PMPA First Vice President, Darlene Miller, President & CEO of Permac Industries, was announced yesterday as a recipient of the Manufacturing Institute’s first ever, “Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Award. The inaugural STEP Awards honor women who have demonstrated excellence in leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory floor to the C suite. View the list of 2013 STEP Award Honorees: Award Recipients List

According to Jennifer McNelly, President of the Manufacturing Institute, “These 122 women are the faces of exciting careers in manufacturing. We chose to honor these women because they each made significant achievements in manufacturing through a positive impact on their company and the industry as a whole.”

Darlene’s leadership success reaches far beyond Permac. As a member of the President's Council for Jobs and Competitiveness (PCJC), Darlene recognized the need for trained high skill workers in advanced manufacturing. She promoted the nationwide adoption of the Right Skills Now training program and supported the 10,000 Engineers program, created to spur engineer retention by providing student internships.

Darlene was named Small Business Person of the Year by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, currently serves as First Vice President of the Precision Machined Products Association, and was selected by her peers to be the association's first female President in 2014.

The STEP Awards are part of the larger STEP Ahead initiative launched to examine and promote the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and best practices for attracting, advancing and retaining strong female talent.

 Congratulations to Darlene for being named to this elite group of award recipients!