As a boy I learned the value of hard work from my father. I worked in the high school cafeteria washing dishes and cleaning tables while my friends had fun. I plowed driveways in the neighborhood to bring in extra money. I learned my mechanical basics while holding the flashlight while my father fixed the tractor.

In 1970, after I got out of the Army I bought C. J. Winter Machine Works from the owner. I had worked there every summer and every break from college as a basic machining trainee/operator. Charlie had started to develop the air powered thread rolling attachment which I recognized would be a winner for the screw machine industry. Over the next 45 years I acquired several additional machining and tool manufacturing companies. I always invested in the latest machine tool technologies and the employees to run them. I acquired Davenport Machine in 2003. My father, Earl W. Brinkman, worked for Davenport for 54 years starting as a trainee and retiring in 1979 as president. After he retired, the caretaker management let it spiral into bankruptcy. The union took over and management raised prices instead of controlling costs. They filed for bankruptcy in 2002. The recovery was daunting but now Davenport is making the most economical and productive multi-spindle automatic lathes in the world. The recovery of Davenport from bankruptcy is by far my proudest accomplishment and the reason for the Frank T. McGinnis award.