From STEP Ahead to Stepping Up

00:00:00: Hello, I'm your host Adam Brunner and welcome to The Evonic Minute.

00:00:04: Your quick bi-weekly podcast for all the important stories news and announcements.

00:00:09: free Vonix North America region.

00:00:11: the date is March twelve twenty twenty six And on today's episode two colleagues are recognized as recipients of the twenty twenty sixth step ahead Awards.

00:00:20: our career ambassadors program seeks passionate employees to represent the company and Evonic receives recognition

00:00:26: from the

00:00:27: Alabama Germany partnership.

00:00:29: Those stories and more coming up in just a minute.

00:00:41: First stop, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of two colleagues who've been recognized with the prestigious twenty-twenty six step ahead awards

00:00:49: for their contributions to Ivonic and the broader manufacturing industry.

00:00:53: Jennifer Dagnall site manager at Ivonix Little

00:00:55: Rock Arkansas facility was named as Step Ahead Honoree while Rachel Polowski

00:01:01: business manager for agricultural surfactants In The US And Canada Was

00:01:05: recognized in the emerging leaders category.

00:01:08: Coinciding with International Women's Day, the Step Ahead Awards are presented by The Manufacturing Institute and honor women and allies who are driving innovation leadership and inclusivity in manufacturing.

00:01:19: The winners will be recognized at the Step ahead awards gala in Washington DC on April twenty-third.

00:01:25: Jennifer has been instrumental in driving business results and fostering community impact at Yvonnec's Catalyst Production Facility in Little Rock especially in the fields of STEM education and mentoring.

00:01:36: This recognition

00:01:37: is meaningful

00:01:38: to me because it highlights the impact of my work in STEM.

00:01:42: STEM

00:01:42: education has the power to open doors and create opportunities, now I'm committed to helping young women realize their potential achieve their goals and make lasting contributions that shape the future of our industry.

00:01:55: Meanwhile Rachel has demonstrated exceptional leadership and technical expertise at Avonic as well as founding The Early Career Professionals Employee Resource Group which focuses on mentorship networking, and professional development for new professionals.

00:02:09: Founding the Early Career Professionals has been a rewarding experience.

00:02:12: seeing this group grow to over ten chapters in witnessing the mentorship and development at Foster's inspires me to continue building inclusive communities that empowers future leaders.

00:02:23: Next employer branding is launching its refreshed an expanded career ambassador program In The United States along with A New US Employer Branding Hub.

00:02:33: This initiative is designed to empower employees, share their stories and showcase why Avonix is an exceptional place for work.

00:02:40: The new Career Ambassador program will go beyond traditional career fairs offering employees opportunities to represent Avonics in everyday lives.

00:02:47: while the new U.S.

00:02:48: employer branding hub provides a centralized resource of tools materials templates ideas for events student engagement volunteering community storytelling.

00:02:59: Avonic is inviting employees from all sites, functions and levels to join the career ambassador community.

00:03:05: The program is open for anyone passionate about their

00:03:07: role or eager to share

00:03:08: their experience as Holly Boucher, U.S.

00:03:11: employer branding manager explains.

00:03:13: So a program like this benefits Ivonic because we have more multipliers talking about what makes

00:03:20: us an attractive employer real

00:03:21: authentic stories from people that do the work and make an impact, And you can start to see the diversity in our employees on their career paths.

00:03:29: Because I think one of the great things about Ivonic is that You can come in In one role and completely into years change into something else and Ivanic embraces That.

00:03:37: so This will allow us To be able to communicate.

00:03:45: Lastly, Ivonic was recently honored by the Alabama-Germany

00:03:48: Partnership or AGP at an event

00:03:50: for its contribution

00:03:51: to Alabama's

00:03:52: economy and it's role in strengthening the partnership with Alabama &

00:03:55: Germany.

00:03:56: The award was presented by Melanie Moltmann German Council General of South and Ellen McNair Secretary of Commerce for Alabama during a gathering more than three hundred German and American leaders from industry government education culture.

00:04:10: AGP fosters relationships between Alabama and Germany with over eighty German companies operating in the state.

00:04:16: As the oldest German company in Alabama, Yvonnek recently expanded its Birmingham labs adding forty-five jobs and contributing to the State a projected three point one million dollar economic impact for next decade.

00:04:28: This investment supports Alabama's growing bioscience sector which employs

00:04:32: nearly eighteen thousand people!

00:04:34: Yvonek remains committed driving progress on Biosciences as Stephanie Schaefer, Assistant Director of Parental Development at Birmingham Labs explained.

00:04:43: Ivonic is proud to be part of Alabama's thriving bioscience industry.

00:04:48: by investing in groundbreaking technologies and creating new jobs we're not just shaping the future of medicine.

00:04:55: We are helping build a stronger more vibrant community here.

00:05:01: This recognition from AJP is a testament to what Ivonic and our community partners can achieve together.

00:05:11: And that's the news, I'm Adam Brunner.

00:05:14: Thank you for spending some time with us today on The Ivonic

00:05:26: Minute.