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January 11, 2008
Agendas Announced for 2008
SFPA Meetings
 Increased
focus on green issues coupled with
challenging market conditions could lead to an interesting year for SFPA
and its members. One key to success is keeping wood – especially Southern
Pine – as the product of choice for building and industrial applications.
SFPA’s Midyear Meeting, scheduled for May 14-15 in New Orleans, and Annual
Meeting, set for Sept. 27-30 in San Antonio, Texas, provide members the
perfect venue for reviewing the state of the industry and planning ways to
stay on top of the market. As a bonus, the Midyear Meeting immediately
follows the
National Green Building Conference, scheduled May 11-13 at the
Sheraton in New Orleans, making it convenient for members to attend both
events.
Tentative agendas for SFPA’s meetings are now available.
Click here for the Midyear Meeting agenda and
here for the Annual Meeting agenda. The agendas, along with hotel
information, are also available on the
Meetings page of SFPA’s Web site. Please save the dates for our
meetings, and for more information, contact Dianne Breaux at 504/443-4464,
ext. 225, or
dbreaux@sfpa.org.
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Veteran EXPO Exhibitors
Deliver Scoop on New Orleans
After back-to-back hosting of the Sugar
Bowl and the BSC Championship Bowl
– which drew the largest crowd ever for a
football game in the Superdome – New Orleans is rocking and rolling and
definitely
 ready for EXPO in 2009. But don’t take our word for it. A number
of veteran exhibitors recently visited New Orleans for an EXPO Advisory
Committee meeting. Several of them took a few minutes to share their
thoughts about the city via video.
Click here to see the video, which features Larry Stephens and
Mark Culpepper of Mid-South Engineering Company; Sonia Perrine of USNR; Don
Ellis and Kay Reynolds of Taylor Machine Works Inc.; Jim Stultz of Webster
Industries Inc.; and Tony Stringer of Stringer Industries Inc.
Exhibitors
will receive more details about EXPO 2009 by mail during February. For more
information before then, visit
www.sfpaexpo.com or contact EXPO Director Eric Gee at
504/443-4464, ext. 214, or
egee@sfpa.org.
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Announcing Two New Members
SFPA begins the new year by welcoming two
new members. Founded in 1998,
Smart VENT Inc. of
 Pitman, N.J., sells automatic foundation flood
vents to protect homes from the devastation and destruction that hurricanes,
floods and other natural disasters can cause. The company’s foundation flood
vent is designed to provide both flood protection and ventilation and is the
only vent certified to meet requirements set forth by FEMA and the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for homes or buildings located in a
floodplain. National Sales and Marketing Manager Steven Ardito will
represent Smart VENT with SFPA. He can be contacted at 877/441-8368 or
steve@smartvent.com.
 Vanport International Inc. of Boring, Ore., is an international
forest products company that specializes in importing and exporting high
quality wood products. The company began in Oregon in 1967 as
a log broker
and manufacturer of construction lumber.
Today,
Vanport’s offices can be found in Canada, China and Russia with additional
personnel located in Germany and Japan. The firm’s main focus is on
wood-based items for house construction and home improvement. Vanport is
represented in SFPA by Eric Chen, import/export sales. Contact Eric at
503/663-4466 or
eric.chen@vanport-intl.com.
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Staff Member Resigns
After seven
years with SFPA,
Program Administrator Kathleen Guillot recently resigned for health
reasons. Kathleen provided support for SFPA’s marketing programs,
primarily focusing on international activities and trade show logistics.
“We will greatly miss the contributions Kathleen made to SFPA and wish her
a full recovery along with the best of luck in her retirement,” said SFPA
President Digges Morgan.
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SFPA on the Road
SFPA staff members frequently take to
the roads and airways in their mission
to keep Southern Pine front and center with
builders, designers, building inspectors and other key segments of the
building industry. Here’s a look at some of upcoming events.
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Ned DeJarnette,
director of international markets, will
represent Southern Pine in a joint exhibit with the Softwood Export
Council and APA-The Engineered Wood Association at Expo Mobilario
January 23-26 in Mexico City, Mexico. Ned will also attend Expo
Ferretera Internacional ASODEFE, Feb. 7-10 in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic. Contact Ned at 504/443-4464, ext. 233, or
edejarnette@sfpa.org for details.
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Eric Gee,
director of EXPO and forest resources,
will promote Southern Pine for pallets and crating at the National
Wooden Pallet & Container Association’s Annual Leadership Conference,
Feb. 23-26 at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Fla.
Contact Eric at 504/443-4464, ext. 214, or
egee@sfpa.org.
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Cathy Kaake,
director of engineered and framing markets, will deliver a presentation
titled “Building Codes and Wood-Frame Construction” at the Louisiana
Joint Engineering Societies Conference, January 23-24 at the Holiday
Inn Holidome in Lafayette, La. Cathy will also promote Raised Floor
Living through a display at the conference. Contact her for more
information at 504/443-4464, ext. 213, or
ckaake@sfpa.org.
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Richard Kleiner,
director of treated markets, will promote
treated decking at FenceTech 2008, Feb. 5-7 at the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. He will represent Raised Floor
Living at the Building Officials of Louisiana Annual Conference,
Feb. 24-26 at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Baton Rouge,
La. Contact Richard at 504/443-4464, ext. 211, or
rkleiner@sfpa.org.
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Russell Richardson,
director of industrial markets, will promote Southern Pine flooring at
Surfaces 2008, a trade show for the floor covering industry, Jan.
30 through Feb. 1 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas,
Nev. He will also promote Raised Floor Living at the Mid South
Building Materials Association show Feb. 8-10 at the Marriot Grand
Resort in Point Clear, Ala. Contact Russell at 504/443-4464, ext. 239,
or
rrichardson@sfpa.org for more information.
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Digges
Morgan,
president;
Richard Wallace, vice president of communications; Richard
Kleiner, director of treated markets; Ned DeJarnette,
director of international markets; Georgiann Gullett,
communications manager; and Kim Drew, public relations consultant
for the Southern Pine Council, will promote everything from Raised Floor
Living to the “green” benefits of Southern Pine at the International
Builders’ Show Feb. 13-16 at the Orange County Convention Center in
Orlando, Fla. For information, contact Richard at 504/443-4464, ext.
236, or
rwallace@sfpa.org. Also check next week’s newsletter for more
details about the Southern Pine activities planned for IBS.
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