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July 19, 2017 (Fort Wayne, IN) – The Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association (NIDIA) today announced the election Alan Tio to serve as chairman of the organization, which works to grow the defense sector throughout a 20-county region. Tio has served in local, regional, and state level economic development roles in Northeast Indiana and recently joined Michael Kinder & Sons, Inc. as Economic Developer.
“Alan is the right person at the right time for the Chairman of the Board position. NIDIA is ready to try new and innovative ideas to support our membership and more important, grow our defense sector” said past chairman David L. Augustine, COL (RET), “NIDIA is committed to making sure Northeast Indiana is at the forefront of our statewide effort to establish Indiana as ‘the State that works in Defense!'”
In addition, the NIDIA board of directors elected Rick Howard, Program Manager at Raytheon as the new Vice Chairman and Bill Busch, Business Consultant at Xcel HR as the new Secretary. Scott Maddox, Director of Engineering at Riverside Manufacturing, will continue in his position as Treasurer.
“In recent years, NIDIA’s volunteer board has developed a roadmap called “Why Northeast Indiana for Defense,” said Tio, “Now we must work with our 50+ members to implement the plan in order to grow the defense sector and maximize opportunities to provide the warfighter with the best tools possible.”
THE NIDIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
| Name, Industry | Role |
| Alan Tio, MKS | *Chairman |
| Rick Howard, Raytheon | *Vice Chairman |
| Scott Maddox, Riverside Mfg. | *Treasurer |
| Bill Busch, XcelHR | *Secretary |
| David Augustine, Stryke Industries | *Past Chairman |
| Bill Andrews | *Executive Board Member, Independent |
| Eric Webster, Harris Corporation | *Executive Board Member, Large Business |
| Scott Swymeler, BAE | *Executive Board Member, Large Business |
| Chris Straw, Team Quality Services | *Executive Board Member, Small Business |
| Joe Predina, Logistikos | *Executive Board Member, Small Business |
| Stacey Smith, Prairie Quest | *Executive Board Member, Small Business |
| Gil Perry, Indiana PTAC | *Executive Board Member, Small Business |
| Pat McCammon, SkySight Technologies | *Executive Board Member, Small Business |
About the Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association
The NIDIA (Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association) was formed with the idea to help fuel industry development in our area. Starting in 2010 we worked with community educators to help develop and improve the local defense community’s ability to attract and retain the required talent to effectively execute business and improve interaction between the defense industry and suppliers in the region. In 2015, the board voted unanimously to extend our reach to a 20 county region. For more information about NIDIA, please visit www.nidiaonline.org.
Media Contact
Alan Tio
atio@kinderandsons.com
260-414-7841