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BMI/PAC!

Another combination of letters that adds to the confusion'l Not really. Those letters stand for Building Material Industry-Political Action Committee;a committee organized to assist our industry in our state legislative e ffort s.

Prior to BM l/PA(' there were no funds to buy tickets to political fund raising dinners and receptions.'Io gain support from legislators it is best to appear on their rolls as a supporter. Other industry groups organized political action committees and raised hundreds of thousand of dollars to gain legislative favors. We have done very little and as a consequence had difficulty in persuading inf'luential State Senators and Representatives to vote on bills with our industry preservation in mind.

Our association establishcd a contribution goal of $ 15,000 from our members to work on legislation this year. We hope that the other membcrsof WBMDA can contribute similar amounts.

As of December 31,19'77 a total of Sl0,2l5 had been contributed by LMA members toward the S15,000 goal. We anticipate that we can raise the rentainder very soon. Suggested contributions were based upon Sl00 contribution for each Sl million in gross sales. lt was encouraging to see a great nunrber of small dealers (less than $1 million) who have contributed S100. It was also encouraging to see contributions fronr our associate members. All of this indicates that businessmen are very concerned over the continuing increase in government control of business. We have been too long in developing action to protect ourselves and we have a great "Catch up Game" to play.

We anticipate that the BMI/PAC will make sizeable contributions to selected State Senators and Representatives who have shown support for our industry. We will then work with them to introduce legislation that will increase the preservation of our industry and to encourage them to persuade their colleagues to vote against legislation that adds further controls on our indLrstry.

Every businessman should have the name, address and phone number of his State Senator and Representative readily available, just as he has the name and phone number of his suppliers.

We must influence our industry members to stop taking a back seat to every Do Gootler that comes along. We have the means to protect our industry and the private enterprise system if we would only learn to use it.

Our BMI/PAC is not a one shot effort. We will continue annual solicitation of funds to support ourselves, therefore, every dealer should plan on budgeting $100 per Sl million in gross sales for this annual contribution.

Merlo Blasts Forest Service

Indications that "top bureaucrats" in the U. S. Forest Senrice are questioning the reliability of public responses to proposed wilderness study criteria "makes a farce out of the roadless area review", Harry A. Merlo, Louisiana-Pacific chairrnan and president notes.

A Forest Service analysis of cornments liom over 50,000 people nationwide on criteria the agency was proposing for study of the 66.4 million acres of forest land in the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) inventory showed strong support for tirnber and ntineral development and the need lbr more access and intensive recreational uses within the national forest system.

"Apparently the results didn't turn out as the Forest Service's top administrators had hoped. So now they're saying you can't give too much credence to what the responses show because they weren't gathered properly.

"lt's a little too late for the Forest Service to be concerned about the way the public response phase of RARE II was handled. To rne. this is bureaucratic arrogance. It even srnacks of governnrental duplicity.

"According to the Forest Service, RARE Il was designed to speed up decisions on what the best public uses for the identified national tbrest lands ought to be. I agree with that notion wholeheartedly, but only if the Forest Service gives some support to what the public says it wants," Merlo said.

Energy Saving & Hardware

Sales of energy saving hardware, housewares and related items continue to grow markedly, according to the U.S. Commerce Dept.

Demand for solar heaters is doubling every nine ntonths, sales of energyefficient heat pumps jumped 59% from Jan.-Aug. of last year. Wood burning stoves and weather stripping are arnong the five best selling items nationally in U.S. hardware stores and hardware departrnents.

Sonre 4 million Americans added insulation of one kind or another tcl their honres last year and a startling 23 nrillion rnore plan sirnilar energysaving rlodilications.

New PGL Outlets

The Palmer G. Lewis Co. branch in Yakinra recently'relocated to the 27,000 sq. ft. warehouse see'n here, to better serve the expanding Eastern Washington nrarket. It has ovcr 1,000 sq. ft. offices, access to rail and f-rccway and sits on f.7 acles. Bill Rudd is residcnt rngr. PGL had previously been in a snraller building in nearby Union Gap.

A subsidiary conrpany, Superior Building Supply. has a 25,000 sq. 1t. building products honie center under construction at Soldotna, on the Kenai Peninsula, South of Anchorage, Alaska. Conrpletion of the S850,000 wood fianre building is set for Dec. The sales area will cover 7,200 sq. ft., the covered warehouse storage 16,900 sq. li. Rick Abbott, present Soldotna store nianager will continue in that position' when the new store opens. Bill Dixon will be in charge of purchasing.

PGL headquarters are in Auburn, Wa.