Celebrate Thomas Wilk's birthday with a homemade confetti cannon
Next week, our own Thomas Wilk will be turning 50, and I believe this momentous occasion deserves some fanfare. So, what's the best way to celebrate the legacy of your favorite editor-in-chief? You could take the day off and read back issues of Plant Services. You could bake a birthday cake in the shape of a TARDIS and binge classic episodes of "Doctor Who." Or you could put your engineering skills to work and build a confetti cannon. In a recent video, YouTuber DIY Hacks and How Tos demonstrates how to construct and fire a homemade confetti cannon.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
Connect with Alexis on LinkedIn