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October 16, 2009 Attendees Focus on Issues at 2009 Annual Meeting SFPA’s 2009 Annual Meeting held this week in New Orleans gave SFPA and Southern Pine Council members in attendance an opportunity to hear about and discuss industry issues and initiatives. Here are some highlights: · Steve Lovett, who is currently working with the Blue Ribbon Commission charged with developing a commodity check-off program for softwood lumber, reported results of an industry survey on check-off and what has been achieved so far. Steve said the “bottom line” from the survey is “We have a great story to tell with our products. We manufacture the environmentally preferable product – it’s energy efficient, renewable, sequesters carbon and uses much less energy to manufacture than steel or concrete. But, and that’s a big but, being environmentally preferable doesn’t necessarily sell product, so check-off dollars should be used for initiatives that have an economic focus enabled by a green message.” Southern Pine is well represented in the effort with six people on the 21-member commission from SFPA member companies and a seventh from the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association. · Several SFPA members, including Joe Patton of Westervelt Lumber, Kerlin Drake of Anthony Forest Products, Adrian Blocker of West Fraser Inc. and Pat Patranella of Temple-Inland Inc., are active in a coalition to raise funds to keep the American Wood Council operational. AWC is currently funded through the American Forests and Paper Association. However, AF&PA’s membership and activities are now more focused on paper than wood, so the association will phase out funding for AWC at some point in 2010. Joe, Pat, Kerlin and Adrian explained that one of AWC’s primary missions is to ensure wood does not get written out of building codes in favor of competing products and that the industry cannot afford to lose their technical expertise. “This is a critical situation for our industry,” Joe said in encouraging industry support for AWC. For information on how to help, contact Joe at 205/562-5000. · Pat Schleisman, regional director for WoodWorks Southeast, spoke about his group’s progress in promoting wood for nonresidential construction projects. He reported WoodWorks and APA have jointly helped achieve $40 million in increased sales by converting nonresidential projects to wood instead of alternate materials. · Dan Nyberg of Morton Buildings and the National Frame Building Association updated attendees on their efforts to educate builders, architects and engineers on the advantages of using wood in light commercial structures. Post-fame construction now constitutes a $12 to $14 billion industry, he said.
Click here to see photos from the meeting. PDF copies of all meeting presentations will be available in the members-only section of www.sfpa.org next week. |
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SFPA Elects New Officers
“These continue to be very difficult times for the industry, but SFPA and its member companies have proven their resolve in overcoming adversity,” Blocker said. “As such, I look forward to serving the members during this period of tremendous uncertainty.”
The board also reelected Digges Morgan as SFPA president and Tami Kessler as corporate secretary.
The officers assume their new roles immediately. |
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Southern Pine Council Appoints New Leaders The Southern Pine Council elected new leaders for the council and its committees at SFPA’s Annual Meeting earlier this week in New Orleans. Chairman of the Southern Pine Council is Kerlin Drake of Anthony Forest Products in El Dorado, Ark. Vice chairman is Mark Junkins of McShan Lumber Co. Inc. in McShan, Ala., who will also serve as chairman of SPC’s Partnerships and Grants Committee. Joe Kusar of Tolleson Lumber Co. Inc. in Perry, Ga., will chair the Building Systems Committee and Scott Vande Linde of West Fraser Inc. of Germantown, Tenn., will serve as vice chairman. Brian Hayson of Cox Industries Inc. in Orangeburg, S.C., will lead the International Trade and Policy Committee for a second year and Ryan Hilsinger of East Coast Lumber in Climax, N.C., is the new vice chairman. The Special Products Committee is led by co-chairmen – Nick Roppolo of Conner Industries Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, and Mark Richardson of Westervelt Lumber in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Brock Descant of Elder Wood Preserving Co. in Mansura, La., will chair the Treated Systems Committee and David DeVries of Georgia-Pacific LLC in Montgomery, Ala., will serve as vice chairman.
“We congratulate and thank all of those who have agreed to step forward and serve in these special SPC roles,” said SFPA President Digges Morgan.
Outgoing SPC leaders were recognized with plaques commemorating their service. Mike Warren of Temple-Inland Inc. in Diboll, Texas, is the outgoing SPC chairman; Mike Gulledge of Deltic Timber Corp. in El Dorado, Ark., completed a term as chairman of the Building Systems Committee; Joe Patton of Westervelt Lumber in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Mike Redwine of East Coast Lumber in Climax, N.C., served as co-chairmen of the Special Products Committee; Hal Storey of S.I. Storey Lumber Co. in Armuchee, Ga., was chairman of the Treated Systems Committee; and Kerlin Drake led the Partnerships and Grants Committee. |
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Activity Update, SFPA Screensavers Available A regular feature at SFPA’s annual meeting is an audiovisual update on SFPA’s activities throughout the year. This year’s meeting attendees also received a CD with 16 SFPA screensavers they can display on their computers. Members who weren’t able to attend this year’s meeting can obtain the 12-minute “Activity Update” and the screensavers by contacting Richard Wallace, SFPA’s vice president of communications, at 504/443-4464, ext. 236, or by e-mail at rwallace@sfpa.org. |
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SFPA
installed new officers during a meeting 
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