LOUISIANA OUTLOOK

erecudYe vlcc pre.ld.nt fUtnfV indusry people repre- I senting 16 firms met at Marksville to form the Central Louisiana Building Suppliers Association.

Pierre and Lloyd Gauthier, C.ottonport Lumber Co., hosted the meeting. Fifteen of the 16 firms becane mernbers. Officers were elected with Jerome Buller, Ville Platt, s€lected as pres. Leland Gauthier, Cottonport, is v.p. and Mike Rabalais, Bunkie, secretarytreasurer. Other firms interested in joining can contact one of the officers or my office for full details.

The Past President's Council is studying the possibility of re-districting the state and the effct it would have on LBMDA's effectiveness.

Also being considered is the idea of establishing a new membcrship category for local associations. Some want im- proved communications betwecn locals and LBMDA. If approved, each local association would be entitled to clect or appoint one menrber to serve a tenn (n thc LBMDA board of directors.

My privuc tclcphone line has ben replaccd by call forwarding with a nw numbcr bcing ercigncd to it. This new telephonc numbcr is (5O{) 92U317. lf I am ot$ of thc office, calbrs are put on hold, I am contsctcd and thc call is patchcd in.

Lumbcrmeo'r Aroclellon o[ Tar

P.O. tc 55all, Ardr, Tr 7t76! (lirD a?lfrta

TE}(AS TOPICS

JOE BUTI.ER, SR. clccudvc vlcc prcrildcot

ARI(ANSASa OKLAHOMA

nXANSAS and Oklahoma dealers recently elected to top positions in the Md-America Lumbermens Association for 1982-83. scnt out &lcd "If You Wcre Prcsidcm What Srould You f,lo?"

Joe Kaufman, Kaufman Lumber Co., Little Rock, Ar., has been elected president and John Collins, Collins Lumber Co., Ada, Ok., has been elected lst vice president.

Dealer directors representing Arkansas and Oklahoma are: Arkansas: Janes E. Greer, Superior Lumber Co., El Dorado; TrumanW. Hall, Lyman Lamb C.o., Little Rock; Philip E. Hiegel, Quality Building Materials, Morrilton; David S. Randle, Ranco Building Supply, Fayette- ville; Oklahoma: John C. Garrett, Economy Lumber & Supply Co., Miami; Grady Ollie, Jr., Geo. Ollie's Lumber Co., Pocola; Paul W. Pixley, Pixley Lumber Co., Claremore; Jack Romerman, Oran Huston Lumber Co., Oklahoma City.

"Th€re's A Lot In It For You " is the theme for this year's Arkansas Lumberfest, scheduled for October l5-16, in Hot Springs. From the opening golf tournament to the closing banquet, more activities and business sessions have ben planned than ever before. Tom Nabholz of Nabholz Supply Co., Conway, Ar., Lumberfest planning committee chairman, reports that sponsor support and dealer acceptance for this year's program exceeds that of previous conventions.

MLA Mill Tour III, one of the association's most popular programs, will again be held in the two-state area. kaving Little Rock on October 12, MLA members will tour milling operations and manufacturing sites in southern Arkansas and Oklahoma for three days. Over 60 dealers are opected to participate this year.

Included in the tour will be stops at Hoo-Hoo International headquarters, an Arkansas forestry nursery, cutting sites in Arkansas and Oklahoma, gypsum board and cement plants, and a post and pole plant.

The responsc from our mcmbcrs vas excellcnt. Thcy indft:atcd in no umtein terms just how the mejorig of lumbcr dealcrs feel about natbnd affairs. Thc results of '\is survcy will be uscd both by oursclvcs in our ontacts with our congrcssncn and by thc national assocition in is contacts and in the planning for future lqislatirre efforts. Our rhankc to John Martin for devcloping this rp proach.

Here ars the results:

(1) Shouldthcbudga bc balancd?

(2) Arc housing sutr. sidies neccsary?

(3) Shouldgro*thof cach of thc following progrems bG restrictcd?

Defcnsc

Social Sccurity

Entitlemcnts

Crovcnrmt nquUtms

Fedcrd Employmcnt

(a) Do you feel the Presidcat is at fault for our problans?

YES NO nq. 39b

62q. nC.

37.h 52% %qr 4q. 951o 570 95q.2V5C. 9E% 2q. Dq. 8lq.

The answcr to No. 2 appcars that thc Lugar proposal was not backcd byama- jority of our mcmbers.

The most eornmon rcmark was that govcrnm€nt and governmcnt intcrfcrencc should be reduccd, thc budgct balanccd, interest rates lowcred and wdfare programs reduced.

With housing starts up a rcord 33.7% and the prime ratc droppcd to its lowest level since Novembcr of 1980, it could bc that the rcession has bottomed out. But grofih averagrng only slightly above a 390 annual rate is expccted between now and next spring.