Happy New Year!

VOICE NEWSLETTER: JANUARY 2026

Lake's Take

Hello Friends,

As we step into a new year, I’m filled with optimism for what lies ahead for Florida’s manufacturing community. January always brings fresh momentum and 2026 is shaping up to be a year of opportunity. Across Florida, manufacturers are expanding operations, investing in advanced technologies, and strengthening supply chains. Nationally, we’re seeing continued reshoring efforts, increased innovation in automation and aerospace, and a renewed focus on workforce development. These trends position manufacturers, especially those in our region, to lead with resilience and creativity.

At FCMA, our mission remains clear: to connect, advocate, and elevate our members as you navigate a rapidly changing landscape. This year will bring new conversations, stronger partnerships, and practical resources designed to help your business grow. I encourage you to join us at our Annual January Membership Meeting, where we’ll share important FCMA updates, outline priorities for the year ahead, and connect as a community. Your voice and engagement matter as we shape what’s next, together.

Warmest regards,
Lake Ray
President, First Coast Manufacturers Association

Recent Events

Holiday Social
We had a great time gathering with you at our annual festive holiday party! This year, we brought the party to Beach Bowl and we enjoyed great food and big laughs as we saw who had the flex of being the best bowler. Thank you to all of you who came out to join us!

Upcoming Events

January General Meeting
January will once again be our Annual Membership meeting, taking place at J-Tech on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, from 3:00-5:00pm. Email information@fcmaweb.com to RSVP! You must RSVP to attend this meeting. Please note- Members are allowed to bring up to 2 first time guests to a General Meeting. Guests must RSVP with FCMA. Guests may only attend one meeting before joining FCMA.

New Members

CN2 Spatial

Margaret Posthauer, Founder/CEO
margaret.posthauer@cn2spatial.com

CN2 is the leader in Enterprise Spatial Computing, combining AR, VR and AI, and our patented Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, allows elegant, scalable, Spatial Computing Applications, that historically took months to develop, to be created within days. Our platform is offered as four highly customizable products, that may be private labeled; Insight for Sales and Marketing, Experience for Training and support, View for Real Property Applications and Perspective, for viewing all CN2 content via modern web browsers.

Workforce Development

LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

The FCMA Leadership Academy is ready to kick off the New Year with our first program for 2026. Our Frontline Supervisor I winter program will begin on 1/27/26. The class registration deadline is 1/20/26 and is already 80% full! You can reserve seats now by contacting Mike Templeton at mike@templetonms.com and students can register online now using this link. We suggest you hurry!

Looking ahead, we are excited to offer our next one-day Leadership Essentials program on 4/8/26 as well as our redesigned Frontline Supervisor II class kicking off on 4/22/26. Online registrations are available through the FCMA website at https://fcmaweb.com/training/leadership-training/.

Member Corner

FCMA Committee Membership
We are always seeking new members of our committees! Make it a resolution to join one in 2026. Members can choose from:

Workforce Development
Government Relations
Business to Business
Membership Services
Environmental Health & Safety

Learn more here.

Join us on Saturday, February 7, 2026, for Live2Lead, a transformative leadership experience led by the John Maxwell Training Team and other world-class speakers.

Leadership Conference 2026
Lead with Confidence. Grow with Purpose. Impact with Clarity.
Join thousands of leaders at Live2Lead - a transformative leadership experience designed to help you elevate your influence and achieve lasting impact. You'll hear directly from world-class speakers - including John C. Maxwell and other influential voices - who understand your challenges and are ready to help you overcome them.

Saturday, February 7, 2026
8:00 AM - 2:30 PM
EpiCenter at St. Petersburg College
13805 58th St. N, Clearwater, FL 33760
Learn more by contacting beth@bama-fl.org or visiting www.bama-fl.org/

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