Fort Scott native elected district director of Kansas City section American Welding Society

Thursday, May 10, 2012
WRIGHT

MIAMI -- The American Welding Society, the world's largest organization dedicated to advancing the science, technology and application of welding, announces the election of Fort Scott native Dennis Wright as the District 16 Director of the American Welding Society.

District 16, also known as the Kansas City Section, encompasses 18 counties in Kansas and 41 counties in Missouri in addition to the states of Iowa and Nebraska.

In his role as District 16 director, Wright will serve as a member of the American Welding Society board of directors and represent the board, members, sections and student chapters located within his district boundaries.

An employee of Zephyr Products Inc. in Leavenworth since 1993, Wright currently serves as a plant manager and welding supervisor. He is an AWS certified welding inspector and a certified welding educator.

Aside from being an active AWS member and holding several officer positions at the AWS Kansas City Section over the years, Wright also serves on National Skills USA and the Johnson County Community College Advisory Board for welding.

Recently, he worked with the Boy Scouts of America Kansas City chapter to help the youngsters earn their welding merit badges. The badge was introduced by Boy Scouts of America in February and Scouts from Kansas City were among the first in the country to earn them.

Wright began his welding training in high school then joined the U.S. Navy for an eight-and-a-half year tour of duty where he studied a variety of welding, brazing, pipefitting and sheet metal applications.

Wright's term as AWS District 16 Director runs through 2015.

The American Welding Society was founded in 1919 as a multifaceted, nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes including brazing, soldering and thermal spraying.

Headquartered in Miami and led by a volunteer organization of officers and directors, AWS serves more than 70,000 members worldwide and is composed of 22 districts with 250 sections and student chapters.

For more information, visit http://www.aws.org and click on "Pressroom."

Submitted to the Tribune.