Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan are among the 21 mayors from across the nation invited to join President Barack Obama on Wednesday, June 18, for the first-ever Maker Faire to be held at the White House. Also joining Rogero and Beehan will be Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers, who late last month opened a retail store on Market Square, in support of a Local Motors manufacturing facility in Knox County. At the Market Square grand opening, Rogers announced plans to build the world's first 3D printed car this fall.
The mayors will be joining a policy discussion with senior Obama Administration officials to discuss support for manufacturing communities on economic, infrastructure and community revitalization.
Mayors Rogero and Beehan will use this June 18 event to help boost advanced manufacturing, innovative technology and the "Maker Movement" in East Tennessee.
The "Maker Movement" aims to provide access to high-tech tools and new approaches for businesses and entrepreneurs.
"It's great to be able to meet at the White House with Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers and some of the nation's leading Makers, innovators and entrepreneurs," Rogero said.
"We're committed to creating jobs by capitalizing on our unique partnerships and bold new business models. As I've said previously: We aim to be ground zero for the third Industrial Revolution."
Innovative entrepreneurs like Rogers and Local Motors are championing a pioneering new method of micro-factory production known as "additive manufacturing," also known as 3D printing. Additive manufacturing refers to making an object from a 3D model by adding successive layers of material under computer control. It's fast and can be tailored to an individual's needs.
And it's a key part of the Maker Movement, which has captured the attention of the Obama Administration as the White House works to promote manufacturing growth and local community revitalization.
The President is hosting Wednesday's Maker Faire with 21 mayors, private sector leaders, educational and nonprofit officials, and technology entrepreneurs who are using cutting-edge ideas and tools, such as 3D printing, to bring their ideas to life. (For more information, visit
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/nation-of-makers )
Wednesday's Maker Faire includes a mayors' policy discussion with senior Obama Administration officials. In the discussions will be Jeffrey Zients, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; John Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy; Jay Williams, Assistant Secretary for Commerce for Economic Development; David Agnew, White House Director of Intergovernmental Relations; and Jason Miller, Senior Advisor to the President on Manufacturing.
Rogero and Beehan are part of a group of about 90 mayors nationwide taking part in the "Mayors Maker Challenge," an effort to recruit innovative mayors to take new actions to boost the Maker Movement in their own communities. This challenge is led by a national coalition of local officials called the Manufacturing Alliance of Communities (MAC), which seeks to boost national policies and resources to support manufacturing communities.
MAC has issued a new "Maker Mayors Action Report" that describes the efforts of mayors and local communities to use the Maker Movement to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in technology and advanced manufacturing, in the same way that the Internet and cloud computing lowered the barriers to entry for digital startups.
For more information on the White House Maker Faire and the National Day of Making, follow #NationOfMakers on Twitter.