South ern California Retailers Meet at Los Angeles

Ralph N. Baker Elected President

Elected to the board of directors rvere H. I-. Bron'n, \\roodhead Lumber Co., Los Angeles, and Edward \\-. Ilayer, Ambrose Lumber Co., Santa Barbara.

Registration started in the Ballroom Lounge at lO:30 a.m. This s'as handled b1' Kathryn Murra-v, Shirlev Carvalho, Mabel Covrette and Kathleen Shea, members of the ^A,ssociation's office staft-.

Tuesday Noon-Kick-Off Luncheon

President E. C. Parker presided. The invocation rvas given b,r' Dr. Herman G. Klemme, Assistant l\Iinister, Immanuel Presbvterian Church, I-os Angeles.

IUr. l'arker's opening remarks follorv:

The 36th Annual Meeting and Trade Shon' of the Southern California Retail Lumber Association rvas held at the Hotel Statler, Los Angeles, on April 7, 8 and 9, 1953. There was a record attendance of over 2000.

The convention program was built around current industry problems rvith emphasis placed on improved metl.rods of profitable merchandising.

Tuesday Morning

-fhe officers and directors met at breakfast in the Nerv York Room at 8:00 a.m. and elected officers.

Ralph N. Baker, vice president and general rrranager of the Barr Lumber Co., Santa Ana, rvas elected president. He succeeds E. C. Parker, president of the Patten-Blinn Lumber Co., Los Angeles.

Other officers named were: Vice presidents, B. W. Bartels( re-elected), Peoples Lumber Co., Ventura, and \\'ayne F. Nlullin, Mullin Lumber Co., Los Angeles; treasurer, C. Gilmore Ward (re-elected), Ward & Harrington Lumber Co., Santa Ana. Orrie W. Hamilton lvas re-elected executive vice president and secretary-manager.

Association directors are: H. Park Arnold, Fox-Woodsum Lumber Co., Glendale; A. E. Fickling, A. E. Fickling Lumber Co., Long Beach; Thomas J. Fox, John W. Fisher Lumber Co., Santa Monica; Rexford L. Hall, W. D. Hall Co., El Cajon; Cy E. Irving, \\restern Lumber Co., San Diego; Earl Johnson, Johnson Lumber Co., Altadena; Chester C. Knight, San Fernando Lumber Co., San Fernando; Lathrop K. Leishman, Crorvn City Lumber & Mill Co., Pasadena; Herman Loehr, John Suverkrup Lumber Co., Riverside; George Lounsberry, Lounsberry & Harris, Los Angeles; R. C. Witter, Nutter Lumber Co., Pomona.

"The first convention of this Association rvas held in 1913. and has been held each vear, except during trvo rvorld s'ars rvhen tlre shortages of food and other such reasons prevented us from holding them. The conventions of forty vears ago \\'ere a far cry from this one in 1953, being held in one of the ne\\'est and most modern hotels in the nation. The difference in the addresses and the entertainment rvill be just as striking. ()ur Secretarv has secured 6ve of the best speakers from all over the nation to address you at our meetings, and has obtained some of the best entertainers this entertainment capital affords. Our convention *'ill be the culmination of a full vear of planning and rvork on the part of our efficient Secretary. \\'e are ven- appreciatite of the support given us by the rrholesale group, some of s'hom have taken associate memberships. Others have placed exhibits at our convention, or have advertised in our Year Book. The support of the retailers and the rvholesalers nrakes such a convention as this possible.

"I should like to mention verv briefly a ferv of the accomplishments of 1'our Association since our last meeting in April oI 1952. For tlre first time in many years we compiled a cost survev of our industry for the years l95O and 1951. This is a very important step in the stabilization efforts of our Association. All the figures rvere compiled by our Secretarl', and it is nry opinion that the form and substance of the report Nas as good as could have been compiled by any professional accounting 6rm. We are now in the process of compiling a cost survey for the year 1952. \Ve inaugurated during the vear a series of monthly meetings at rvhich problems affecting lumbermen rvere discussed, and because of those meetings tve put into motion a program to tr.v to get manufacturers to change the grading rules and market our lumber under name grades instead of number grades. A committee composed of some of the best informed and experienced men in the industry has already accomplished much. This program is another important step in our stabilization eftorts.

During the vear your Association set up a program (Continued on Page 20)