Arizona association scores agaii

Fl ECORD attendance at dealer confl ventions durine times of sreat prosperity are not an-uncommon t[ing. But an association that can draw a record crowd during today's down period is obviously doing a lot of things right.

The Arizona Lumber & Builders Supply Association did just that at their recently concluded 59th annual in Tucson, Az. When all the heads were counted, it turned out that the association, which generally holds its gatherings in either Phoenix or Tucson, had drawn its largest crowd ever for a Tucson meeting. At nearly 400, the attendance demonstrated once again the strength of the organization, which can boast that approximately 90Vc of Arizonans ensased in the business are members of ihiel-assn.

Elected to keep up the good work in I980-'81 are new presidenr Larry Hamman. who is takihg the top job for a second time; Bob Ramsey, lst v.p.; Jim Stewart, 2nd v.p.; and Don Hossack. treas. John Entz is the immediate past pres.

The clout of the association does not go unnoticed outside the industry. When a press conference was called during the annual meeting, the entire

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NAME0 tUfvlBERMAt'l ol Decade Ill Dean Drake, grins as he opens an accompanying gilt, a briefcase of genuine rosewood.

Right: oulgoing pres. John Entz and his wile, Betty [2] John Enlz; new pres. Larry Hamman, Jim Stewart, c0nventi0n chairman. (3) Assn. exec v.p Frank Davis, Kim Brooke, sales mgr. of Doubletree Inn, where convention was held. l4l Mike 0'Malley, Virgil Hunt, Eva Sanchez, Beth McCormick, Paul Conley. l5l Bob Dunlap, Terry Dunlap, Dale Smith, Kelvin Hamman. [6] Sherry Gaylor receiving briefcase for securing new assOciati0n members, f rom John Enlz. l7l Dave Cech, Ray Lopp, Dave Decker l8l Linda and Russ Barnes with Nicholas 3 months. l9l Dick Sizemore, M ike Westcott, Richard Bilby ll0l Helen and Marv Setzer,

Robert Braniger, Doug Willis, Bill Nolte (back row) : Donna Willis, Jim and Sylvia Frodsham, Cecily Gill (lront row). ll I I Ken Johnson, "Skip" Shrigley Il2l Steve Barlow, Jay 0'Malley, Jim Barlow Il3l Jim and Jayne Killen, Jim Gotcher. Il4l Steve and Mary Hancock, Scott Gates, Balph Rundle llSl Fred Bilbrey, Marshall Christy

Arizona Annual

(Continued from previous page) local media showed, including the three local tv stations. (See photos accompanying this story.)

Four industry figures involved in the convention were interviewed: Lee Briggs, pres. of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Assn., who charged the federal government with fiscal irresponsibility which had created the present housing crisis that has had a ripple effect across the entire economy.

A.M. "Mickey" Whiting, president-elect of the National Forest Products Assn. told the journalists that "it will be very, very tough until money rates decline." He called the timb€r shortage government induced and described it as "a tragedy when the U.S. desperately needs housing."

Dean Drake, senior v.p. and gen. msr. of the l8 O'Mallev retail vards in-the Southwest, noting thai the future for Arizona was better than for much of the U.S., warned that when demand and affordable money return, the industry faces a possible severe price spiral. He urged consumers to take advantase of lumber and plywood that is ldwer in price today than five years ago.

Frank Davis, Arizona assn. managing officer, observed that "housing has gone over a cliff," resulting in layoffs at the dealer level that are at one-third and could go to fifty percent. He forecast future homes that would be smaller, utilize more pre-fab construction and have fewer costly features.

The convention keynoter was Dr. Gunther Klaus. of the Institute for Advanced Planning, who tackled the convention theme of "The '80s, The Decade of Opportunity." He urged managers to build a strong organization, with a learning and growing environment, advocating team management and management by objective.

He told the dealers to maximize their talents by budgeting their time.

He added that if "you aren't having fun doing what you're doing, find another business."

A.M. Whiting, just prior to the press conference mentioned above, spoke to the group on how timber supplY has created current problems and threatens future difficulties. He observed that "current anti-inflation policies are only postponing more inflation in housing." He stressed that if the anti-inflation burden isn't spread more equitably across the e-onomy, the result "could be fatal to the housing industry."

He said that industry was going to have to work on its own to provide the timber supply needed in coming decades because the federal Resources Planning Act, established in 1974, wasn't getting the job done.

Whiting urged industry members to speak out on these issues that affect consumers as much as those in the industry.

An inventory management seminar followed, conducted by William E. Schoolman, who plumped for aggressive inventory systems that could balance the needs of inventory furns and customer service.

The seven factors in good inventory systems, he said, were: (l) Financial impact, (2) Product line priorities, (3) S.O.S., which he described as items that were Surplus, Obsolete and Slow moving, (4) Reorder straG egies, (5) Measuring and improving customer service levels, (6) Stock status systems, and (7) Financial control.

Two additional factors stressed were an A-B-C analysis to make as certain as possible that profitable, fast-turn items are identified and emphasized, and slow movers, that produce less or lose money, ale weeded out. Vendor analysis also came in for extra attention as it is through this method that dealers can evaluate at what point a vendor's deal (lower price, etc.) costs more than it saves.

The third and final day of the convention, May 3, included an eloquent appeal from Gulf Oil v.p. Ralph Lewis. Jr.. for increased use of alternate energy sources to extend the U.S. suoolv of oil. Reeardins future oil prodirttion in this country.-he said that "the U.S. is drilled out, we're not hiding anything from you."

"We no longer have the oil to pursue military adventures; we're on the ragged edge of disaster," he claimed.

Gasohol is too costly, he said, adding that the grain involved should be used for food, not fuel. He claimed that poplar trees were a far cheaper substitute to produce the gasohol. Government rules and regulations, he said, make most further development uneconomical, citing 200,000 capped wells nationwide.

The current president of the NLBMDA, Lee Briggs, said "National" is now running well, despite serious problems of "personality, (Please turn to page 78)