10-15-98

Contacts:
Willem Bakker, Iowa MTC, (515) 965-7125
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917


IOWA MTC DIRECTOR BAKKER TO SPEAK ABOUT Y2K PROBLEM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

AMES, Iowa -- Willem Bakker, director of the Iowa Manufacturing Technology Center, Ankeny, will give a presentation on awareness of the Y2K problem in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19. Among those scheduled to hear Bakker's presentation are U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley.

Bakker's presentation will follow the department's of Commerce and Agriculture signing a memorandum of understanding to foster partnerships in extension programs that tackle problems of concern to both constituencies. Bakker said Y2K is an example where Iowa's ag and manufacturing extension services have joined forces to combat a common problem.

"Cooperative extension education in agriculture and small manufacturing can be linked to provide knowledge that can be used to beat this human-made bug," Bakker said. "Iowa is in the best shape to tackle this problem because the small manufacturing and agriculture extension services are linked and working together on it."

The program on Oct. 19 will begin at 2:30 p.m. E.S.T. and Bakker's Y2K presentation will be given about 3:30 p.m. Bakker said the Iowa MTC has been conducting Y2K awareness programs in Iowa since spring.

Housed on the Des Moines Area Community College campus, Ankeny, the Iowa MTC is a state-wide industrial extension organization, funded by the State of Iowa and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership. It is jointly operated by Iowa State and the community colleges of Iowa, and combines the expertise and talents of several existing organizations, all serving Iowa's 5,800 small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

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Editors note:Bakker is pronounced BOCK-er

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