Doug French is director, Production Engineering, supporting Boeing South Carolina's fabrication and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner aft and midbody fuselage sections fabricated and assembled at the Boeing facility in North Charleston.

French has over 30 years of experience in the aerospace manufacturing industry principally in the engineering and quality assurance fields on commercial, military and business jet programs. He has progressed through leadership roles within Quality Assurance and Engineering functions from department supervisions through corporate executive leadership and has experience with Material Review Board and Design Engineering fields as well as TQM and Process Based Management Quality Systems, and has significant technical expertise in the adhesive bonding and composites technologies. 

In positions held prior to Boeing, French was the chief liaison engineer supporting General Dynamics production and delivery of all ten U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. He was a principal MRB liaison engineer supporting production of primary composite structural components on the B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber (Stealth) intermediate wing program; and he was responsible for engineering support and program management of the 757 aft fuselage co-production at Chendgu Aircraft, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China.

A Civil Engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, French also completed the Advanced CADAM Methods and Applications program at General Dynamics and courses in Flight Vehicle Stress Analysis.  He is on the University of Texas-Arlington, Aerospace Engineering Industry and the Texas A&M University, Aerospace Engineering, Capstone Design Industry advisory boards.  French is also a member of the Berkeley County School District's Stratford High School Aerospace Engineering advisory board.

For more information on Boeing, click here.

This month, I want to take the opportunity to thank a few people for some recent outstanding work.

First of all, thank you to our Public Relations Chairperson, Maria Aselage of HearSay Communications, for setting up our members-only cruise on the Osprey earlier this month.  Everyone had an outstanding time and we couldn't have asked for a better evening. Captain Lucas and his crew were wonderful, the food was excellent and we continue to hear from attendees who said this should definitely become at least an annual event.  The board agrees, so you can count on it, folks.

My thanks to Shane Griffin of Clear Channel, who provided the music for our cruise.  It was outstanding, DJ Shane!   Thanks to Glenn Hough of Costco for supplying the desserts for our cruise. Thank you to our treasurer, Diane Pauldine of Direct Marketer of Charleston, for printing the tickets and going out to purchase all the adult beverages, water and ice.  And thanks to our Vice President, Shawna Garris of Tidelands Bank, who kept the passenger manifest and stood in the parking lot checking people in as they arrived.  She then showed her leadership skills by taking the mike up on the bridge and addressing the assembled passengers.  Your president was able to mingle and enjoy without having to do much more than applaud.  And speaking of applause, a big round of such should go to former MPBA President John Carroll of Unlimited Performance for being the impromptu emcee.  Always great to see him on the mike!

Finally, thanks to everyone who helped haul stuff down to the boat - especially Ken Recine of Centerline Plumbing/Builders, who assisted me with the 2-ton cooler of beverages while in boots and sports jacket. Much appreciated, buddy.

If you didn't make the cruise, make sure to grab your tickets early for the next cruise (hopefully early next year).  And if you are looking or a fun group outing, check out the Osprey and Lucas Smith at www.ospreyboatcharters.com

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Also, I'd like to thank Vickey Boyd, publisher of the Moultrie News, for putting together this past week's political forum at Moultrie Middle School.  Candidates for the 1st Congressional District and the school board attended and answered questions posed by moderator Warren Pepper.  It was an informative event and one that the MPBA was glad to co-sponsor.  My appreciation to Sully Witte of the Moultrie News for helping me with questions for the candidates. And as always, thanks to Glenn Hough of Costco for the desserts and water.

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Finally, just a quick thank you to all of those who participate at a board level.  This organization has continued to grow and expand its interaction with the community and local government and it couldn't be done without the work of everyone on the board.  Thank you all for making this job so much easier.

Cheers all!

Chuck

For those of you who have become involved with the hottest social network out there - Facebook - you can now join the MPBPA Facebook group. We intend to develop this as an adjunct to our website as a method to share information and communicate with one another.

Because it has been asked, be aware that joining our Facebook group does not automatically make other MPBPA Facebook members your friends. It's simply a way to keep up with the MPBPA.

Please join our Facebook group to network, stay informed and further extend the wonderful connections you've made at the meetings. Click the link below to go to our new page and contribute:

Click Here To Go To The MPBPA Facebook Page

Get real-time information on business events (i.e., grand openings, and what's "coming soon"),
meeting notifications, and relevant project updates. Follow @mtpleasantbiz  for updates on all things business & everything Mount Pleasant.

Follow @mtpleasantbiz on Twitter for information & updates, and for direct questions, contact: Quin Stinchfield, Business Development Coordinator, via @ mpbiz@townofmountpleasant.com or 843.377.5365