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Paclllc Rlm Home Center Tour

A home center industry tour being organized for October and November will give home cent€r retailers from all over the United States the opportunity to visit home center r€tail€rs in New Taland and Australia.

In addition, thc trip, which is being formed under thc direction of George Milne, home center industry consultant, Hilton Head Island, S.C., will visit hardware sources in Singapore, lumber and building materid exporters in Bangkok and manufacturers in Hong Kong. Fletcher Merchants LTD, Auckland,and Bowen and Pomeroy hy. Ltd., Melbourne, are among the home centers to be visited.

The tour will leave lps Angeles, C.a., on ft. 25 by air and return Nov. 15.

Willamette's Davis Retires

As Richard Davis, v.p. of Willamette's Lumber & Plywood Sales Division, closes his 39-year forest products career, he can be proud of the contributions he has made, not only to Willamette. but to the entire wood products industry.

He's a respected leader in the industry and a strong supporter of the wholesaler in the distribution of wood products. He's a valued member of several wood products associations and has taken an active part in supporting the industry. For more than 30 years, he's played a key role in the development of Willamette Industries' approach to sales and product promotion.

Dck Davis' Willamette roots run deep. In 1946, he began working for the Santiam Lumber Co. in Lebanon. Or., then partially owned by the Davis family. He started Santiam's first retail division and turned to mill sales in 1949, as assistant to the sales manager.

In 1951, Willamette Valley Lumber Co. purchased an interest in Santiam Lumber. Willamette Valley and several related firms merged to form Willamette Industries. Inc.. in 1967 and Davis was named general sales manager.

As Willamette started up its first plywood mills in Louisiana in 1962, he led the introduction of the company's sheathing products into new markets. He also spearheaded the development of Willamette's retail lumber division in 1974 which reached $20 million in annual sales durine a nine year period.

Davis was named vice president of Willamette's Building Materials Group in 1978, and has continued to direct the lumber and plywood sales division for both the south and the west.

"Dick has made a major contribution to our company and the forest products industry over the years," notes William Swindells, Jr., president of Willamette Industries, Inc. "He's been a good businessman and colleague as well as a good friend."

Davis has an unsurpassed record of service to the American Plywood Association's Field Service Advisory Committee. He has been a member of the committee for more than 18 years and served as chairman from 1969t972.

Dck has built the kind of unwavering support for the wood products industry that will continue far beyond his retirement from Willamette Industries. His day-today routine will definitely change, as product promotion, management responsibilities and business trips are replaced with leisurely overseas travel, skiing, golf and tending the family "farm." But Dick promises to maintain relationships with the many people he has worked with over the years.