The Rock River Valley Tooling & Machining Association (RRVTMA), the Stateline’s chapter of the NTMA, is pleased to announce the election of Jared Lyford as its new President, effective immediately. Lyford succeeds Casey Schwebke, President of Swebco Manufacturing, who served as President of the chapter for 4 years.
“Shortly after I took over as president, I asked Jared to if he was interested in joining our board of directors,” says Schwebke. “I have known Jared for several years, both personally and professionally, and knew he would be the perfect person to join our board. Jared has been through our apprenticeship program and has worked his way up to Director of Operations at Forest City Gear; he knows the importance of training the next generation. His drive and passion to help apprentices succeed is contagious. I look forward to seeing where Jared’s leadership takes us moving forward.”
Lyford comes to the presidency after serving two years as RRVTMA’s Director of Public Relations. As Director of Operations at Forest City Gear and an alumnus of RRVTMA’s gear cutting machinist apprenticeship, Lyford’s decades of operational leadership background combined with firsthand program knowledge uniquely position him to lead the chapter through a period of growth, advocacy, and workforce development.
“I look forward to this opportunity, as workforce development and the apprenticeship model are extremely important to me, as my career started through the apprenticeship program,” says Lyford. “The RRVTMA is a longstanding association in the Stateline area, partnering with local businesses to offer training and networking opportunities. I am honored to be able to work with the team in place to continue our strategic direction for the next term and maximize value for the membership and quality of options and product offerings for the apprentices.”
As Lyford steps into this new role, Schwebke will transition into an alternative trustee role on the board.
To learn more about the RRVTMA and their mission to bolster manufacturing in the region, visit https://rrvtma.com/.
