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Detroit Bright Design Challenge Winners Named The NASF Detroit Bright Design Challenge awarded scholar- ships to the following College for Creative Studies students: Yizhang Lai, Yu-Chen Chen, Sijia Wan and Pranay Raton (honorable mention). A special thanks to the competition sponsors: Atotech, Coventya and Enthone. For more details on the Bright Design Challenge, visit nasfbrightdesign.com or the NASF website at nasf.org . NASF CHAPTER NEWS California The Metal Finishing Associations of Southern California, San Diego and Northern California held their annual Legislative Action Day on May 6 in Sacramento, as platers from all three groups converged on the state house to meet with representa- tives on issues pertaining to the fnishing industry. The associa- tions also met a day earlier for a board meeting. The MFASC will hold continuing education classes June 18, July 16 and August 20in Commerce. visit mfasc.org for more information. The MFANC Summer Outing will be August 23 when the Oakland A's play the Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Stadium. Tickets are $50 and available by calling 877-238-9590. The groups also will host Supplier and Vendor Showcases in September. The MFASC Supplier Showcase will be Sept. 9, in Montebello, and the MFANC Vendor Showcase will be Sept. 11, in San Jose. Visit mfasc.org and mfanc.org for more information. Florida The Florida Finishers Corp. chapter will hold a fall event called FFC Octoberfest in late September or October. while the 2015 edition of the successful Mid-Winter Conference and Exposition has been scheduled for January 28-29, in Orlando. It will include two tours at nearby Lockheed Martin. Visit foridafnisherscorp.com for more information. New England The NAMF New England chapter will host its Surface Finishing Regional November 7, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The event will include a full day of technical presentations, a tabletop trade show and networking. Contact nesurfnregional@aol.com for more information. New York/ New Jersey Masters The Spring Cocktail Reception has been moved to October 25, in Weehawken, New Jersey, and will honor Control Electropolishing for its 55 years of service to the industry. The event will feature an open bar, bufet dinner and awards presentation. Tickets are $125 each, and sponsorships are also available. Visit metalfnishers.org to download an order form or email donnajean@metalfnishers.org . Ohio The Ohio Association of Metal Finishers is gearing up to host the 2014 Sur/Fin Welcome Reception on June 9, at The Corner Alley in Cleveland. For more information, contact oamf2013@ gmail.com or call 216-244-5758. Palmetto The sixth annual NASF Palmetto Chapter Technical Conference will be October 1-3, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For more information, contact Paul Frank at paul@palmettoplating.com . Favorable Court Decision on Conflict Minerals Rule Generates More Uncertainty As part of the Financial Reform Act of 2010 and regulations promulgated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), companies subject to SEC reporting requirements that use gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten in their products must disclose in these reports that these materials are necessary to the functionality or production of the product and whether the materials originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or adjoining countries. Industry groups challenged the SEC regulation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. On April 14, the D.C. Circuit ruled that the statute and regulation were unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment because they required compa- nies "to tell consumers that its products are ethically tainted, even if they only indirectly fnance armed [militant] groups" in the DRC or are unproven not to support these groups. The court did not overturn other portions of the regulation as requested in the industry challenge. Accordingly, industry groups have asked the SEC to stay the requirements of the confict minerals rule or to provide guidance consistent with the court's ruling on what information must be included in the frst reports that need to be submitted to the SEC by June 2. On April 29, the SEC issued guidance stating that compa- nies do not have to describe their products as "DRC confict free," "not been found to be DRC confict free," or "DRC confict undeterminable." For the short-term, companies are still required to submit confict minerals disclosure reports (without the confict-free determination punchline) to the SEC by June 2. More chal- lenges to the requirements are likely, and new developments will be emerging in the next few months. For more information on this topic, contact Jef Hannapel at jhannapel@thepolicygroup.com . BECOME A MEMBER AT NASF.ORG PRODUCTS FINISHING — pfonline.com 13 0614_PF_NASF.indd 13 5/16/2014 1:32:47 PM