NORTHWEST

CHUCK LINK executive director

aF\ONGRATULATIONS ro Cecil VCleveland - I 985 WBIvIA president. He was installed as 1985 WBMA President at our 8lst Annual Convention in Portland, Nov. l0-13. He is president of Valley Best-Way Building Supply and secretary-treasurer of Best-Way Structures, both in Spokane.

Cecil has been in the retail lumber business since 1949. He has been an active WBMA member for many years. In addition to serving two years as vice president, as a member of the executive committee and as a district director, he has served on several association committees. This involvement through the years plus his enthusiastic interest in WBMA genuinely qualifies him for his new post.

He is past president of the Spokane

Valley Chamber of Commerce, past president of Valley Sunrise Rotary Club, past exalted ruler of the Spokane Valley Elks Club. He and his wife, Beverly, have three married daughters, one son and three grandchildren.

Other officers installed at the convention were vice president Bob Perrin, Capital Lumber Co., Boise, Id., and Clayton Smith, W. J. Conrad Lumber Co., Coos Bay, Or.

Sincere thanks to outgoing President Bob Kerr! WBMA members learned to know Bob as the hard-working and enthusiastic president for a successful 1984. We sincerely appreciate all the time and effort he devoted to association activities, and wish to thank him, his wife, Phyllis, and family for their generous support to WBMA.

Retiring directors Larry Knudsen, Mike McDonnell and Tracy McGinn were presented service plaques in appreci- ation of their service to the industry and tO WBMA.

Directors elected to 3-year terms are: Alaska: Bill Hepworth, Bob Adams; Washington: Mick Bush, Hal Reynolds, Craig C. Esary, Rand Thomas; Oregon: Dennis Mullins, Wesley Sine, Bill Whittemore; Idaho: Earl Nelson; director-atlarge, Bob Withers; executive committeemen, Earl Nelson and Tad Scharpf. Chuck Rouse was elected to a 5-year term as a trustee of the WBMA Insurance and Pension Trusts.

Three men were honored in recognition of 40 years or more of service to our industry. They are: Warren D. Cochrane, owner of Millwork Supply Company, Seattle; Mark Balfour, owner of Umpqua Building and Hardware, Reedsport, Or; and Robert M. Slettedahl, Lumbermen's, Palm Springs, Ca. Congratulations, gentlemen. We wish you many more years of continued success in our industry.

Cedar Special Issue

E.J. JOHNSON execut ive vice president

atHE ALBSA announces wirh regret I the passing of one of irs most valucd and trusted colleagues, Aram Mardian. Mr. Mardian passed away December 14, 1984, at the Humana Hospital in Phoenix at the age of 80.

He was the lounder and retired director of Mardian Construction Company, known throughout the Southwest for its construction. Among some of the more prominent structures in Arizona built by the company are the Adams (Hilton) Hotel, The Arizona Legislature's House and Senate Wings, Phoenix Sky Harbour's newest terminal and the multi-purpose sports/civic Skydome at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff . This revolutionary facility is the world's largest wood supported roof system of preengineered laminated wood beams that span 500 feet and rise 142 feet above the playing surlace. The facitity was completed in 1977 and covers 97,000 square feet.

Mr. Mardian, who was born in Armenia, came to the U.S. in 1914. After years in the construction business in New York and California, he moved Mardian Construction Co. to Phoenix from California in 1943. In 1950 he founded the Glen Mar Door Manufacturing Company. He also founded the Marco Crane and Rigging Company before retiring in 1974.

Aram Mardian was one of Arizona's outstanding citizens, having contributed his time to many state-wide programs and projects. His counsel was widely sought by his fellow businessmen and friends alike. He served as a contributing member to the ALBSA and was a member of the Hoo-Hoo International, the lumberman's fraternity. The Mardian family has requested that donations be madc to the Aram Mardian Scholarship Fund, c/o The Phoenix Rotary Club, P. O. Box 828. Phoenix. Az. 85001.

As the new year unfolds in Arizona, we continue to enjoy a relatively good economic base from which to operate. Economic indicators revr:al that in the last 10 years Arizona's personal income has grown by 21890 to a per capita income of $10,719. Its present population is just under three million people, a growth of about 4090 for the same period of time. The metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson areas comprise approximately threefourths of the state's population and represent some of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. According to the latest intercensal population figures, Maricopa (Phoenix) County is nearing 1.7 million people and Pima (Tucson) County is approaching a 6@,000 population figure. This data means that most of the state's approximately $3.6 billion dollars in building permits are issued in those two metropolitan areas. Coconino (Flagstaft) County, Arizona's next largest area, contributed over $75 million in building permits.

New housing units authorized in the first six months of 1984 reached 34 thousand in the Phoenix area and over seven thousand in metro-Tucson. Considering that wood increasingly dominates masonry as the preferred building material, the state's lumber industry continues to enjoy better times than most other areas of the country.

Like other communities, however, we anxiously look at national economic indicators along with the movement of the almighty interest rate for an indication of what the new year will really mean. Hopefully, a most happy, productive and prosperous 1985 for everyone!

FRED CARUSO executive secretary

Rilt' i.#'ti,'' llx'f ii#"iT:

recent Mountain States convention in Colorado Springs, Co.,a commitment to make a profit, collect on credit, sell their services and confront change.

"lt is important to make a profit, rather than just sales," said Jerry Woodward, Woodward Lumber ComPanY, Las Cruces, N.M., newly elected President. Woodward's philosophy led to the development of the association's theme, "Building Strength, Building Profits." Profits are the foundation for building strength, providing jobs and establishing longterm stability in a dynamic market.

Three topics of importance emerged during a roundtable discussion luncheon at which 95 dealers shared their views during the Nov. l5-18 convention:

(1) Competing with direct sellers and firms who undercut prices: Dealers defend themselves by offering good service and educating their customers on the value of those services. Future trends in service include cutting studs to exact length, putting shingles on the roof and delivering sheet rock into rooms. A suggestion was made that when dealers give free forklift or delivery service, they bill the customer with a zero balance due to let them know what the service was worth.

(2) Employee motivation and management: One of the most important steps in hiring is to carefully screen every applicant. Try to recruit employees rather than hiring the first person who walks through the door. Successful dealers have regular meetings, accent the positive and give strokes to employees in front of others. Cash incentive and other awards create better working environments and can dramatically increase profits.

(3) Credit and collections: The time spent in opening an account is of utmost importance. Set a firm credit policy, be firm and fair and let people know where they stand. Communicate to the customer what is expected in specific terms to avoid misunderstandings. At least one dealer has success using a third party collector.

"ldea exchange meetings between dealers are among the best investments of our time we can make," said immediate past president, Dave Stookesberry, Economy Building Materials, Greeley, Co. "The value of these meetings is the chance to compare your situation with other lumber dealers and find that most of our problems are universal and we can learn from others'mistakes and successes," he said.

Crissey Fowler Lumber ComPanY, Colorado Springs, Co., and Kitts Enterprises, Inc., Albuquerque, N.M., received awards for "most improved" and "outstanding" safety programs.

Both companies reduced their worker's compensation losses by more than 75t/o in two years through the development and implementation of employee safety programs.

The key features of a good safety program were determined to be: r Hiring practices: Management checks the background and references for all applicants. r Regular meetings and safety instruction: Management schedules times and places for safety training and discussion of specific concerns at their location. r Visual inspection: Management makes inspections on a routine basis and corrects problems as they occur. r Incentive plans for safety. Employees are rewarded financially and through recognition in front of their peers for having good safety records.

The awards are co-sponsored bY the Mountain States Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association and the Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance.

The 1985 Mountain States convention will be held at the Marriott City Center Hotel in downtown Denver, November 7 -to.

Grace Spotlights Budget Deficit

W. R. Grace & Co., which includes home centers among its divisions, will spend more than $3 million on an advertising campaign designed to keep attention focused on the federal budget deficit. Print advertising and television commercials will be used with a toll-free number provided for obtaining a free booklet on the deficit.

J. Peter Grace, Grace chairman and c.e.o.. was chairman of a commission appointed by President Reagan in 1982 to survey government waste. The group recommended changes aimed to save the government $424.4 billion over three years.

Redwood Firm Expanding

The J. H. Blevins Co., Inc. has recently acquired two more firms to increase their capabilities as manufacturers and kiln operators in addition to their traditional role in wholesaling and remanufacturing.

The Napa, Ca., company recently acquired G&S Lumber Company's sawmill at Sebastopol, Ca., and the Placerville Lumber Co., Placerville, Ca.

The Placerville operation is on 44 acres, with five dry kilns, a planer, sawmill and a 40,000 sq. ft. dry shed. The property is rail served.

In early 1984 Blevins purchased the James Lumber Co. distribution facility in Napa. No price was revealed in any of the transactions.

"These new facilities," notes company president Jim Blevins, "allow us to make products previously acquired from other mills as well as to produce items that were unobtainable. The bottom line is better service for our customers by providing more products coupled with quicker delivery."

Western Softwoods, Moufdings & Miltwork Agd$ltural Wood ProduGts, Pl5nuood, Particleboard

Ponderosa Plnof SuSar Plne, HemrFlr, Ilouglas ffr, Cedsr and $P-F

Bill Hanrahan, Jim Haas

Bob Glatt, division mgr.

We are also pleased to be a West Coast area distributor for CF&I steel products as well.

BERGER & COMPANY IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMMODITIES TRADING ORGANIZATION WITH OFFICES IN:

San Francisco, Ca. (headquarters); Chicago, Il.; Colfax, Wa.; Fargo, N.D.; Filer, Id.; Grand Cayman, British West Indies; Santiago, Chile; London, England; Geneva, Switzerland; Nicosia, Cyprus: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Moose Jaw, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Taipei, Taiwan.