WWW.DONBLAKE-KS.COM

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Links To Cool Stuff

• craigslist
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Family Web Sites Under Development

WWW.Blake-and-Denny.com

WWW.Seggerman.com

Karin's Graduation

Professional Development Resources

Don Blake's Presentations & Research for Quality/Productivity Students and And Wichita Metropolitan Businesses

Hi. Welcome to my personal home page. The objective of this web site is to provide a simple forum for myself, family and friends where we can discover and share the many wonders of our world. My wife Lynn and I have family and friends spread around the world and the internet provides us a means to keep in touch and connected no matter how busy we get. You will find a diverse collection of things on this site. Some things quite familiar, some serious things to think about and some things a little wacky. But isn't that the way life is.

So... Who is Don A. Blake anyway? Well... I live and work in the Wichita, Kansas, USA, metropolitan area. For nearly 25 years I worked for what was once known as the Boeing Company's Wichita Division. On June 16, 2005 the commercial production side of the division was sold in a divestiture action to the ONEX corporation. If you my name it more than likely will turn up several articles and case studies on Lean Manufacturing. For ten years I served as the Program Manager/Director for implementing JIT/Lean Production at the Wichita Division. Some researchers have written about some of those acheivements (i.e. MIT LAI).

With the sale of the Wichita Division I was named Director of Industrial Cooperation with the new company.  In mid May of 2006 I was appointed Director of Strategic Initiatives reporting to the Sr. VP of Strategy and IT.   In the Spring of 2008, my boss was named Sr. Vp of the AeroStructures business segment.  I moved over to the Aero Structures segment with him to continue to focus on Long Range Planning and Operational Porductivity.  I had been with Boeing since 1980. I held various positions in Industrial Engineering, Internal Audit, Computing, Operations, and Quality.  I supported and participated in several research projects.  The Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Lean Enterprise Forum at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.   In the Spring of 2008, my team and I completed an 18th month study and search to find and obtain new manufacturing sites for Spirit.  On May 14th, 2008, Spirit announced it would build another production facility at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Lenoir County near the city of Kinston. We also announced another greenfield startup in the Fall of 2007 for Malaysia near Kuala Lumpur at the the old International Airport.  The search took me all over the world.  Lynn and I also visited Australia and New Zealand.  They were amazing.

I have a B.A. from Iowa State University and  an MBA from the Wichita State University.  I am Certified in Production Inventory Management (CPIM) through the Association for Operations Management (APICS).  I also am a certified Quality Improvement Associate (CQIA) through the American Society for Quality (ASQ).  I also have participated in advanced studies in Operation Management at the University of Washington,  University of Tennessee, and California Institute of Technology.  

I belong to Derby Running Club and The Road Running Association of Central Kansas (T.R.R.A.C.K.) and am currently serving as Split Timing Chairman.

I like running, science fiction, sports, poetry, modern art, jazz, and working with kids.