If elected, Board members and officers will serve a two-year term covering calendar years 2006 and 2007. The election will be held at IPC Printed Circuits Expo®, APEX® and the Designers Summit at the Annual Meeting luncheon on February 8, 2006, at 12:00 pm. Officer nominations are: Nominated for Chairman: Jim Herring, president and CEO, Circuit Service Inc., Wheeling, Ill. Prior to joining Circuit Service in 1996, Herring had more than 30 years experience in the commercial banking arena. He has served on IPC's strategic planning committee since 1996 and is currently a member of the EMS Management Council Steering Committee. Herring became a Board member in 2001. Nominated for Vice Chairman: Mike Buscher, president, Assembléon America, Alpharetta, Ga. Buscher is a past chairman of the IPC SMEMA Council and was instrumental in founding APEX. He has over 30 years experience in electronics automation. Buscher has served on the Board since 2001 and is a member of the IPC Government Relations Committee. Nominated for Secretary/Treasurer: Paul Langston, CEO, Coretec, Inc., Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Langston has been on the Board since 2003. Langston is an active member of the IPC Presidents Council. Nominated to return for another two-year term: Peter Bigelow, president, IMI, Haverhill, Mass. Bigelow has been a Board member since 2004 and also served from 1998 – 2001. Bigelow is a member and former chairman of the IPC Presidents Council Steering Committee. Mike Carano, vice president, marketing and strategic development, Electrochemicals, Inc., Maple Plain, Minn. Carano has been active in IPC for 20 years and originally had a designated seat on the Board as chairman of the PCB Suppliers Council. Carano currently serves on the Executive Market and Technology Forum (formerly TMRC) and PCB Suppliers Steering Committees and has been a Board member since 2004. Steve Pudles, president and CEO, Nu Visions Manufacturing, LLC, Springfield, Mass. Pudles was a founding member of the Assembly Market Research Council Steering Committee and currently chairs the EMS Management Council. He has been a member of the Board since 2001. Nilesh Naik, CEO, OneSource Group, Dallas, Texas. Naik has been active in IPC for 10 years and currently serves as chair of the PCB Presidents Council Steering Committee and as a member of the IPC Government Relations Committee. He has been a Board member since 2002. Nominees for first-time terms on the Board are: Michael Brown, CEO, Micro Dynamics, Eden Prairie, Minn. Brown has been active in IPC for 10 years. He chaired the Minnesota Project Innovation and participated in the Minnesota High Technology Council and SMTA. He founded Micro Dynamics in 1981. Joseph O'Neil, president, Hunter Technology Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. O'Neil leads Hunter Technology after completing a management buy-out in 2005. O'Neil has chaired several IPC/CCA Sacramento Days and has been active in the IPC and California Circuits Association for more than 10 years. Don Schroeder, president, CTS Electronics Manufacturing Solutions, Moorpark, Calif. Schroeder has extensive international business experience and currently has responsibility for operations in five countries on three continents. Schroeder serves on the Executive Market and Technology Forum Steering Committee. Dave Van Loan, president and CEO, Dover Technologies, Binghamton, N.Y. Van Loan was previously president of Everett Charles and responsible for extending its product line. He has extensive international business experience. He has been involved with IPC for 20 years. Alan Wong, president and CEO, Parlex Corporation, Shanghai, China. Wong set up Parlex Corporation's operations in Asia and served as managing director before assuming his current position in November 2005. Wong assisted with the set-up of IPC's China operations and served on the Board of IPC's Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise in China. Nominees were selected by the Board of Director's Nominating and Governance Committee chaired by Peter Murphy, president, Astrodyne Corporation, and outgoing Chairman of the Board and consisting of Herring, Bob Ferguson, Denny McGuirk, Gerhard Meese, and Steve Wohlgemuth. Murphy commented: “We had many excellent candidates to select from and it was a very difficult task. However, I feel that we have put together a diverse board with individuals with great backgrounds to help lead IPC in the future. I am encouraged by the level of interest as an indicator of the strength of the association.”