|
2007 Annual Meeting Sponsors
|
 |
|
| HOME PREVIOUS ISSUES SEARCH | ||
|
September 21, 2007 2007 Annual Meeting Action-Packed SFPA’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Charleston, S.C., is a not-to-be missed event offering an agenda packed with opportunities to gather the latest information, network with industry colleagues and plan ways to create markets for Southern Pine products. Here are the highlights.
The heart of the meeting happens the following day with several speakers and committee meetings on tap. The General Session features keynote speaker Dick Carmical, general manager of Price BIOstock Services in Monticello, Ark. Dick will update SFPA and Southern Pine Council members on bioenergy and how it relates to the forest products industry. Attendees will also see an audiovisual report on SFPA’s activities so far this year and hear a softwood market outlook from SFPA Economic Services Director Wade Camp.
An opening session will kick off a full day of SPC committee meetings, where members will hear from speakers and handle business items. Dr. Stephen Grado, professor of forestry at Mississippi State University, will look at certification programs used to qualify wood products as “green” during the Special Products Committee meeting. Dr. Joe Lstiburek, a principal with Building Science Consulting LLC and an ASHRAE Fellow, will explain why “Wood is Good and Treated Wood is Better” during a meeting of the Treated Systems Committee. And during the Building Systems Committee meeting, Tom Rogers, National Frame Building Association (NFBA) board member and iLevel Marketing-DF/HF lumber product manager for Weyerhaeuser Company, and NFBA President Tom Knight will outline NFBA’s initiative to increase post-frame construction sales and post-frame market penetration by 25% in five years. The International Committee also meets that day. The SPC meeting will close with the presentation of the 2007 Long-Sullivan Award, a report from SPC public relations consultant Kim Drew and discussion of the 2008 SPC budget.
The day concludes with a reception and dinner in honor of SFPA Chairman Pat Patranella, followed by entertainment from Glenn Strange, who will deliver a little “magic” along with some laughter. Activities wrap up on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 2, with a meeting of SFPA’s Board of Directors. Kelly McCloskey of the Wood Promotion Network is scheduled to speak.
Phibro-Tech Inc. has signed on as the fourth sponsor of this year’s meeting, joining Taylor Machine Works Inc., Perforex and Timber Mart-South.
For more information about the meeting, see our Annual Meeting brochure or contact Dianne Breaux at 504/443-4464, ext. 225, or dbreaux@sfpa.org.
(Photo courtesy of Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, www.charlestoncvb.com, 800/868-8118.) |
||
|
Midyear Meeting Reminder Speaking of meetings, here’s a reminder to “save the dates” for SFPA’s 2008 Midyear Meeting, set for May 14-15 at the Wyndham at Canal Place in New Orleans. These dates immediately follow the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Building Conference, set for May 11-13 at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. Click here for details about the Green Building Conference. |
||
|
Engineers Eager for Wood-Frame Construction Info Cathy Kaake, SFPA’s director of engineered and framing markets, delivered two main messages to a receptive audience last week – wood-frame buildings stand up to flood and wind risks when they’re built right, and using fill instead of raised floor foundations to elevate homes above flood levels is a sure recipe for “flooding thy neighbor.”
Cathy and SFPA Vice President of Marketing Steve Bean delivered back-to-back presentations at the 2007 Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference Sept. 13 in Kenner, La. Cathy addressed building codes and wood-frame construction, and Steve outlined new treatments for durable wood construction.
After the presentation, attendees made a beeline to the Southern Pine Council exhibit to pick up materials mentioned by Cathy, such as the American Wood Council’s Wood Frame Construction Manual guides for high wind areas.
“I probably had 30 engineers come up afterwards and thank me,” Cathy said. “It was amazing.” She attributed the engineers’ interest to a new demand for their services brought about by Hurricane Katrina. “Many of them have spent most of their careers doing commercial and industrial applications and haven’t worked with wood-frame designs,” she said. “But because of Hurricane Katrina, they’re getting involved in wood-frame construction to provide homeowners sound, engineered designs to resist high winds and flooding, and they really appreciate the information we provide.”
Steve, meanwhile, introduced engineers to the latest wood treatment standards, emphasizing the importance of using hot-dip galvanized or stainless steel fasteners and connectors to prevent corrosion. Hubert Guy, an engineered wood specialist with APA – The Engineered Wood Association, was also on hand to provide information to attendees. |
||
|
Upcoming Conferences Offer Useful Info Two upcoming events may be of interest to SFPA members. The USDA Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center and the Sloan Foundation Forest Industries Center will cosponsor a workshop, “Managing and Leading Change,” Oct. 15-16 in Princeton, W.Va.; and Casey Creamer, a “saw doctor” for 27 years, will be the featured speaker in an audio conference for sawmills and lumber re-manufacturers hosted by Pallet Enterprise magazine on Nov. 14.
The USDA workshop is designed for forest industry leaders and managers from primary producers to secondary manufacturers. Industry experts and Virginia Tech professors will discuss specific pressures for change faced by forest industry leaders; how to approach changes entrepreneurially; why traditional business models no longer meet the demands of a changing global market and the role of the customer in coping with unknown future forces of change; strategies for leading and managing organizational change; why even well-planned change initiatives can fail; how to define visions for change and explore various change initiatives; how to effectively implement change; and recent experiences with change initiatives from the perspective of a wood products manufacturing business manager. For more information call 540/231-3095. Online registration is available at www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/mlc.
Creamer, who will be featured in the audio conference, is the author of The Sawmiller’s Guide to Troubleshooting, now in its second printing, and also writes “Sawmill Forum,” a monthly column that has been published in Northern Logger and Timber Processor for more than 20 years. He has conducted sawmill troubleshooting seminars for a variety of forest products associations, universities, state agencies and other organizations. For more information on the audio conference, call Industrial Reporting at 800/805-0263 or visit www.palletenterprise.com. |
||
|
Copyright © 2007. Reproduction in whole or in part, by electronic or mechanical means, without written authorization from SFPA is prohibited. |
On
Whether using wood, steel or masonry, Cathy explained, the key to
withstanding high winds is “connections, connections, connections.” She gave
the attending engineers a quick tour of the International Codes and how they
affect construction in Louisiana. She also explained the engineering
dynamics of building a structure to resist uplift, base shear, racking and
overturning in high winds and showed examples of real-life examples of what
happens when a structure isn’t built correctly. “What we need are connectors
that tie everything together to maintain a continuous load path,” she said.
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION