LASC girds for the 199Os

Noel Crisp told the opening session of the Lumber Association of Southern California's 39th annual Management Conference.

Strategic planning, information technology and market positioning are the three leading factors for the 1990s, Crisp said, adding that to be effective they must be part of a programmed management approach.

At the following President's Luncheon new officers were announced: George Swartz, Mar Vista Lumber, Los Angeles, president; Daryl Bond, All-Coast Forest Products, Chino, lst v.p.; Bob Slettedahl, Lumbermen's Building Center, Palm Springs, 2nd v.p.; Bill Sullivan, Golding Sullivan Lumber, Tustin, treas.; Jerry Higman, Reliable Wholesale, Huntington Beach, sec. Chandler Lumber's Stanley Brown was named Lumberman of the Year.

That afternoon, Thursday, Nov. 9, Paul Koenigsberg of Management Horizons addressed Market Positioning for the '90s, calling value the key appeal for customers in the next decade. Explaining how demographic changes will affect customer attitudes, he said buyers will look for value, quality, price, location, depth of selection, ease of shopping and credit as main attractions.

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The Mistakes, Luck and Success panel kicked off the Friday session. Jerry Higman, Reliable Lumber Co., reviewed various ventures the firm had pursued, describing determination as the prime factor in making a success out of many of their attempts. Stu Jones, Stu Jones Lumber, called hard work and persistence keys to success. The better you know your customers, Jones said, the better you can serve them and yourself. Jerry Holdren,Rialto Lumber, urged family firms to put responsibilities and succession in writing. Get talented people, give them their rein and work on teamwork, he said.

Lawyer Bruce Givner made another appearance before the LASC conventioneers to follow up on counseling he had provided at earlier conferences. He related how estate planning can be a shield from and a delayer of death taxes. Under certain circumstances assets can be protected from creditors, according to Givner.

A labor law update was next presented by attorney Paul Coady. He said employee discharge was a stickier subject than ever. Coady suggested the employee manual refer to workers as regular, never permanent employees. Use a standardized employee interview format, keep written records of unsatisfactory performance reviews, provide time for employees to mend their ways, tell them the truth at termination and help them get a new job, it may keep them from suing you, Coady suggested.

The concluding panel of the conference, held again at the Marquis Hotel in Palm Springs, Ca., was manned by Second Growth organization members. Al Reed, Enarde International, described the challenge of the '90s as the changes in buying habits that will result from timber shortages. He said dealers worry too much about warehouse retailers, calling them a fad that will fade in importance in the next decade.

Story at a Glance

How to cope in the 1990s themes conference...topics include market positioning, management, labor and estate law and demo- graphics Stanley Brown named Lumberman of the Year.

Neil Wierenga, Barr Lumber Co., called the construction outlook for Southern California retailers positive now and likely to remain so for the nexttwo years. Maximize your strengths, he suggested, and put your customer's good will ahead of your own.

Jeff Miller, Snavely Forest Products, sees an excellent future for engineered wood products. He said education at all levels is needed to maximize the product potential.

Final panelist Phil Robbins, Fleming Lumber, said the '90s will be an employee driven market as demographic changes will produce fewer entry level workers. Robbins said dealers should consider putting all employees on either a commission or bonus basis.

A dinner dance that evening, followed by golf and tennis next day concluded the well attended and well received conference.

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LUMBEB IRl0: lll Bill Sullivan, Blaine Smith, Rod Jones. l2l Jerry Higman, Gary Adamson, Dave Bule'. l3l 0utgoing pres. Marty Temple, new 0res. Georqe Swartz. (41 Larry Bollinger, Steve Thurgood-, Rod Jones. {51 Margo & Phil Dodson, Rriss & lda Primrose. 16l Lynette Crone, Sue & Dennis Richardson. l7l Pat Decatrel, Ken Lilley, Vance Schmitz, Patric

Tavlor. l8l Katv & Wavne Gardner. l9l Clyde, Ja6oueline, Ch'arlie & Claudia Jennings. ll0l Karen & Michael Learned, Ted Schafer. llll Bob Slettedahl, Stu Jones. ll2l Peter Svenkerud, Don Swartzendruber. ll3l Randy Jackson, Bill Jones, Jim Taft. ll4l Dick McArthur, Doreen Kuhlmann, Tom Ross. llSl Jack Secoy, Leon Lauderbach. ll6l Pat

Hawthorne, Frank Penberthy. llTl Ed Nail, Trish Smvthe, David Harvey {l8l Gus Zirneklis. Jaik Schmelter. ll9l Carl Poynor, Ray Bumbauqh. l20l Drew Sasser, Neil & Gale Wierenoa, Bill Ch0ske. 12ll Jack Finnegan, Phil Ro-bins. l22l Bill Perkins, John Cencak. 123l Frank Purcell.

Conference

WH0IESAIEflS: lll Creighton Anfinson, Mark Lolland. l2l Marty Temple presents Lumberman of the Year plaque to Stan Brown. l3l Andy & Marion Ersek, Ed & Norma Gavotto. l4l LMA visiting VlPs: Les Sanders, Sylvia & Don Johnson. t5l Jeff Twaddle, Don Stobaugh. 16l Pat Ross, Steve Shudoma, Don Gregson. l7l Al Lytton, Nelson Sembach. l8l Jim Frodsham. {91 Gale McBride, Bob Weiss. ll0l Ted Pollard, Gordon Beach. lttl Rick 0rlando. ll2l Craig Atkinson, Jerry Stubblefield, Mark Maze. ll3l Bob DiMeco, peter Ganahl. ll4l Al Reed. llSl Bill Choske. Wallv Turner. ll6l Paul 0rban, Phyllis & Petir Soeek.

HomeGlub Heads For Growth

Service will drive the HomeClub chain forward into a new stage of growth, according to new president John Chase.

He will stick with an agenda to open 12 to 15 stores a year with Santa Ana and Laguna Niguel, Ca., stores planned. The 57 store chain has 38 stores in California with others in Denver, Co., Seattle, Wa., and Phoenix, Az.

"The challenge is to maintain the vision and enthusiasm that the original entrepreneurs had for the busi- ness, to grow and initiate management disciplines without losing touch with the business or the customer," Chase said.

Backed with the almost debt free resources of parent company Waban, Framingham, Ma., HomeClub has installed checkout scanners in every store and wired them into a $20 million computer inventory management system. Chase said that he is relying on this, the club format, warehouse efliciency and the ability to target advertising to specific members to beat competitors.

December 1989

L.A. Club CharitY Event

A check for $2,650 was Presented by Los Angeles Hoo-Hoo Club to the Children's HosPital of Orange County as part of the lumber fraternity's annual fund raising honoring the late Ken Coleman.

The Mr. Hoo-Hoo of the Year award, given annuallY to recognize the dedication to the club sYmbolized by Coleman, was won bY Louie Escobedo, Chozen Trucking Co. In the golf match, The Coleman Cup was won by Don Stobaugh, Inland Timber Co.

New officers are: pres., Rod Kautz, South Bay Forest Products; past pres.. David Buf5, Mesa Forest Products; lst v.p., Doug Willis, Product Sales Co.; 2nd v.P., Robert Golding, Golding Sullivan Lumber Sales; treas., Rod Kautz.

Board of directors: Ron PePPing, Arcadia Lumber; Richard Miller, Fremont Forest Products; Louie Escobedo; Steve Shudoma, CaPital Lumber, and Dennis Richardson,

Oregon-Canadian Forest Products. The Friday the l3th of October meeting was held at the Anaheim officers: new 0resident Dan Sweeney; 1st v.p, Mike Riley; 2nd v.p. Jay DeCou; sec./ treas. Bernie Barber; sgt.-at-arms Don 0ldenkam0. Directors are John Amos, Tom Griesbach, Barber, John de la Montanya, Riley, Jack Holt, Sweeney, 0ldenkamp, OeCou, Jim Siner and past president Bill Barr.

Hills Golf and CountrY Club, Anaheim Hills, Ca. More than 75 attended.

Osmose TV Show, Magazine

Osmose Wood Preserving has acquired a television show and a gardening magazine to offer new marketing avenues for their Pressure treated products, licensees and dealers.

Tel-A-Cast GrouP, which will merge with the Osmose advertising and communications grouP, Produces "Backyard America" and the Weekend Gardener magazine. Now a division of Osmose, the grouP will move into Osmose Studios, now being built at the Osmose facilitY in Griffin, Ga. This will be the production center for audio and video recording and post-production as well as radio and television commercials for Osmose licensees.

"Backyard America," formerlY "America's Weekend Gardener," is nationally syndicated and seen coast to coast in over 30,000 cities by almost a million households weeklY, according to Pat Simpson, manager of public relations and promotion at Osmose. Cable networks carrYing the show include TNN, The Learning Channel, Family Net and RFDTV. It is also viewed on 104 commercial tv stations in the U.S., the Caribbean and Hawaii. Jim Bennett hosts the show produced bY Jim Mitchell. Debbie Burns is editor of Weekend Gardener.

Blowerc, Growers & Trimmerc

A 4-p. garden equipment catalog is free from RedMax, Box 1545, Norcross. Ga.30091.

Get Wired

Wood Floor Maintenance

An 8-p. wood floor care booklet is free from Bruce Hardwood Floors, 16803 Dallas Pkwy., Dallas, Tx. 75248.

Taps

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A 24-p. electrical products catalog is free from Vaco Products, 7200 McCiormick Blvd., Chicago, Il. 60645.

Think Sinks

A 20-p. kitchen sink system catalog is flree from Franke, Inc., Box 428. Hatfield, Pa. 19440.

Show Your Metal

A 20-p. metal framing products brochure is free from Gold Bond Buildine Products, Box 667850, Charlotte, N.CI 28266.

Construction Connections

A 52-p. Kant-Sag construction hardware catalog is free lrom United Steel Products Co., by calling (800) 328-5934.

Doctor For The House

Reviving OId Houses: Over 500 LowCost Tips & Techniques, $16.95 in hardcover and $8.95 in paperback plus $2.50 for shipping from Storey/Garden Way Publishing, by calling (800) 441-5700.

Wide World of Hardware

The 132-p. 1990 Design House Products catalog of hardlines, bath and plumbing, electrical and decorative and building specialty products is free by calline (800) 333-9450.

Gonservatively Speaking

A 6-p. water conservation products catalog is free from Chicago Faucet Co., 2100 S. Nuclear Dr., Des Plaines. Il. 600 l 8.

Sky's The Limit

A l2-p. skylight brochure of over a dozen styles of sky windows is free from Cadillac-Faulkner Plastics, by calling (800) s2l-4004.

For ail New Literature offerings write directly to the name and address shown in each iiem. Please mention that you saw it in The Merchant Magazine. Many thanks!

Fireproofing Folder

An 8-p. brochure on Cafco BlazeShield and Deck-Shield fireproofing materials is free from Isolatek International, Box 478, Netcong, N.J. 07857.

Read On Radon

The 22-p. "Radon Assessment & Control" is $8 from the Alliance of American Insurers, l50l Woodfield Rd., Schaumburg, Il. 60173.

Better Water

A 4-p. home water filtration system booklet is lree from Cuno, by calling (800) 222-7880.

Gedar Sunroom Planner

A sunroom plan book is $2 from Lindal Cedar Sunrooms, Box 24426, Seattle, wa. 98124.

Window Remodeler's Handbook

"A Guide to Better Windows," a window replacement booklet, is available for a stamped, self-addressed envelope from the Vinyl Window & Door Institute, 355 Lexington Ave., New York. N.Y. 10017.

Model Letter Program

LetterWorks, a book of 400 business letters and a computer disc containing all the letters ready for editing and printing out on any lBM-compatible or Macintosh computer, is $79.95 plus $4.95 shipping from Round Lake Publishing Co., 415 Main St., Ridgefield, g. 06877.

A touch control chrome faucet brochure is free from Moen by calling (800) 32 I -8809.

TPI Membership

Timber Products Inspection's 2Oth anniversary roster is free from TPI, Box 919, Conyers, Ga. 30207.

Interchangeable Drainage

An 8-p. modular drainage products brochure (Bulletin AC-l l8) is free from Ancon, 345 Fullerton Pkwy., Chicago, il.60614.

Window Collection

A 92-p. catalog of Marvin Windows, doors and custom windows is available by calling (800) 552-1167.

The Builder's Organizer

The Construction Manager 1990, an updated appointment book/daily planner for construction professionals, is $32.50 from Prentice Hall, Rte. 59 at Brook Hill Dr., West Nyack, N.Y. 10995.

Pick A Plan

A 28-p. Handy Plans catalog of the more than 50 d-i-y projects available from the American Plywood Association is free from the APA. Box 11700. Tacoma, Wa.98411.

Hazard Houses

A brochure on Haz-Stor hazardous liquid storage buildings is free from Justrite Mfg. Co., 2454 Dempster St., Des Plaines, Il. 60016.

Lift Parts Debate

"Remanufactured Parts vs. Rebuilt Parts," a 4-p. brochure for lift truck owners, is free from Hyster Co., by catling (800) 221-ll9l.

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