UPCOMING EVENTS

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.  A full summary of the meeting and a registration listing are downloaded below for your convenience.

                                       2008 Meeting Package               Meeting Registration Form  

                                                           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.

ANNUAL MEETING SPONSORS

We would like to thank the following WPMA members for their generosity in helping to sponsor the 2008 annual meeting.

Can we count on your company to help make this meeting a special event?

Allied Insurance Brokers, Inc. 

Euhler-Hermes, ACI

E. W. Hannas, Inc. 

F & N Woodworking, LLC

Fancher Chair

Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company

Maine Wood Concepts

Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company

Valleyview Woodturning Company

Yellow Transportation, Inc.