“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” 

—Albert Einstein

There are many places where this story could start: 

When I was four and my dad would stop at Boeing Field to watch the planes take off after visiting our grandparents in Georgetown; 

Or in grade school, watching the first 707 take flight from Renton field and fly past our home; 

Or searching the night sky for the Milky Way and all the signs of the zodiac while dreaming of becoming a scientist like Albert Einstein; 

Or perhaps when I was in high school learning home economics, known today as “domestic engineering.” 

All these experiences played a part in our aerospace journey. A long time has passed since high school and a lot has happened since then. 

Born in Montana in a farming family, my husband Larry found his true self in shop class in high school. He went to work in a machine shop right after graduation learning machining skills. With over 50 years in the trade, Larry has earned the title of master machinist. 

Starting out in our garage, Larry taught me how to machine parts; my first were overhead stow bin latches. I still remember the finish was brown and textured like sand. Four hundred parts were all machined on a manual mill, with eight hundred holes drilled and tapped, each requiring a separate set up. That is when I began thinking “How could we drill and tap in one operation to save time?” 

We continued to grow our business and it was not long before Hobart was a direct supplier to The Boeing Company, supporting many programs in defense, space, and new commercial aircraft development. 

The engineers at Boeing were confident in our work and urged us to support the Aris (active rack isolation system) for the MIR space station, Airborne Laser, V-22 Osprey rotor test fixtures, and satellite cradles. 

Through expansion we started supporting the Sea Launch program, making edge margin closures, venting doors for the rockets, actuator housings for opening the payload bay doors to release the satellites, plus many other components and assemblies. 

During this time, NASA asked me to serve on an all-volunteer space supplier council overseen by the Aerospace Space Corporation. Meetings took place at SCIF’s — top security clearance facilities; I served for 14 years. 

Through our associations we were fortunate to have engaged with many Boeing Company CEO’s — sitting next to Stan Deal talking about workforce issues at a supplier diversity conference; engaging in conversation with Alan Mullaly, Phil Condit, Scott Carson, and Ray Conner about our industry and supply chain while advocating for our industry on the global stage. 

Expanding into other technologies, we started exporting, which was not part of our business plan. Our customer was the driving force and guided us through the steps, with help from the Bureau of Industry and Security and our local U.S. Commercial Service office. This led to an appointed position on our local District Export Council, serving as a volunteer for over twenty years. 

As we grew, education and training gained increasing importance to us, with development of an internship program starting with high school students at age 15. 

It has been nine years now since our first intern came to us, she is employed at Blue Origin as a systems engineer and we could not be prouder of her and her accomplishments. It has been an honor to have shared our knowledge with all of our interns on their career paths. 

Giving back and supporting our local community is something we love to do — starting with serving on multiple education advisory boards; Board of Directors, Central Washington University MET program; Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center; National Science Foundation projects at Edmonds College; and Hofstra University Needed Math for Manufacturing Technicians, developing a curriculum in STEM for transitioning sewing and cooking into aerospace manufacturing careers. We also serve on the Washington State Aerospace Pipeline Committee, the Association of Washington Business Manufacturing Task Force, Aerospace Futures Alliance, and more. 

Our commitments to these organizations and others have led to a world of travel, taking us places we had never imagined and meeting individuals you only read about. 

Larry and I are grateful to everyone who has encouraged and supported us. We deeply appreciate the recognition for our accomplishments with awards in manufacturing, education, technology, leadership, exporting and advocacy. 

Who would have thought all those years ago that two students in home economics and shop class would find their way into this dynamic and ever-growing aerospace, space and technology driven industry? We sure did not and we feel blessed to have people in our lives who pushed us out of our comfort zone and saw the leaders in us. 

The future is bright for our industry and those who will follow in our footsteps. 

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Dean@northwestaerospacenews.com