Vol. 7, No. 5 – March 3, 2008

 

ProDealer Conference and NLBMDA Industry Summit Merge

 

The National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association and the ProDealer Conference (presented by Home Channel News) announced today the merger of their two annual industry conferences:  the HCN ProDealer Conference and the NLBMDA Industry Summit.

 

The new combined conference, renamed the ProDealer Industry Summit, will be held October 1–4, 2008, at the Westfield Marriott Resort in Chantilly, Va., and will be jointly run by both organizations. 

 

“We are excited to bring together two great conferences for the overall benefit of the industry,” said Diane Swenson, new president of the NLBMDA. 

 

“Both conferences have served the industry quite well,” said Jeff Arlen, publisher of Home Channel News, “The ProDealer Conference has grown significantly over its 11 years, and the NLBMDA Industry Summit has been a success for more than 21 years.”

 

“We will now be able to offer to the industry a single event, combining all of the benefits of each conference, while delivering more value to the vendors and manufacturers who support these events,” said Jim Reynolds, managing director of the ProDealer Conference.

 

Source: National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, February 19, 2008

 

 

QuickTips from QuickTakes …     

 

Natural disasters often come fast and furiously. Such was the case when a cluster of tornadoes recently swept through five Southern states. Their aftermath left widespread property damage, and injuries and fatalities to dozens of area residents. As a result of events such as these, emergency responders are tasked with cleanup and recovery efforts and helping those who have been hurt and displaced. Downed electrical wires are a common hazard after disasters, so OSHA offers the following tips to help employers and employees stay safe and healthy during cleanup and recovery operations.

 

• Do not assume a downed conductor is safe just because it is on the ground or is not sparking.

• Low-hanging wires may still be live, so do not touch them.

• Never drive over downed power lines. Assume that they are still energized.

• Presume that all equipment, power lines and conductors are live; if you see downed lines or damaged electrical equipment, contact appropriate utility personnel.
    

OSHA's Downed Electrical Wires fact sheet and Electrical Safety QuickCard™ (English/Spanish) are resources that offer more recommendations on how employers can help employees stay safe and healthy at work and prevent workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

 

Visit OSHA's Hurricane Recovery page on OSHA's Web site for more informational materials focusing on safety and health hazards that may impact employers and employees involved in the continuing cleanup and recovery operations from the twisters. 

 

Source: Elaine Fraser & Kimberly Tucker, OSHA Office of Communications, 202-693-1999

 

 

2009 CALENDARS

 

Even though 2008 just began, March is the best time to think about ordering your 2009 customer calendars. Special pricing is available from LeeWayne on the Beacon 2009 Calendar Line until April 1^st.

 

With a 300 minimum order, beautiful spiral bound calendars are available for just $.81 each. Email sjenkins@swassn.com for a color brochure featuring popular styles. Or, call Shirley at 800-747-6529.

 

 

 

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Friendly Reminder… From time to time, members call inquiring about how to find required government posters. Convenient links are available on the MLA web site: www.TheMLA.com.  Just follow the “Free Employment Posters” link on the left-hand navigation bar. The most recent change was to the Family Medical Leave Act, which expanded eligibility based on military service. The new poster is available at this location: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAAAmndmnts.pdf.

 

Retail Trends… According to research firm NPD Group, garage storage may be a home improvement category that seems to be somewhat resistant to the downturn in housing and could be an up-and-coming opportunity for many retailers. Some of NPD’s research revealed that garage storage draws mainly high-income male consumers, and men made up 64 percent of the dollar share in the category in a 12-month period ending in October 2007.

 

Source: HCI Business Report, Home Center Institute, February 7, 2008

 

NAHB Lays Out Details for Green Building Program… Voluntary. Flexible. Market driven. National. That's how the National Association of Home Builders touted the launch of its trademarked National Green Building Program during the International Builders' Show in Orlando on Thursday. That launch includes a new Web site that builders can use to score the design of their houses to the specifications of green standards that the association is currently seeking approval of from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It also includes a training program for the army of verifiers this program is going to need to certify projects submitted by builders and developers. Read more…

 

Source: Builder Online Business Update, February 19, 2008

 

Investment in retention as important as hiring… Companies typically invest plenty of resources in terms of hiring the right people, but fail to put nearly enough energy into creating and sustaining a company culture that encourages these workers to stay for the long term. Talented employees should be provided with challenges to push their potential and a support system to help them through adversity. tompeters.com

 

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, SmartBriefs, February 20, 2008 

 

Home Channel News Builder Show Report… There was a palpable sense of urgency at this year's International Builder's Show in Orlando, and Home Channel News editors were on location to bring you the stories. 

 

The following link contains our post-show report, "Building Forward," which looks at some of the key trends emerging from the show floor – trends that will continue to shape the home construction and LBM industries for the months or years ahead. Among them are green building, home technology and the increasing importance of commercial construction for companies traditionally focused on the residential space.

 

If your browser does not support hyperlinks, please copy and paste the link in your browser: http://www.homechannelnews.com/uploadedFiles/HomeChannelNews/IBSReport2008v3.pdf

 

Source: Home Channel News, February 21, 2008

 

Resume Reading Reminders… Resumes are often filled with lies. Some people should get a Pulitzer Prize in fiction for what they try to sell as fact. They lie mostly about their job positions and responsibilities, their education and certification, salary, and how long they worked for a firm. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to hire people based on a piece of paper.

 

Hiring should be based on a number of factors that you weigh before making a decision. These include:  The interview, testing, background and reference checks. The interview process needs to include behavioral based questions, work simulations and the evaluations of work samples. The testing needs to include the old-fashioned IQ test and assessments that evaluate people’s value systems to see that they fit your firm’s values. The background check includes using a professional company that does nothing but background checks. Talking to references is something that the applicant should set up between you and the reference. This tells you how bad they want the job and shows self initiative.

 

Lastly, never hire on a hunch, except after you have done all of the above. Your hunches are only accurate when you have done your homework. If you have two equal candidates, and have done all of the above, then you can make an objective decision along with your intuition, and pick the right one.

 

Source:  Bob Losyk, MEd., M.B.A., C.S.P. is a Certified Speaking Professional, master trainer, author, and President & CEO of Innovative Training Solutions, a Greensboro, NC consulting firm.  For more information on Bob’s keynotes, seminars, best practices facilitation, panel discussion leader, and products, please visit his websites at www.boblosyk.com and www.getagriponstress.com or call 1-800-995-0344.

 

Canfor Struggles to Keep their Tackama Mill Open… After announcing in January that they would be closing their Tackama mill indefinitely, Canfor has reached a deal with workers to cut costs instead.

 

Logging began again over the weekend to supply their Fort Nelson mill, originally anticipated to be shut down in May, Canfor Chief Executive Jim Shepard said.

 

The PolarBoard OSB plant, however, is still scheduled for shut down in the summer. Shepard said this is due to the fact that the plywood market has maintained its strength, while the market for oriented strandboard declined.

 

Source: LBM Daily, February 26, 2008

 

Weyerhaeuser sells sawmill to West Fraser … Forest products giant Weyerhaeuser has agreed to sell its Kamloops, B.C.-based sawmill and associated timberlands to West Fraser Timber. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 

Bob Taylor, general manager of Weyerhaeuser's British Columbia operations, said, “The decision to close the sawmill was accelerated as a result of continuing challenging markets in the U.S. and the rising Canadian dollar.” In August, Weyerhaeuser had announced it would sell the Kamloops sawmill to International Forest Products for an undisclosed sum.

 

Under the new deal, the sawmill is expected to permanently close on May 12, a move that will affect 196 employees.

 

Source: Home Channel News, ProDealer Digest, February 27, 2008

 

Bush Administration Leaning Toward Veto of Housing Bill… Spokespersons from the White House told media sources on Tuesday that the President might exercise his veto power on a U.S. Senate bill that comes in response to the subprime mortgage crisis.

 

If the bill "were presented to the president, his senior advisors would recommend he veto the bill," said a statement from the Bush administration.

 

The U.S. Senate is still debating the bill, but it proposes to allow bankruptcy judges to erase some mortgage debt and provide more money for fixing abandoned properties.

 

 

Source: LBM Daily, February 27, 2008

 

What Jobsite Thieves are After… Ask a builder about what gets stolen from his jobsites and the answer will probably be, "anything that's not nailed down, and a lot of things that are." It's the truth. In a BUILDER reader survey on jobsite theft conducted in the fall of 2007, we learned that with all the things thieves carry off, they could pretty much build their own houses.

 

In order, the top items stolen from sites were:

1. Copper wiring and pipe
2. Lumber
3. Appliances
4. Air-conditioning units
5. Power tools
6. Windows

 

Source: Builder Online Business Update, February 28, 2008

 

New-Home Sales Move Lower in January… In the latest evidence of the continuing contraction in housing markets, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today that sales of new single-family homes declined 2.8 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 588,000 units, the slowest pace since February of 1995.

 

“Our latest surveys reveal that builders are seeing greater traffic of prospective buyers through their model homes than in previous months, yet this has yet to translate to any improvement in actual sales activity,” noted NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “It stands to reason that policy measures to stimulate housing demand could be a powerful force and help bring about a housing and economic recovery.”

 

Three out of four regions posted lower new-home sales in January, with a 10.3 percent decline reported in the Northeast, a 7.6 percent decline reported in the Midwest and a 2.4 percent decline reported in the South. The West posted a 2.2 percent gain for the month, following a large decline in December.

 

Source: National Association of Home Builders, February 27, 2008

 

Few Employers Expand Employee Benefits… The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations finds that few employers expanded employee benefits in the last year, with nearly three-quarters implementing no changes at all. And, employers don’t appear to have resolved to make 2008 a year of change either, with more than half planning no benefits changes. They may want to beware, however, as NAPEO also finds that benefits are among the top reasons employees leave an organization:

 

No. 1 reason why employees leave:

 

Personal reasons – 31.0%*

More pay – 25.1%

Fired for poor performance – 24.0%

Must leave area – 18.4%

Laid off – 13.8%

Personality clash – 11.8%

Better benefits – 11.4%

Retired – 10.0%

Not sure – 35.2%

 

*Percentage of employees citing this as #1 reason for leaving.

 

Source: Employee Benefits News, February 2008

 

 

IN MEMORIAM

 

Derl Bernard… Longtime lumberman Derl Bernard, owner of Bernard Lumber in Sweet Springs, Mo. passed away on Thursday, February 28, 2008. He was 80 years old.

 

He is survived by his wife, Euladeen; sons Bob, Alan (both of Sweet Springs), and Kevin of Sedalia; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. After starting his career in the retail lumber business in Osceola, he moved to Sweet Springs in 1953 to open and operate Bernard Lumber Co. 

 

He had a very active civic life in Sweet Springs to include eight terms as alderman starting in 1959, as well as serving as mayor of Sweet Springs for three terms.  He also served as an associate judge-county court.  He was a longtime member of the Mid-America Lumbermens Association and President of the Sappington Fund in Marshall.  He served as President of the Weaubleau High School Alumni Association and was a board member of the I-70 Medical Center.  He coached Little League for many years and Pony League for two years.  He supported all athletic sports and coaching to working football games for 30 years.

 

Along with his parents, a daughter, Becky Bernard, preceded him in death. Memorial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.

 

Prescription for Rx Costs

 

Thousands of prescription brand name drugs, generic equivalents, and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs offer several options to treat most medical conditions. Unfortunately, physicians can unknowingly prescribe higher cost drugs when a lower cost option may be just as effective. Usually, it’s up to the patient to research alternatives. Most health plans provide access to information that helps educate patients on their conditions and reveals the cost of various drug treatment options and savings opportunities.

  

Generics

Generic drugs offer significant cost savings. These are replications of brand name drugs that have expired patent protection. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rigorously tests generic drugs to assure they have the same active ingredients, strength, and dosage as their brand name counterparts. Today, thousands of generic drugs are available, and each year many more are entering the market.

 

Over-the-counter

More than 80 categories of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are now available to consumers without a prescription. The FDA oversees these drugs to ensure that they are properly labeled and that their benefits outweigh their risks. Costs of OTC drugs can be much lower than the prescription version. As with any drug, patients should always consult with their physicians before starting or switching to an OTC drug. 

 

Encourage your employees to ask their physicians and pharmacists about drug costs and possible alternatives. As informed consumers, your employees can gain more control over their drug expense. The more you can help them save money, the more satisfied they will be with the health plan you’ve chosen for them.

 

 

 This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association’s recommended insurer.

MLA is proud to endorse….

 

 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” –   Eleanor Roosevelt