LASC's 17th annual management conference called "best ever"

"D)ROFIT IS the name of the game" r was the topic for lumbermen and their wives who gathered {or a three-day work-play session at the Lumber Association of Southern California's annual Management Conference.

This year's conference-LASC's 17th annual-was labeled 'obest ever" by executive vice president Wayne Gardner.

Highlight of the session was the election of John Sullivan of the Western Lumber Co. retail chain headquartered in San Diego, as president. He succeeds out- going president Pete Speek of Fremont Forest Products.

Other officers are George Clough, Tacoma Lumber Sales, vice president; Robert Sievers, Fisher Lumber Co., treasurer; and Bill Hanen, Al Peirce Co., secretary. Re-elected were Wayne Gardner, executive vice president and Jeanette Share, executive secretary,

Keynoting the kickoff session was a speech by Bank of America's John F. Gensley, vp., real estate development, who urged con{erees to "start plnnning now

-but d,on't stampede." The speaker out' lined the recent sorry state of the home' building industry in southern California and offered some predictions as to the future of the business, gathered by what he called "the famous-or infamousGensley method which I developed when I got tired of quoting an endless array of statistics."

"The trend has changed," he concluded. "The turn about will be gradual atfirst, continuing modestly through 1968. Then there should be a fairly rapid acceleration to a two million plus starts per year."

Story qt s Glsnce

A flood of facts plus new and old ways to better manage your business were the fare at LASC's always good Management confer: ence.

"New housing starts in the nation in 1968 should approach I[ million units as compared to an estimated Il/+ million for this year. In California, however, the recovery is expected to be much sharper with starts approaching about 160 thou' sand units, nearly 40 percent above the Ievel of starts now expected to be realized this year, he continued."

The opening day's a{ternoon session featured a panel discussion dubbed "Profit This Year Because ."

Retailer William Wyland of Pine Tree Lumber, Escondido, emphasized return on investment and urged dealers to work with realistic figures in determining their costs.

"Put something relatively realistic on your property especially. It's easy to make a nice return on book value," he advised.

Lane Lumber's Skip Gregg outlined the pitfalls of selling high quality lumber products to industrial users. ooThere's no lien law to protect you in selling indus' trials," he said, adding that credit losses were his single biggest problem, amounting to about two percent of sales.

Lane Lumber, he explained, operates strictly on a cost system, ooour salesmen don't even have a price book," he continued. "We cost every invoice, tally every load, add unloading, milling and cartage costs, and from there take our markup."

Millman Tom Melin of Rainier Mfg. Co., Rainier, Ore., discussed the profit problem from a manufacturers point of view. He indicated that log supply is becoming an increasingly acute problem, with 74 percent of log production going (Continued on Page 44)

MEXICAN tIESTA drew high-spirited group of revelers (l-r) (l) LASC's Jeanette Share, association insurance man Forrest Faulk, Jerry Knight, San Fernando Lumber. (2) Tim and Priscilla Timmerman, Lorraine Lauderbach, of 0range Coast Lumber. (3) Gawain Logsdon of People's Lumber-Santa Paula and Verl Rhine of Peoples-Camarillo. (4) Pomona Lumber's Ken & Doje Dietel. (5) "Waiter, what's this fly doins in my drink," says MarquariWolf e Lumberrs Steiling Wolfe, Jr. "The back stroke," answers Jack Peterson of Clearwater Lumber as "maitre d'" George Myers looks on. (6) Golf champ Bill Sharp of Inland Lumber and CHIP's Jim Williams. (7) Tennis Buffs Bill Hanen, Jim Mayna d, Don Sw:rtzend uber, John Sullivan. (8) Bill Murdock of Bayly, Martin & Fay with Tommy and Mary Poole, Carter Mill & Lumber. (9) "Twinkletoes" Dick Freeman of So-Cal Commercral Steel and Mrs. Ray Peterson. (10) Blanchard's Bus Blanchard; Hull B os.' Wayne Hull and Anawalt's Hal Anawalt. (11) Tennis champs Pete Speek and Daryl Bond, Fremont Forest Products. (12) Phil and Lois Gilbert of Coos Head. (13) Bus and Jean Blanchard. (14) Guy Barnett of Barnett Associates augmented Mariachi band, as did (15) Ralph McCulloch of J. H.

Baxter. (16) That's Pete Svenerud of Far West Fir Sales with Inge Swa,tzendruber. (17) Fountain Lumber's Ed Fountain with Lounsberry & Harris'stuart Harris. (18) Sun Lumbe:'s Larrv Quinlan and Tom Supple. (19) Scotty Mclntyre, -Rialto I umber and lVlrs. Dick Freeman.(20)Leon Lauderbach,0range Coast with Ward & Harrington bossman Larry Henderson. (21) Jim and Virginia Gibbons, Waid & Harrington. (22) Menacing The lVerchant's photographer is Stephen G. Fieeman Co.'s award-winnins salesman Steve Fteeman as Koppers Co.'s Beryle Chasteen looks on in delisht.