
So let’s, let’s take a deep dive right there. Go, Damon, go ahead. Go ahead. Well, that’s,

Damon Pistulka 16:37
that’s awesome, Jaclyn, because, you know, you look at across the board of manufacturer, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a manufacturing company even will like two or three people, manufacturing companies that didn’t have stories, and you talk about building stories about, you know, how they got into business, or some of the cool projects they’ve completed, or, or just the, the culture and community part of their business, or some are so involved in the communities that I mean, it’s just awesome to tell those stories. That’s

Jaclyn Kolodziej 17:10
cool. Cool. And one of my first, you know, another follow up question is, what are you guys really great at? What have you done? What is your story? And then the follow up to that is, well, who’s talking about it? And I like Kurt, you’re one of your sayings is don’t be the best kept secret. And so really taking that and, and exploiting that information in a positive way so that more people can see and hear. And so I’m like, a conduit to be that storyteller for the company. Yeah,

Curt Anderson 17:46
I absolutely love that. And what was great, so I love the background that you had going lead with purpose. And talking about IMEC you know, you guys do such a great job, you know, for what you’re going to MEPS you’re you’re super active on LinkedIn, you’re doing great with social, you do a ton of webinars, a lot of education. You just had a program called called Grow your future, grow your future. And it was and I had, I was the owner and I, you know, for shameless plug, I had the honor and blessing of being a part of it. And boy, you guys did a phenomenal job of helping those manufacturers who either had no web presence whatsoever, or maybe no SEO, you know, the some of them didn’t even know like, Man, I hate to ask you what is SEO? You know, talk a little bit about that process for those manufacturers that are just starting out from scratch, you know, or if you want to share a little bit about that grow your future project at all, Jacqueline.

Jaclyn Kolodziej 18:36
Right. Absolutely. So one of the examples and projects you would ask me via email leading up to this was like, what are some really cool things that you guys are doing this year? So I was definitely going to highlight the girl your future program. So we were able to in a very short time period, maybe three months? Yeah, it was. And you were part of it. So

Curt Anderson 18:59
it was crazy. Yeah. Over 100 Over 100 companies they helped 130 Wow,

Jaclyn Kolodziej 19:05
was that 100 I said I was gonna say 120. So 130 companies focus more on the small to mid mid sized companies that needed that real push to strike up some marketing efforts, whether it was creating a website, building your business pipeline, getting a sales pitch prepared and that presentation, getting some SEO work done. So there were six different offerings, we were able to use all grant funding and provide these different projects free for the client to over 130 companies right so that that that program is just wrapping up now. However, it was a really good chance for IMEC to really influence and help in short order manufacturers specifically with their Growth related services. And now, you know, that’s the start for these companies to keep, keep moving, keep rolling and keeping found and exploring how to build their marketing programs.

Curt Anderson 20:13
Yeah, I mean, think about that. Yeah. You mentioned, you know, there’s 13,000 manufacturers in Illinois, in a three month period, you helped 130 companies, that’s 1%. I know like, Well, wait, 1%. That’s a huge impact, like, you can’t overstate like, that was profound. And it was fast. It was furious. And again, I was so honored and blessed to be a part of it. But just when you saw the results in the, you just, you know, watching these manufacturers move forward, you know, and having like that aha moment, Damon, how many times have we seen that aha moment? We’re like, Oh, I didn’t know how search rankings work. I didn’t know how Google worked. I didn’t understand those Google Ads compared to SEO, or some of these other things that you’re mentioning, Jacqueline. So I’m going to come back to like your superpowers now. Okay, and you have a great process. So guys, first off, yeah, please, you have to connect with Jacqueline here on LinkedIn. Secondly, go to the IMEC website. And I love your profile, you have a nice little write up of your background, you dig deep into like the case studies that you’ve worked on the success that you’ve had with other manufacturers? Jacqueline, if there’s a manufacturer is like, again, like just completely raw, just very brand new boy, they are widget expert. Boy, this whole marketing thing is just not their jam, you walk through a little bit of that process for somebody that is completely brand new. How do you hold their hand and make sure like you’re not speaking over them or really speak their language? So they have that aha moment of like, yes, Jacqueline, I trust you, I understand what you’re saying, Now, kind of walk us through that process a little bit? Well, for

Jaclyn Kolodziej 21:45
me, I want to meet the client where they’re at night. So that’s why I want to find out who you are, what you’re about what your goals are, you know, what’s your secret sauce, and then, depending on where you’re at, I want to connect with you at that level. So I’m not speaking below or above. And, you know, you figure out a plan and you map it out, and you start planning away and getting it done. So that’s where my to do list comes in handy.

Damon Pistulka 22:14
Yeah, I think that’s a great, you, what you just said, is really critical. And a lot of marketers miss it. Because they’re sitting here going, Hey, you should be doing this and that love a love of all in, okay, I’m not ready for a triathlon, if I haven’t gotten out of the couch in the last six months, right? So you really got to start start where you’re at, like you said, it is so critical, because you can be talking to somebody about some advanced hubs, or you know, I’m just using HubSpot, for example, it’s a great platform, blah, blah, blah. But but it could be some advanced thing, right? Their websites, a two page website that doesn’t have anything on it yet. They’ve never even thought about digital, they got no social presence anywhere. You know, there’s a lot of things and that meeting someone where they’re at. And starting from that point, and mapping it out from there, it’s so critical.

Jaclyn Kolodziej 23:06
Oh, yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, a lot of times, if, especially for companies who haven’t really started anything, anything related to marketing, you know, you can pitch them the most great grand plan that cost bazillions of dollars, but that’s not where they’re at. That’s not what their bandwidth is. And so they’re not ready for that. So baby steps. So here’s the first things and, and then what’s next, and you start building out those sprint activities that you could sprint through, and then those marathon activities, the long term.

Damon Pistulka 23:44
That was good Brent and marathon activity,

Curt Anderson 23:47
I told you, this was gonna be a good one. So I absolutely love that Jaclyn. And so meet them where they’re at, let’s just let’s recap on a couple of desks, meet them where they’re at. And like I said, you know, like, you meet up, you know, I’ve had plenty of manufacturers where, you know, I’m like, you know, hey, SEO data, and they’re like, Curt, I’m embarrassed to ask you, I don’t know what SEO is, you know, and that’s we need you know, we need to not be condescending as marketers, we need to help them hold their hand be those trusted guide those trusted resources. Again, Jacqueline, you take great pride in your past and what you’re the skills that you’re bringing to IMEC into the MEP network, and to manufacturers in the great state of Illinois. You take great pride on your project management expertise, that’s another one of your superpowers, hitting those timelines and crushing it within budget. Talk. Can you talk a little bit about maybe some of the past successes you’ve had or how you’re tackling those those types of projects now with IMEC?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 24:43
So really staying focused you the devils in the details and my eye for me? I guess part of that superpower is I’m very calendar oriented. So seeing those dates and those timelines and really, we talked about roadmaps building out that map and that plan. And then really having having everything documented and in good detail to make sure that you’re holding the people who are responsible, accountable, you’re holding yourself accountable for the work that you’ve made the commitment to do. So, for me, as a technical specialist at IMEC, part of what I do is I work with different third party resources, like b2b and heard and, and I’ll help build that roadmap for the client. And then as well as keep, keep everybody else honest, and, and on task with what they’re supposed to be doing and, and the work that they’re supposed to be providing. So that, you know, a website doesn’t take a year and a half to build or, you know, we want to make sure that we’re getting things done, almost like a sprint. But just really keeping keeping the ball rolling and going forward. So just being being focused, detail oriented and, and knowing knowing your dates and your commitments, and juggling it all together. So

Curt Anderson 26:11
it’s perfect. Now, I think Simone shared me, do you have a webinar coming up that you’re presenting? Is that what’s the date? What’s the date on that webinar

Jaclyn Kolodziej 26:20
that you’re doing? It’s the 21st.

Curt Anderson 26:23
Okay. 21st is a Tuesday. So be two weeks, and you’re doing a deep dive in I believe you’re, you’re covering some marketing strategies for manufacturers on that day. Is that correct?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 26:32
Yep. So we’re going to talk all about your digital presence and why it’s very important to know what you what you look like, and how people view you online.

Curt Anderson 26:44
Nice. Perfect. So, guys, so again, what we want to do connect with Jaclyn. Hello, Jay. You got it. Right, man. So you know, when you hang out with Damon Pistulka and wife’s maiden name is evangelic. Like, I need to get these names right, you know, so that’s I’ve been practicing. So alright, so guys, you need to connect with Jaclyn, check out the IMEC website. And what do you want to do when you go to IMEC? Check out their events, check out their webinars that you know, don’t tell them doesn’t matter what state you’re in, pop into their webinars and would love for you to learn because when you come into iMac and then you filter if you’re in I don’t care where you’re at the Dakotas, New York, wherever you’re at, you can pop into iMac and then connect with your MEP, wherever you’re coming from. So Jaclyn, I know we’re coming in at a time you’re super busy. We want to be mindful of everybody’s time out there. So any last parting thoughts, any other workshops webinars that you want to share with what’s going on at iMac that we want to put out there to everybody?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 27:40
Well, I mean, how much time do you have and can’t list them? All?

Curt Anderson 27:45
Right, so Yeah, anything to kind of recap?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 27:49
Well, I think we you know, we’ve had a really strong focus on marketing for the past marketing and growth for the past few months for our clients. So anybody who missed an opportunity to engage or take part in our webinars or reach out to us about what your specific marketing needs are, feel free to connect. I love to meet everyone, talk to them, see what they’re doing and see what their needs are and figure out who the right person is for them to get them moving along, whatever their goals marketing are not. So

Damon Pistulka 28:22
do you have some of the replays on your website to have some of these webinars? Or do you guys not do a lot of that? I can’t remember, I’ve just been a little while since I’ve been on your website.

Jaclyn Kolodziej 28:32
Um, you know, I don’t know that question or that answer right now. I’ll have to look

Damon Pistulka 28:36
to figure that out. Because

Curt Anderson 28:38
we’ve got Jaclyn’s upcoming webinar right here. So

Damon Pistulka 28:41
you go in the chat.

Curt Anderson 28:43
There’s that link right there. That’s perfect. So possible, we’ll do is we’ll add will add some links when the program is done here. So guys, what we want to do is, here’s my last I’m gonna I’m gonna wind down with my last question. It might be another curveball, Jacqueline, I hate to tell you, we might close your ball use or you sit down. You’re ready. I’m ready. Alright, so again, just to recap, we have Jaclyn from IMEC the Illinois MEP, and IMEC does have recordings of that.

Damon Pistulka 29:11
That’s what I thought you can go back and get them at your convenience.

Curt Anderson 29:15
Go Damon, we had the privilege. We did a bunch of webinars over a year ago. And so we are working with Simone on putting out some webinars again for August and September. A lot of fun, incredible workshops that we have planned. And so guys connect with IMEC connect with Jacqueline Jacqueline, my last question for you for the day. So we heard about grandma Yvonne was it it was grandma event I have that right. So wouldn’t what i She was your hero as a little girl growing up and you are just doing an amazing job crushing it as a manufacturing marketing guru helping manufacturers in the great state of Illinois. My last question how today? What are Who is your inspiration today? that’s driving you for success helping your clients move the needle, who’s your inspiration? What Is your inspiration today?

Unknown Speaker 30:02
Oh man, I don’t know. It’s just Monday morning.

Curt Anderson 30:07
Another curveball, man, you know, but we had a really good game last night you see that the mariners had a nice comeback. I’m giving you a little bit about

Damon Pistulka 30:15
Jack they did what they are thinking no one

Curt Anderson 30:19
had a good weekend Seattle had a big win last party that’s not helping. So Jacqueline, what’s the inspiration? what’s inspiring you today? Any family friends, coworkers, clients? Who’s today?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 30:32
I think people so people are inspiring me today and every day so in general you know, working from home sometimes I started realizing and feeling a little bit disconnected socially from people and so it’s hard to get you know, I guess the inspiration is the next person I encounter whether they’re in the grocery store or on a different call for work. I just people inspire me their stories what what they have going on their you know, what’s buzzing in their world I just always want to learn about them to connect and I always try to take nuggets from those experiences and and develop myself to be a better thinker, a better actor a better person. So I’m gonna I’m going to do the vague people are my heroes today.

Curt Anderson 31:27
You know what that was awesome. About a Ron Damon, how about a round of applause for jet? That was a great answer. You know, and the thing is just kind of will wind down on this. You know, you can find such inspiration and just, you know, I was I was with a family thing this weekend. It was late little baby that was just so inspiring. She’s one years old, she’s walking, you know, could be 93 year old grandma Yvonne, you know what I mean? And everybody in between. We love preaching about women in manufacturing, Jaclyn. So you, my friend are a huge inspiration to us. You know, so for young, we’re proud girl dads. So for young women out there that are trying to seek out a career. There are enormous career opportunities in manufacturing are trying to bring in excite this new generation and shine a bright light on manufacturing. So the MEP network is certainly an inspiration to us. You Michelle, Melissa Simone Paula other great folks at IMEC. David belay Oh, you guys are just a great inspiration to us. Keep going out there crushing it. How about just parting thoughts? Jacqueline? wish everybody a great week any parting thoughts? Words of Wisdom? We’ll take it away. What’s What’s the last thing you want to say for everybody?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 32:36
Oh, man. Um, I don’t know. I we all wake up each morning and have to put our pants on the same way once one after the next That’s

Curt Anderson 32:45
right. That’s right. Put one pant one pant like you know, of course with COVID has been a lot of like, you know, workout pants and come jammie pants and all that stuff. Right? So if we get back out in the workplace, it’s a little bit more like, Man, I gotta dress up and put on you know, so anyway, Damon, we’re gonna close things out. Jacqueline, thank you. You are a gift. You are a blessing. Thank you for bringing your talents or skills, your expertise to the MEP network and helping manufacturers in a great state of Illinois. Damon next. This week, we have Nicole Donnelly on Friday, dude, next Thursday, Jacqueline, are you sitting down for this?

Jaclyn Kolodziej 33:19
I’m just sitting. Okay.

Curt Anderson 33:21
We have the founder of Reebok Has anybody ever owned a pair of Reebok shoes? I wear a pair of Reebok and believe it. I had this. So the founder of Reebok Joe foster took a company from zero in 1958. turned it into a billion dollar company. We have the honor blessing we are interviewing Joe foster next Thursday, man. Yeah, do my hair for that one. Daymond. That’s gonna be so we’ll be excited. So we have meet the MEPs every Monday, like Jacqueline forest and what we’re doing around the country. We have Rhode Island next week. We have Cleveland a week after that. And then we’re going all the way out to Oregon right to your neighbors Daymond. So a great, great group of experts that we’re going to be interviewing every Monday here so guys, we’re gonna close out on this. I snuck over the hour so sorry, Jacqueline. Guys, we wish you an absolute incredible phenomenal week. Keep spreading your awesomeness out there. Jacqueline. Thank you for sharing your expertise, your passion, your energy with us. Hang out with other one second we’re gonna close out guys have a great phenomenal week and we will see you on Friday. Thanks, everyone.