Recently, Mike Galiazzo, President of RMI of Maryland and Mike Kelleher, Director of the Maryland MEP, had the pleasure of attending the 2023 Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Summer Conference (held August 16th-19th), representing Maryland’s Manufacturing sector by networking with key leaders, educating stakeholders, promoting and sharing our message and advocating for growth and support. This years “Where the Rubber Meets the Road” themed conference set an attendance record and included key political leaders, representatives from the Moore Administration, county representatives and stakeholders from around the state.
Throughout the four-day event, Kelleher and Galiazzo connected with Maryland’s Federal, State and Local Government Leaders to highlight the importance of manufacturing to our economy and let them know that technology, talent and transformation are defining today’s manufacturing industry.
Message from Mike Galiazzo:
At MACo, Governor Moore talked about the realities of our State’s lackluster national standing and calls for Maryland to do more to grow our Economy.
I say we can do that by “Making Maryland Manufacturing a Priority.”
Based on my conversations with a broad spectrum of public policymakers, there is growing support for Manufacturing in Maryland.
MACo is the place to meet elected officials and other policymakers. “Mike and Mike,” as we were dubbed by many of those we spoke with, lost no time getting our message out about the importance of manufacturing to our economy and underscoring the current labor shortage and employment challenges that many of today’s manufacturers are facing.
A key takeaway from my conversations with elected officials at all levels of government is that People Like Manufacturing. The Governor emphasized the need to be more deliberate with our investment of state dollars to create a more robust and viable economy. I believe it is time to promote the value of Manufacturing to our economy, counties, Baltimore City, and communities.
Governor Moore asks for bold, responsible thinking to create an economy that positions Maryland as a national leader. Manufacturing can and should be part of that new direction. Many of the states that Governor Moore mentioned as having strong economies are states that invested in manufacturing. Manufacturing is a wealth-producing industry and an instrument of social change. Manufacturing leads most industry sectors in adopting advanced technologies like digital tech, biotech, nanotech, and material sciences. These technologies are game-changers, that should be used to position Maryland as a global leader in next-generation advanced manufacturing.
I encourage all of you who support Maryland manufacturing to reach out to your elected officials to let them know it’s time for “Making Maryland Manufacturing a Priority” for the good of all Marylanders.
Message from Mike Kelleher:
The Maryland Association of Counties (MACo’s) annual conference brings together leaders from throughout the State, and this year’s theme “Where the Rubber Meets the Road” was focused on how county government can deliver for Maryland’s communities.
As an industry, manufacturing is represented in virtually EVERY community in Maryland and it does more to deliver economic impact through job opportunities and contribution to the local economy and tax-base.
MACo provided an opportunity for Maryland MEP and RMI to share this message that manufacturing is important, and in fact, now more than ever we should be investing in manufacturing as an economic engine that can deliver for our communities into the future.
Throughout the conference, Mike Galiazzo and myself had the opportunity to talk with Governor Moore, his Cabinet leaders and many of our legislators to share this message.
The overwhelming response from these conversations was positive… it is clear that people like manufacturing, people believe manufacturing is important, but there is still a general lack of awareness of how important manufacturing is to our State and how it can be an economic engine for our future.
We have an opportunity to make Maryland a leader in manufacturing, both domestically and globally. Maryland is home to nearly 4,000 manufacturers that are above all else, problem solvers! We have companies that are doing amazing things in aerospace and defense, the life-sciences, food and beverage manufacturing and so much more. These companies are just a few of the many examples of innovation and ingenuity that power our manufacturing sector.
MACo was just the start of our efforts, we need all of you to reach out to your elected officials and let them know that NOW is the time for us to double-down on our investments in manufacturing to drive our economy forward!
Getting the word Out:
During MACo, “Mike & Mike” had the pleasure of engaging with a number of notable legislators and policymakers to emphasize the importance of Maryland manufacturing. These names include:
- Governor Wes Moore
- Lt. Governor Aruna Miller
- US Senator Chris Van Hollen
- Comptroller Brooke Lierman
- Senate President Bill Ferguson
- House Speaker Adrienne Jones
- State Treasurer Derick Davis
- Secretary of Environment Serena C. McIlwain
- Secretary of Labor Portia Wu
- Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks
- Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr.
- Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater
- Delegate Lily Qi
- Delegate Scott Phillips
- Delegate Chow Wu
- Delegate J. Sandy Bartlett
- Senator Brian Feldman
- Senator Ben Brooks
- Senator Sarah Elfreth
- Senator Shelly Hettleman
- Former Senator Jim Mathias
- Public Service Commissioner, Kumar Barve
- Special Assistant, Governor’s Office Alexandria Liu
- Prince Georges Council Wanika Fisher
- City Councilman Eric Costello
- Baltimore County Councilman Chair Julian Jones
- Baltimore County Councilman Izzy Patoka
- Carrol County Commissioner Ed Rothstein
- Senator Malcolm L. Augustine
- Montgomery County Council Dawn Luedtke
- Governor’s Chief Legislative Officer Eric Luedtke