What I did during winter vacation

I spend my winters volunteering and working on how to fix the world, one problem at a time. One project I worked on is now saving one U.S. soldier’s life a day and is well on its way to saving 166 civilian lives a day on U.S. roads and highways. I did not do this myself, but rather as part of a large team that everyone was invited to join. To describe my part in it think of me as an ant helping to move a potato chip.

Now I am on to the next thing. For kids to fix the world they are inheriting, they are going to need science, technology, engineering and math skills. Studies indicate our generation has not done enough to encourage the development of the necessary skills in the next generation to run the country after we are gone. Ooops.

In reply to my suggestion that it can’t be all that bad, I was told that we do not make the chips that go into our weapon systems and have not made them for years. They are made by foreign countries. As a military veteran and engineer, I know what she meant. I was being told that the first thing the next generation is going to have to do is replace all the weapons that my generation is leaving to them. This is a big job requiring beaucoup skills. Tick-tock.

Kids like guns and it is never too soon to learn about gun safety, so when they find one they won’t shoot themselves or another kid. With that in mind, I helped start a 4-H Shooting Sports program here in Traverse City, Mich., and used one of my shop bays as a shooting range until they found a home at one of the commercial shooting ranges here in town. 4-H provided training for adult instructors and money to get it started. This is something you can do in your neighborhood too.

What will encourage the next generation to become interested in developing the skills it takes to become their generation’s scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians and golf course equipment managers that can fix the world problems they will face in their lifetime? At the request of Teresa Mills in Fife Lake, the next town over, about a half-hour drive from here, I am helping her start a 4-H technology club of her own and helping her set up a general purpose manufacturing facility/community center. Her non-profit organization is called Fife Lake MakersPlace and Community Center. They are well on their way to building a new building just off the highway in Fife Lake and outfitting it with all the cool toys. The name is a takeoff of the word MakerSpace which is a worldwide movement to create workshop spaces outfitted with tools and materials where anyone can learn how to use the tools and build anything they can imagine. Who wouldn’t want access to $2.5 million worth of cool tools for a fee similar to a gym membership? What would you build if you had access to tools and a space to work? MakerSpaces typically have 3-D printers, laser cutters, welders, lathes … well you get the idea.

Why do I do all this? Why should you do this too? It is called pay it forward. The people before us got us to where we are now and it is up to us to pass on what we know before we age out of the system.

Who are the customers of a golf course? The ones I have met were the key people of their generation and are retired now. They can be supporters, mentors, volunteers for FIRST robotics teams (firstinspires.org), 4-H technology clubs (4-h.org), or their local MakerSpace and pass some of what they know to the next generation. All it takes is for someone to ask them to help.