News

NELMA's Fall Board Meeting & Golf Scramble Held in Kennebunkport, Maine2009-10-01
 

The historic Nonantum Resort and Webhannet Golf Club in Kennebunkport, Maine played host to NELMA’s 2009 Fall Golf Scramble and Board of Directors Meeting, held September 17 & 18.  A total of 107 members and guests of the Association participated in all or part of this year’s traditional two-day event.

To kick things off, a perfect early-fall day greeted 67 golfers as they hit the links for the 18-hole tournament.  Winners of the longest drive contest: Judy Irish (Pleasant River Lumber) and Jack Bowen (Hancock Lumber).  The foursome team of Chris Brochu and Jason Brochu (Pleasant River Lumber) and Chris Jacobson and Paul Lennon (both with LUA) ended the day as the Low Gross Score Winners.  Low Net Score winners were: First Place – Bob Bronkie (Unstable Farm), Dante Diorio (Diorio Forest Products), Rich Quitadamo (W.R. McCoy Co.), and Rob Wieczorek (Wieczorek Insurance).  Second Place – Jack Bowen, Russ Coulter, Matt Duprey, and Steve Teixeira (All with Hancock Lumber).  And Third Place went to the team of Dan Holt and Jamie Place of (Eastern Forest Products), B. Manning (Durgin & Crowell Lumber), and Darren Zwicker (J.D. Irving, Ltd.).  Awards for the Golf Scramble winners were presented during the Chairman’s Dinner at the Nonantum Resort at the end of the day, which included a four-way tiebreaker putting contest held in the dining room, won by Chris Brochu (Pleasant River Lumber).
 
Day two of the event was devoted to economic forecasts, issues updates, and Association business at-hand.  Paul Jannke of Forest Economic Advisors LLC led off the meeting agenda with an update of the economic and market forecast, titling his presentation “Digging Out from the Disaster: What Will Recovery Look Like”.  Paul’s message indicated that although the bottom of the market may have been found, it will be a “slow crawl” back to a healthy business climate.  Following Paul’s economic news, NELMA Chairman, Jeff Desjardins (Moose River Lumber) convened the fall meeting of the Board of Directors.  Extensive information was provided to Board members and meeting guests on a variety of pertinent issues that included:
 
  • An update by NELMA’s legal counsel George Burns on two ongoing federal lawsuits by the Association against companies and individuals for trademark infringements,
  • A progress report by Kevin Hancock of Hancock Lumber on the North American Softwood Lumber “Check-Off” Program, currently under discussion by a Blue Ribbon Committee of lumber industry representatives from the U.S. and Canada. Kevin is representing the interests of the northeastern U.S. lumber manufacturers on the Committee,
  • A NELMA program and activity update by Jeff Easterling, President, and Marc Moore, Director of Inspection Services,
  • Reports from Association Committees and Working Groups that have met since the April Board meeting, which included updates from the Chairman of the Marketing Committee, Matt Duprey of Hancock Lumber and Chairman of the Advisory Committee and the Dues/Mill Grades Study Group, Tom Jenkins of Old Town Lumber,
  • A presentation by John Rooks of The Soap Group on the “Eastern White Pine v. Radiata Pine” viral video, version 2, being developed by NELMA’s Marketing Committee,
  • An update on activities and actions by the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports, given by the Coalition’s Executive Director, Zoltan van Heyningen, and
  • The latest news on state and federal EPA requirements and requirements that pertain to the lumber industry in the northeast, provided by Phil Ruck of CES, Inc. 

    In addition to the updates, the Board also discussed action items included on the agenda and approved the following motions:
     
  • The NELMA Program and Budget for 2010, as presented at the meeting,
  • Full support for final development of the Marketing program’s viral video concept and revised version, and
  • Extension of the NELMA dues reduction program through December 2009, which had been implemented in April.
     
    The Association would like to extend its appreciation to the generous sponsors of the 2009 Fall Golf Scramble and Board of Directors Meeting: Acadia Insurance, Diorio Forest Products, DiPrizio Pine Sales, Eastern Forest Products, Eastern Insurance, Hancock Lumber Company, HESCO, J.D. Irving Limited, P. DiPrizio Lumber Company, R.E. Lowell Lumber Company, Rouville Packaging, Sandy Neck Traders, Seaboard International Forest Products, Timber Trading, USNR, and Wieczorek Insurance.  NELMA would also like to thank The Softwood Buyer for their participation and photo coverage of this year’s event.
     
    Mark your calendars for the 2010 NELMA Convention, set for May 13 & 14 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. Watch for details at www.nelma.org
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • « back
     
     

     



    Eastern White Pine VS. Radiata Pine. Learn about these two species in a side by side comparison. Who will be victorious?

     

    Founded in 1933, the Northeastern Lumber Manufacturer's Association (NELMA) is one of seven lumber rules writing agencies in the U.S. accredited by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) to write grade rules that are certified as conforming to the American Softwood Lumber Standard PS20.  NELMA is the official author and administrator of the grading rules for Eastern White Pine, in particular.

    In addition to the quality control inspection audits we conduct at lumber manufacturers to ensure that on-grade Eastern White Pine products are meeting the needs of consumers, NELMA develops and distributes an array of technical information and unique promotional materials via our member-driven marketing program.  We encourage you to browse through the pages of this website and discover why Eastern White Pine is the very best choice when wood is considered, both environmentally sustainable and application versatile.