Marion County Educator to Receive Special Recognition at Manufacturers Summit

TAMPA, Fla. - Nov. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Manufacturers and educators committed to promote, educate, and train Florida’s high-tech workforce willreceive special recognition at the 10^th Annual Manufacturers Association of Florida, Manufacturers (MAF) Summit. The awards will be presented on Dec. 5 at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort and Golf Club in Saint Petersburg, Fla., by FLATE (Florida Advanced Technological Education Center), the National Science Foundation (NSF) regional center of excellence for manufacturing located at Hillsborough Community College (HCC) in Brandon. Marilyn Barger, Ph.D., principal investigator and executive director of FLATE says “the awards stand as a testament to Florida’s high-tech workforce.”  This year’s awardees join a distinguished group of educators and industry professionals “who have made significant contributions in enhancing technician training and education in Florida” Barger said.

Dale Toney, will receive the 2013 FLATE Secondary Educator of the Year Award. Toney exemplifies qualities sought in an educator. He is the robotics and automation teacher at Marion Technical Institute (MTI) in Ocala, and has been teaching engineering technology for several years. Toney transfers his passion for engineering by finding creative ways to capture students’ interest. He has established strong partnerships not only with local industry, but with teachers and community college educators across Florida. His program at MTI is aligned with the industry driven, MSSC CPT certification which has added to the skills set of his students, making them better qualified for higher paying jobs.

Toney is big on hands-on projects, and regularly takes students on local industry tours, or invites industry professionals to provide first-hand, real-world perspective to students. Most recently, he won a scholarship to attend the HI-TEC conference in Austin where he participated in conference sessions about new technologies, student recruitment/retention, and strengthening industry/workforce partnerships.

2013 marks the seventh year of the FLATE awards. Since the implementation of the awards program in 2006, FLATE has recognized 14 educators in secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, and seven industry partners. For more information on the FLATE awards, or to nominate an awardee for next year, visit www.fl-ate.org, or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger, executive director of FLATE at barger@fl-ate.org/813.259.6578.

FLATE is a National Science Foundation Regional Center of Excellence, committed to ensuring Florida has a well prepared workforce for advanced and emerging technologies. Created in 2004, FLATE is one of 46 Advanced Technological Education Centers in the United States funded by the National Science Foundation focused on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and training to meet the needs of American advanced technology industries. For more information visit www.fl-ate.org.