AMUG Members Elect Three to Board of Directors
MILWAUKEE, WISC., April 27, 2022 – The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) today announced the election of three individuals to its Board of Directors. Mark Abshire, Shannon Van Deren and Jason Dickman will serve as President, Vice President and Director of Membership, respectively.
These newly elected individuals have been actively involved in AMUG and the AMUG Conference for many years and in many capacities. Each has also received AMUG’s coveted DINO Award, which recognizes selfless service to AMUG, its members and the additive manufacturing community.
Carl Dekker, AMUG’s current President, said, “It is a pleasure to welcome experienced and seasoned members to our board. This is a time of growth, and it brings a lot of work that I feel these additions will be able to address as we continue to expand our membership. Their experience within the organization and history in our industry will give them the foundations to support great advancements in our organization.”
(from left) Mark Abshire, Shannon Van Deren and Jason Dickman have been elected to serve on the AMUG Board.
The two-year term for these positions will commence on July 1, 2022. The balance of the board includes four elected positions with one year remaining in their terms, the Past President position and two appointed positions.
The 2022- 2023 AMUG Board members are:
- President: Mark Abshire
- Past President: Carl Dekker, Met-L-Flo
- Vice President: Shannon Van Deren, Layered Manufacturing and Consulting
- Treasurer: Vince Anewenter, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE)
- Secretary: Leslie Frost, 6K, Inc.
- Director of Membership: Jason Dickman, ClassIQmfg.com
- Director of Education & Conference: Jordan Weston, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE)
- Director of Business Development: Tim Bell, Siemens Digital Industries USA
- Director of Events and Hospitality: Thomas Sorovetz
- Director at Large: Gary Rabinovitz, Reebok International
Mark Abshire and Shannon Van Deren will also be officers of the corporation. The other officers are Leslie Frost, Secretary, and Vince Anewenter, Treasurer.
Mark Abshire, who recently retired from Computer Aided Technology, will replace Carl Dekker as President. Dekker, who has served three terms as President, will take on the Past President position.
Abshire has filled many roles over the 32 years that he has attended the AMUG Conference. At the board level, he has served as Vice President (2011 and 2012) and Secretary (2013), and he has supported the board as an Advisor and as Registrar. He is a member of the Registration Committee and a former member of the Nomination Committee. Other volunteer roles span from presenter to Technical Competition judge to AMUGexpo organizer. Abshire is also a recipient of AMUG’s highest honor, the President’s Award for exceptional service.
Abshire said, “With over 30 years as an AMUG member and almost half of those years working on the AMUG Board of Directors in various positions and several committees, my business retirement did not mean ending a relationship with this users group. But rather, it offered an opportunity to give back and serve this community that has been an integral part of a successful lifetime career. My goal as President is to ensure that AMUG’s growth and direction are sustainable while providing a path forward for a new generation to follow with success.”
Shannon Van Deren, President of Layered Manufacturing and Consulting, will hold the position of Vice President. For eight years, she has served as the AMUG Track Leader for the medical portion of the AMUG Conference program. Van Deren is a member of the DINO Selection Committee and past Industry Liaison. Her other volunteer activities include serving as an advisor for SME’s additive manufacturing activities and as a member of 3D Metal Printing’s advisory board.
Van Deren said, “After having orchestrated the content and contributions from OEMs and attendees to populate the medical track, it seems a natural transition to serve AMUG in a broader scope. The Vice President role has great focus in blending the offerings, intellect and experience between our user community and the OEMs that support those efforts.”
The newly elected Director of Membership, Jason Dickman, is the CTO of ClassIQmfg.com. He has attended the AMUG Conference since 1995 and participated as a speaker, moderator, Technical Competition judge, and competitor in the Technical Competition. Dickman’s legacy includes the creation of the digital dinosaur, via 3D scanning, that is 3D printed and mounted on all AMUG DINO awards presented over the past 25 years.
Dickman said, “I felt that I had more to give to AMUG in return for what it has given me. I ran for office because I am at a place in my life where I can dedicate the time needed to fulfill the duties of a member of the board.”
Dekker expressed gratitude for the two board members that are stepping down from their positions, Andrew Allshorn, Vice President, and Bill Macy, Director of Membership. He said, “We have had very challenging endeavors over the recent pandemic years. It was a pleasure to work with Andrew and Bill as we overcame these challenging times. Their efforts have helped build the foundations our new board can build upon and helped generate a growing organization that will prevail the test of time.”
The board’s primary responsibilities will include building the program for the 2023 conference, soliciting support from businesses in the additive manufacturing industry, and overseeing the event’s day-to-day activities. The five-day conference will feature the AMUGexpo, hands-on workshops, training labs, instructional sessions, technical presentations, and an off-site dinner. The 2023 AMUG Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from March 19 – 23.
About Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG)
AMUG is an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. AMUG members include those with industrial additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies used for professional purposes from companies such as Covestro Additive Manufacturing, Desktop Metal, DMG MORI, Dyndrite, EOS, Essentium, ExOne, fabWeaver, Formlabs, GE Additive, Hexagon, HP 3D Printing, LuxCreo, Meltio, Nexa3D, Stratasys, and Tekna. AMUG meets annually to provide education and training through technical presentations on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make. Online at www.amug.com.
