LOUISIANA OUTLOOK

JAMES L. DUKE erecuflve vlce precldent friends and meet new ones. make dinner plans and enjoy some free time.

T'S TIME again for our fun-filled, exciting and eventful Summer Conference. This year it will be held July 7-10, at the Royal d'Iberville Hotel in Biloxi. Ms.

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We've put in our order for beautiful weather, so practice your swings and get your fishing gear ready.

On Thursday afternoon, there will be a business session with a top-notch speaker and general discussion. That evening we will have a brief reception to enjoy old

Friday morning, all committees will meet and be expected to give repons at the Board meeting that afternoon. There will be a ladies'luncheon on Friday also. That evening, after cocktails and a buffet dinner, you will enjoy dancing to a Western band.

Saturday will be a competitive day with fishing, golf and tennis tournaments. Trophies and awards will be presented ar the banquet that night.

A fun program has been planned for the children on Friday and Saturday.

NAWLA Wood Market Seminar

The North American Wholesale Lumber Association Wood Marketing Seminar will be held June 12-17 at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Or.

Included are classroom instruction, class participation, problem solving and two field trips. Instruction is by OSU professors and active NAWLA wholesalers.

Freight Changes in Future

Jon Sig Gudmundsson, Northland Corp., LaGrange, Ky., was reelected president of the Southern Hardwood Traffic Association at its 62nd annual meeting in Memphis, Tn.

Others elected were Gerald Slavney, Thompson-Katz Lumber Co., Memphis, lst v.p.; Thomas J. Welsh, Welsh Forest Products Co., Memphis, treas.; Walter M. Fields, Jr., Walter M. Fields Lumber Co., Memphis, v.p., Memphis district; S.L. Ingram, Robbins, Inc., Cincinnati, Oh., v.p., Louisville district; Larry L. Brown, The Brown Co., Natchez, Ms., v.p., New Orleans district. Paul McQuiston was reappointed executive v.p.

R.P. "Rick" Phillips, manager corporate transportation, Coastal

Lumber Co., Weldon, N.C., moderated a meet-the-press type panel on "Freight Transportation's Future in the Changing Environment of the '80s." A.E. "Fon" Koot, Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co., City of Industry, Ca.; John A. Grygiel, Santa Fe Railway, Chicago, Il., and Bob Pitts, Tennessee Motor Transport Association, Nashville, Tn., were panelists.

Luncheon speaker for the meeting which drew nearly 200 members and guests was William J. Taylor, president and chief executive officer, Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.

New Louisiana Districts

Formation of two new districts, Central Louisiana and Bayou, was approved by the board of directors of the Louisiana Building Material Dealers Association at the January convention in New Orleans.

Trey LeBlanc, Baton Rouge Supply, Baton Rouge, was elected to head the executive committee as president with Ed Breedlove, B&F Lumber, Natchitoches, lst v.p.; Gary Lusby, Steele Lumber, West Monroe, 2nd v.p.; Bob Morrow, Morrow Lumber, New Orleans, treas.; Huburt Walker, A.B. Clark Lumber, New Orleans, national director.

Dennis Stine, Stine Lumber, Sulphur, is past pres.; Frank Burnside, Jr., Newellton Elevator, Newellton, pres. appointee, and Jim Duke, Baton Rouge, executive v.p. Ralph Norman, Slagel Johnson Lumber, Monroe, was the recipient of the Ned BallAward. Trey LeBlanc received the President's Award. Grand prize for the convention, air fare for two to Washington, D.C. and return, was won by St. Clair Bienvenu.

Coming dates for the association include the summer conference in Biloxi, July 7-10, and the February l-4, 1984, convention at the Royal Sonesta, New Orleans. The 1985 meeting is scheduled for Lafayette.

Carolina Dealers' Election

Carolina Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, Inc., will be under the leadership of Ralph S. Hendricks. Hendricks Builders Center, Inc., Simpsonville, S.C., for the coming year.

Elected with him at the February convention and housing and building products show in Charlotte, N.C., were AI E. Witten, Witten Supply Co., Gastonia, N.C., lst v.p.; James Enter, Seacoast Building Centers, Conway, S.C., 2nd v.p.; Joe H. Hollinshed, Cape Fear Supply, Fayetteville, N.C., 3rd v.p., and C.E. "Pete" Hulsey, Matthews Building Supply, Matthews, N.C.

Directors from North Carolina are Hayes Armstrong, Mickey Boles, Charles Killebrew, Gordon Sanders, Harris D. Blake, F.A. "Andy" Sherrill, Hugh Thomas, Larry Dudley, and J.B. Surles.

South Carolina will be represented by Wilson Jenkins, John Miller, Carl Tucker, IIl, J.D. Genoble, Roy Barnette and Robert Swinnie. Sr. as directors.

Buying Show Breaks Record

A record breaking crowd of 2,5fi) dealers from 1,300 locations coastto-coast purchased a record $45 million in building materials and forest products from 155 suppliers at the Builder Marts of America annual Independent's Days Exposition in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 22-24.

"A sense of optimism and excitement pervaded the show," according to C.C. Snyder, BMA's director of merchandising. "Inventory restocking was on everyone's mind with all totals rising above pre-recession levels, "

BMA dealer div. pres. Richard Ingram, saidthat "buyers, not lookers, were on the sales floor." Counseled by BMA sales personnel before the show "dealers knew what to expect and came to Atlanta with many orders already written. "

Special events included talks by Frank Borman, Eastern Air Lines chairman, and Ed Foreman, former U.S. Representative; insurance management and computer present ations; personal appearances by Frank Gifford and Fuzzy Zoeller, sports celebrities.

DECLARIiIG an end lo the recession and belief in economic recovery, BMA dealers purchased a record $45 million in building materials and forest products at the annual Independent's Days Show in Atlanta, Ga.

Florida Top Business State

Florida repeated its ranking as the state with the best overall manufacturing business climate among the 48 contiguous states in 1982 and helped establish the Southeast region as the best region in the United States for manufacturing.

After Florida, Texas was second, North Carolina, third, and South Carolina, fifth, in the top five. North Carolina and South Carolina replace

Colorado and Kansas while Florida and Texas were repeaters from the l98l rankings.

The Southeast region consists of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. South Central region including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana ranked No. 2.

The study was conducted by the Conference of State Manufacturers' Associations.

Florida

(Continued from page 2-?) to recommend that the limits be changed, and will present their recommendation to the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar. If approved, it must then be adopted by the Supreme Court of Florida.

All members of FLBMDA have been asked to contact the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar urging their support of the change in the Summary Procedure Rules Committee. If we are successful, and if the changes are adopted by the Florida Supreme Court, disputes in the Small Claims/County Courts will be handled much more expeditiously, and at lower costs.