UPCOMING EVENTS

IWF 2008
GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
AUGUST 20 – 23, 2008

It's time for IWF 2008! WPMA will once again be in Atlanta for the IWF show. We anticipate seeing many of our members there again this year. There are 168 new companies exhibiting this year.

WHAT SUCESSFUL BUSINESSES ARE DOING TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN BOTH ENTRY AND SKILL LEVEL EMPLOYEES.  Moderated by Philip Bibeau, Executive Director, of Wood Products Manufacturers Association. 
on Friday, August 22nd, from 8:30 AM - 10:30 A.M.  A panel of business owners/professional will discuss their experiences and challenges faced in recruiting and retaining quality employees as well as the resources available to help manufacturers and other businesses in their quest to become an "employer of choice."

Speaking Order of Panelists:  Bern Fitzgerald, III, Horizon CNC Products, Inc.
                                          Sam Stoltzfus, Keystone Wood Specialties, Inc.
                                          Keith Malmstadt, Great Lake Woods, Inc.
                                          Tom Stilp, Arcways, Inc.
                                          Brian Stowell, Crown Point Cabinetry

ROOM RESERVATION FORMS

For those attending the show please be advised that the Wood Products Manufacturers Association has a block of rooms reserved for our members at the Marriott Marquis and the Downtown Atlanta Hilton & Towers. The room rate for the Marriott Marquis is $136.00 single or double; Atlanta Hilton is $134.00 single or double. Both hotels are on the main bus route to the World Congress Center. This is a good location for restaurants and to meet with your fellow members in the industry as well as potential or existing customers. We have a limited amount of rooms available. Once our block of rooms has been spoken for, our chances of getting any additional rooms will be very difficult, so don't delay - get your room today! For your convenience, we’ve provided the show registration and room reservation forms below. For further information about the show, please go to http://www.iwfatlanta.com. We'll see you in "Hotlanta"!

Show Reservation Form                Room Reservation Form

WPMA 2008 ANNUAL MEETING
PORTLAND, MAINE
Portland Regency Hotel and Spa
October 22 – 25, 2008

We have selected beautiful Portland, Maine as the destination for our 2008 annual meeting. Located two blocks from Portland’s working waterfront, the Portland Regency Hotel and Spa is the centerpiece of the historic Old Port Exchange.

Located on the Casco Bay, Portland offers great entertainment and museums, antiques, galleries and Old Port shops, beautiful coastline, sandy beaches and much more. The Portland Regency is only 15 minutes to the heart of Freeport’s outlets.

We are excited to have Mr. Paul LePage as out keynote speaker. A visionary leader and versatile senior executive, Paul is extremely effective in building companies in wood and forest products, manufacturing as well as retail and not-for-profit communities and organizations. With significant tenure in positions involving domestic and international operations, Paul has managed the profitable growth of companies including profit and loss responsibility for operations in the US and Canada. A team builder and effective communicator, Paul has demonstrated the ability to identify and develop talent, re-engineer procedures and processes and transform businesses into highly effective and profitable enterprises.

Paul’s topic will be Operating a Profitable Business in Difficult Economic Conditions. This is a session that everyone will benefit from.

We are also very excited to have Sandra Morgan of Young Furniture Company as our moderator for our other education roundtable session entitled Green 101.

Due to the number of calls your association office has received and the interest in this very timely topic, your board of directors has decided to make this an entire afternoon session. Sandra will be moderating a panel of experts to answer questions regarding FSC, SFI, and LEED. Sandra is extremely knowledgeable on this topic and will share her experiences as a fellow woodworker and WPMA member. This workshop will cover a variety of topics including:

• What is "green" and how do you become "green"?
• Chain of custody
• The certification process- overview of an audit
• Costs involved with certification
• Return on Investment- what and where is the return on my investment?
• Sources of certified materials
• Is “green” the right way to go for your company?
• Different types of certification
• New "green" finishing materials

Please plan to join your fellow members for this very important meeting.

ANNUAL MEETING EXHIBITORS

In response to member requests, we will be expanding our very successful exhibitor portion of the annual meeting. As part of our "Green 101" educational session dealing with "green", certification, and LEED, we will be inviting companies that are able to supply "green" or certified products or services to exhibit. We are hopeful that we can encourage companies that supply lumber, component parts, finishing materials, and related products and services to share their offerings with companies in attendance at the meeting. The exhibits will be open Wednesday evening and will close on Friday evening.

A limited number of exhibitor tables will be available on a first come, first served basis. For more information, please contact the WPMA office at (978) 874-5445.