The West's biggest dealer convention

HE Western Building Material Association has long had a reputation for progressive innovation. This year's annual gathering proved no exception to the rule.

When the organization opened its 76th annual convention, held this year in Portland, Or., they not only repeated their popular Building Products Showcase for their dealer members, but decided to open the show to the general public.

Sfory at a Glance

When the convention began, the first afternoon, Saturday, Nov. 10, was set aside for public perusal at the show. which was held at the Multnomah County Exposition Center, a five minute shuttle bus ride from the convention headquarters hotel, the Thunderbird Motor Inn at Jantzen Beach, a part ofPortland.

While the public did not arrive in the numbers anticipated, the Showcase itself was a dazzling collection, the Iargest ever, that utilized more than 160 exhibit spaces. Its extensive variety of products drew widespread favorable comment from exhibitors and viewers alike.

Next day was devoted to the efficient "Quick Pitch Selling Talks." These presentations by exhibitors, whereby they quickly review their products and systems under a tight time control system, present the maximum information in as short a time as possible. Sunday afternoon

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SH0WG|!ERS included lll Harvey Huff, Grant Anderson, Dean Lloyd. l2l Mac Mclnelly, Marty Jordan, Chuck Lauber, Darrel Andrews. l3l Vern and Shirley Greer, Wayne Mattson. lll Tad and Jeri Scharpl with Amy, 6 months, happily enjoying her f irst WBMA convention. l5l Chuck Link, the association's exec. v.0., does a little camera work. (61 Maury Blondheim, Dean Gadda, Dirk A. Voorhees, Bill Graham. l7l Rick Hutchinson, Chuck Shaler, Ken Nyce. l8l John Kendall, Joe Campero. [9] Fred Steohens. Phil Bowman. ll0l Dale and Margaret Knudson, Dave Sylvester. llll Bob and Diana Caldwell, Judy and Jim Duncan, Jaquelyn and Greg Kleiner. ll2l Jerry Billington, William Herr, Wallace Barnett. ll3l Bob and Pat Jacobsen, Rick Stevens. ll4l Pete Pence, Jerry and Merle 0rem. llSl Jerry Matson, Mike Zagone. ll6l Al Hoenhous, Joe Hoenhous, Clay Smith. llTl Ned Thurston, Virginia and Jack Churchill. ll Sl Ed Shipley, Sharon Wheat, Bill Smith.

"RECESSI0l{ UKEIY" lor early '80 was forecast [ll of CBS economics correspondent Mitchell Krause. {21 Joe Walton, Cathy Stenroos, Skip Cheak. l3l Maynard Hoflmann, Arne Kirkebo. l4l Ray Nailor, Dick Rust. l5l Rod and Regina Dow. 16l Joe Armitage, H. Dexter Bacon, Chuck Williams. l7l Terry Greer, Dave Mahoney, Sandy Greer. l8l Bob McPherson, David Barry, Sid Voorhees. l9l Edward Lubin, Jim and Colleen Suiter, Allan Craig. Il0l Walt Kozie, Dennis Riley, Hal Hulf

BrcGEST DEALER SHOW

(Continued from page 24) was a day at the show for dealers, wives and employees.

The program part ofthe convention got off to a bang Monday morning with a seminar by the Pence brothers, two Indiana lumber dealers, on "Developing Better People."

Obviously veterans of the real life business world. the two brothers (Jim sporting a full beard, Pete with World War II crewcut) explained various methods of motivating employees that trad proven successful for them.

Jim stressed communicat.ine objectives in measurable terms td employees. "It's not enough," he said, "to ask them to strive for maximum profits, you have to define it. You have to plan your objectives, plan your work, work your plan and then rr:view results and make adjustrnents... all pointed toward a measurable eoal that is understanrlable to viur employees.')

Pete talked the dealers through the Key Employee Bonus Plan their firm uses at their tbur retail outlets. A vital part of ttre effectiveness is that the peo,ple b,eing measured by tne system:

(l) see the nulmbers.

(2) understand the numbers.

(3) b,elieve the numbers.

(4) t trat managers have the clout to be able to change the number, i.e.. lrire/fi re authoriry.

^ Basically, the system is a method ot computation so that each store manager is rneasured, not alone by gross dollars produced or net profit, but by three: categories:

( I ) Actual Return on Assets (invested).

(2) Return on Assets Obiective.

(3) Percent of Return on Assets achieved.

One of the major values to the system, which also includes other performance yardsticks, is that it handicaps each manager and makes for a fairer comparison between company units.

Other outstanding speakers on a program packed with good speakers and presentations was the Columbia Broadcasting System's economic correspondent Mitchell Krauss, who forecast that a new industry was growing up around energy conservation and that it had the potential to be bigger rhan new home construction.

He said that consumer spending will decline as "people pull in their horns," by the end of 1980. He sees repair and remodeling increasing while real estate prices decline. Additionally, "the U.S. can defeat energy and other problems, but we need the resolve to determine to do so.tt

Krauss feels that "the end of 1980 could be stronger than the first quarter of this year," and that "Americans are beginning to be more innovative in their personal and bursiness finances," ieflected by increasing public sophistication

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G-P Feb. Mill Tour

A tour on Feb. 22 of the Georgia-Pacific mill at Fort Bragg, Ca., has been set by the Black Bart HooHoo Club as the theme event for its annual Industrial Night program. The club is a lumbermen's fraternal organization.

On view will be G-P's new computerized "Maxi Mill" and a planing mill with a computerized tray sorter. Also included will be the hydraulic debarker, bandsaw mill, dry sheds and air yard.

Tours begin at I p.m. from the G-P general office in Fort Bragg and continue until 5 p.m. They are open to anyone interested in attending. For information, contact Bob Handegard (707) 964-0281 or Bill Carter (707) 468-5486.

Biggest Dealer Show

(Continued from page 26) demonstrated by their trading, for example, in money market instruments.

The current president of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, Lee S. Briggs, gave an over-all view of the major changes made recently in "National," which is composed of

27 federated members. such as WBMA. Briggs said NLBMDA was "headed for complete disaster," prior to restructuring.

Changes included hiring a new executive vice president, John Martin, changes in the dues structure, expanded executive committee, and more formal guidelines for offi cers and committees.

Dr. W. Thomas Porter, a Touche Ross Co. partner, spoke on time management and financial planning, urging the use of daily action plans as a tool to reach planned-forgoals. There are four Cs involved, he said, choice, consequence, committment and control.

Elements of personal financial planning included: net worth analysis and planning, income and expenditure analysis, cash forecasting and management, insurance analysis, tax and estate planning.

WBMA also revealed at the convention that it had retained E.P. "Woody" Railey as a new part-time executive staffer to handle a variety of industry and association affairs that require someone of broad experience and an understanding of the business. The recently retired general manager of Sharfp's Twin Oaks Builders Supply stores in Oregon, he is a past president of

Thot's How lt Goes!

" l wish I could raise my debt ceiling as quickly as the government."

The *lerchont Magazine

WMBA, serving in that top slot in 197 5.

Old favorite Dennis Day headlined the President's Banquet, Nov. 13, as the group put the final wraps around yet another productive gathering of the clan.

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IMPCO can solve your sawdust and shavings collection problems. As engineers and manufacturers of dust collection equipment for over 25 years nationwide, lhere is no job too large or too small for our tolal system design. Our "versatile" heavy industrial blowers are unsurpassed rn performance and rugged durability, and are the heart of every quality system. IMPCO spans the wood processing industry with a wide variety of equipmenl, so whatever your requirements look to IMPCO for satistaction!

NFPA Focuses on Energy

The National Forest Products Association's 77th annual meeting, Nov. ll-14, in Palm Springs, Ca., focused on expectations for the national economy in 1980, the energy situation and the barrage of government regulations affecting the forest industry and all business.

The serious situation with respect to Iranian oil prompted NFPA to adopt a resolution urging "those responsible for managing, converting and marketing forest products to escalate their continuing efforts to conserve oil and oil-based products."

They also adopted a policy statement on wood energy which addresses issues of wood for fuel and for other essential uses and created a standing Committee on Energy charged with analyzing legislative and regulatory proposals relating to energy needs.

Guest speakers, including former President Gerald R. Ford, syndicated columnist Rowland Evans, and Merrill Butler, president-elect of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), all emphasized that inflation is the country's single most important issue and that a three-pronged attack on the problem through government fiscal, monetary and administration actions is essential.

President Ford presented his assessment of the 1980 nationalpo- litical campaigns, the serious national economic situation and the "extremely serious" situation in Iran. He said the Federal Reserve Board's tight money policies alone, without responsible government fiscal policies and far greater emplasis on savings and productivitV.will not be sufficient to break the inflationary trend.

Forest Service Chief Max Peterson outlined his agency's l4-point "Forestry Agenda" to help meet increasing natural resource demands. He also outlined the direction the Forest Service is taking to prepare for the 1980 Assessment and Program to comply with the Resources Planning Act (RPA). He said "national goals will be reflected in National Forest land management plans, and on the ground. . Our goals will be realistic, they will be workable and they will be achieved."

In a report to NFPA directors, Merrill Butler, NAHB presidentelect, said the home builders' recent Housing Crisis Conference in Washington, D.C., concluded that Federal Reserve Board tight money policies alone will not restrain inflation but will, without a coordinated approach involving the President, the Congress and other agencies, in fact, feed inflation and cause severe economic and social disruptions on one segment of the economy - building, construction, building materials suppliers and building trades workers.

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Pre-cut cedar fencing, posts and rails Pine commons and selects Redwood oommons Douglas fir finish

EDWOOD DEALERS can take advantage of this year's consumer demand for redwood decks. fences, trellising and other outdoor projects by planning early to tie in with the California Redwood Association's spring redwood garden grades promotions.

With spring weather, an increased consumer demand for redwood amenities is expected as home cooling and gasoline costs encourage stay-at-home outdoor living and home improvement. This year, the California Redwood Association's promotions will be designed to tell consumers, builders, and architects why redwood's natural performance and weatherability makes it the ideal choice for outdoor applications.

The CRA's spring promotions will spread this message with extensive advertising in major national consumer and trade publications. Magazine and newspaper publicity, featuring redwood design ideas, will appear in newspapers across the country to give redwood garden grades maximum visibility among consumers. The CRA also is offering more design literature and sales

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