Last week, AEM’s national grassroots campaign I Make America took a trip across Iowa to continue its 2022 educational tour, reintroducing its  program to the 2.8 million men and women of the equipment manufacturing industry. In Iowa, the industry employs 132,536 Iowans and has a $13.6 billion impact on the state’s economy – and the industry can make an even greater impact by building our grassroots momentum through equipment manufacturers in Iowa and their communities. 

And that’s exactly what our team was on the ground to do. I Make America made stops into CemenTech, Vermeer, and Ring-O-Matic to meet with employees face-to-face at the facilities and take a deep dive into what our grassroots campaign can accomplish when we work together. It cannot be stated enough that our grassroots efforts are only as strong as the companies and employees that support us. The more voices we have advocating to lawmakers on behalf of equipment manufacturing, the more powerful we are at influencing elected officials to support pro-manufacturing policies.  

“The goal of these visits is to build momentum through a powerful community of advocates from the ground up, growing I Make America’s 40,000+ community of existing supporters,” said AEM Director of Grassroots Advocacy Wade Balkonis. “I Make America has worked to make it easier for supporters to connect with lawmakers through its Action Hub, hub.imakeamerica.org which allows people to tweet, email, write letters, and much more directly with elected officials,” continued Balkonis. 

If you interested in getting more engaged with I Make America or want information about hosting an educational visit in-person or digitally, learn more about the issues impacting the equipment manufacturing industry and join the tens of thousands of men and women across the country who fight for pro-manufacturing policies every day, contact AEM’s Wade Balkonis  at wbalkonis@aem.org and get started today! 

For more AEM news and updates, subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor.