National Hardwood Magazine - February 2022

HMA UPDATE NATIONAL

HMA UPDATE NATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO 2022 SET FOR MARCH IN FLORIDA Many of you will soon be joining us in Miramar Beach, Florida for HMA’s 2022 National Conference and Expo. If you have yet to finalize your participation in the March 23–25 event, I encourage you to act soon. The Expo promises to be a sellout, and HMA’s negotiated room rate at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort ends, soon. Not an HMA member? No worries! Our National Conference and Expo is open to all industry stakeholders. And yes, this is the only HMA event where all Hardwood lumber producers and processors are welcome to attend. So, if you and your business colleagues would like an inside look at our unique Association, join up with us in Florida and experience what is standard operating procedure for our membership. As I hope you already know, our Conference theme this year is Investing in the Future, and for the past several months, I’ve been sharing the event’s lineup of presenters and business session topics. Here is an update to the Conference agenda. As previously announced, ITR Economist and Senior Forecaster, Connor Lokar, will be joining us, in-person, with a two-fold offering. His formal presentation titled, Plan and Prosper, will discuss business responses, tactics and strategies regarding the challenges, uncertainties and projected economic changes for 2022 and 2023. Then, following that presentation, Lokar will conduct a 45-minute breakout session which he calls, ITR Methodology/Forecast 101. Don’t miss this. Discussion topics will include: •General overview of ITR Economics’ Forecasting Steps •Understanding how to calculate and use Rates-of-Change in your internal forecasting processes •How to identify and properly use the Phases of the Business Cycle •Actionable advice for each Phase of the Business Cycle Please turn to page 52 BY LINDA JOVANOVICH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HARDWOOD MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, PITTSBURGH, PA 412-244-0440 WWW.HMAMEMBERS.ORG 12 FEBRUARY 2022 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

BE PART OF BUILDING SOMETHING BIG Where We’ve Been It’s no secret, the hardwood industry has been losing market share to products that look like wood, but have none of the natural benefits or authentic attributes of Real American Hardwood. In order to recapture market share and improve industry stability, hardwood organizations united to form the Real American Hardwood Coalition. Where We Are The goal is to develop a national consumer promotion campaign on a scale that’s never been seen before. And a lot has been accomplished in a short period of time—including the completion of an extensive consumer research initiative, establishing brand guidelines, registering trademarks, and launching social media profiles. Where We’re Going, Together The next steps will have the largest impact on the industry and require buy-in from all industry stakeholders. The Coalition is preparing to launch a comprehensive promotion campaign—including a consumeroriented website, in-store promotion at top big box stores, a broad media relations campaign, social media influencer partnerships, print and web advertising, and much more. How You Can Get Involved Moving the campaign forward and expanding its reach will take the support of the entire industry—for the benefit of the entire industry. ■ Make a voluntary contribution to help fund the consumer promotion campaign. ■ Use the Real American Hardwood logo on your sales and marketing communications, facilities and vehicles, products, and website. ■ Follow @RealAmericanHardwood on Instagram and Facebook, and tag #RealAmericanHardwood in your social media posts. Visit RealAmericanHardwood.org to learn more and get on board.