lfw@mty- [=Eve Ycal"s Ago

As reported in the June 1944 issue of the Merchant

Walter Harris, Lounsberry & Harris, Los Angeles, was a recent Northwest visitor.

JJ W. Copeland, J. W. Copeland Yards, Inc., Portland, spent a few days in Los Angeles.

A. W. "Bates" Smith, manager, MacDonald & Harrington, Los Angeles, spent a few days in San Francisco.

Carl Hornibrook, sales manager, Ewauna Box Co., Klamath Falls, Ore., and J. W. Rodgers, vp. and sales manager, Lassen Lumber & Box Co., San Francisco, recently attended a meeting in Washington, D.C.

Lieut. Brian Bonnington, son of G. J. "Jer- ry" Bonnington, Lamon-Bonnington, was home on leave recently.

Donald E. Holcomb, Jr., son of Don Holcomb, sales manager of Arcata Redwood Co., San Francisco, entered the Army early this year,

Lieut. Glenn A. Burke, formerly with Union Lumber Co., San Francisco, was promoted to Captain.

Lieut. Jim Berry, U.S.M.C., formerly with Pope & Talbot, was promoted to Captain.

Steve Westover, Lemon Grove Lumber Co.. Lemon Grove, was a recent Los Angeles visitor.

Charles M. Cooper, W. E. Cooper Lumber Co., Los Angeles, has returned from a trip to the Northwest.

Walter G. Tyree, Indian Builders Supply Co., Indio, spent a few days in Los Angeles.

R. E. "Bob" Caldwell, Hammond Lumber

Co., San Francisco, flew to San Diego recently to visit his son in the USN.

George B. Kendrick, sales manager, Pope & Talbot, San Francisco, is back from a 10 day trip.

J. S. "Jim" Linderman, Manufacturers Lumber Co., returned from a business trip. Kenneth Smith, California Redwood Assn., was a recent Los Angeles visitor.

L. \Y. MacDonal4 L. W. MacDonald Co., Los Angeles, is spending a few weeks in the Northwest on business.

E. A. Middleton, Anderson & Middleton Lumber Co., Aberdeen, Wash., was a recent visitor at E. L. Reitz Co., Los Angeles.

Charles P. Henry, Los Angeles wholesaler, is back from a business trip to the Northwesl.

Glen M. lVliner, Whiting-Mead Co., San Diego, was a Los Angeles visitor.

A. M. Charter, manager, Wholesale Building Supply, Oakland, returned from the Northwest where he called on a number of sawmills.

B. J. De Vaney, Jr., formerly with Smith Lumber Co., Oakland, now a medical corpsman, received a citation for meritorious conduct at Attu.

Lieut. John A. Rudback, U.S.N., and member of the J. A. Rudbach Co., Los Angeles, firm, wrote us a note on the 200 difrerent species of hardwoods growing where he is stationed. Only six of them float.

Meei the Pitchy Selects

- Celebrating their first birthday, the Pitchy Selects, a lively group of central California lumbermen held their anniversary golf rnatch and dinner recently in Marysville.

Hero of the day was Dave Greene of R. F. Nikkel Lumber Co. who racked up a hole-in-one.

A new slate of officers was announced. Bob Bonner, presideng R. F. Nikkel Lumber Co.; Walt Stuermer, v.p., Sequoia Pine Mills; Matt Ryan, secretary treasurer, Hedlund Lumber Sales; Jack Dash, Dier Lumber Co., sergeant at arms. Board of directors: Bud Frank, Dier Lumber Co.; Harry Lausmann, Lausmann Lumber Co.; Harry Finney, Klumb Lumber Co. and Pat Damon, State Box Co.

Focts on the Urge to Merge

Building materials companies accounted tor 77 of the record breaking 4,M2 merger announcements of last year. according to W. T. Grimm & Co.

Stock proved to be more than twice as popular in cash as an acquisition medium in building materials mergers.

Prices paid for building materials companies rose during the year. Average prices paid for building materials companies came to 16 times earnings.

ARIZOilIA CONVENTION

(Continu.ed lrom Page 13) row range of items, like paneling. For those seeking the consumer dollar, Slothower stressed they must define their market, be creative with displays, communicate in and for their market, innovate with due caution, then train and manage, all with an eye to near and far term profit.

The hows and whats of motivating people to do more and do it better was outlined by J. E. Smith, Armstrong Cork's gen. mgr. of personnel relations. He gave the 12 specific motivator thoughts or tools as (I) provide job challenge, (2) inform about objectives, (3) check for routine and unnecessary duties, (4) check working conditions, (5) administer compensation carefully, (6) discuss performance appraisals, (7) provide quality supervision, (8) show personal interest, (9) watch for restlessness, (10) communicate with management, (lI) survey employee interests, (12) encourage professional and service club affiliations.

That evening most everyone piled on the buses and went over to nearby San Luis, Mexico, for a night of shopping, dining, dancing and, if reports are correcto perhaps a drink or two was consumed.

Next morning at eight a.m. (ouch!), more than half a hundred members heard outgoing president Tom Fridena introduce Bob Jones, exes. rrp. of the Middle Atlintic Lumbermen's Association, who gave one of the outstanding talks of the conventio.n.

Jones dwelt on why businesses go broke and how to avoid it. He urged dealers to do a local market survey and to do local public relations for themselves and their yard, to modernize the operation and chart specific goals for themselves and their business. Return on investment should be twenty percent before taxes, nine or ten percent after taxes, Jones noted.

He said to first plan selling then plan for a fast turnover. Display and price all you buy, use compensatory pricing when needed and base prices on your cost, not what your so-called competition charges.

The bosses' attitude afiects everyone, he said and advised employers to pay better and to make job descriptions. Dun & Bradstreet, he remarked, considers incompet' ence to be t}le biggest reason for business failures.

Phoenix-based Cavett Robert, an inspir' ational speaker of national reputation' wrapped up the afternoon session with an entertaining talk touching on a wide num' ber of topics.

The annual banquet, with favorite Char' lie Mann as m.c., nicely topped the 48th annual that evening to close out one of the best of the Arizona conventions.

Po3ltlons wanted 25t a word, mlnlmum 22 words (zt words - $5.50). Au others 35/ a word, mln. 2o words (2o wordsli7.0o). Phone number counts as one word. Boxed ads $tr extra. Fancy headllne or border8 $2 extra. Box numbered ads add S1.