The Cutting Edge™ Febuary 2005

Public Policy

2005 Public Policy Fly-In a Huge Success; Keep the Momentum Going!

February 15th - 16th marked the largest turnout for WMMA's annual Fly-In event, with over 100 manufacturing participants from various industry sectors. Executives from companies in the following associations actively participated: American Home Furnishings Alliance; Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers$reg;; National Retail Hardware Association; National Wood Flooring Association; Woodworking Machinery Industry Association; Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America; and Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America$reg;. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) addressed the dinner group of 110 on Tuesday evening, and gave a rousing presentation on the state of manufacturing issues on The Hill, and a preview of what members could expect to hear from legislators at their scheduled appointments the next day.

All members were prepared to speak on five issues that were identified by the WMMA Public Policy Committee to be the most pressing to the Association in 2005. (China is an understood issue, so the Committee decided to go for five other issues that have the possibility of being addressed in the short term). They were: Cost of Health Care; Direct Expensing; Estate Tax Repeal; High Productivity Investment Act; and Statute of Repose. Members of WMMA and the other participating associations were welcome to review background information as posted on the WMMA website in advance of the Fly-In, so that they felt comfortable in talking to their elected officials about the issues. They were also provided leave-behind briefs on each issue, all prepared by WMMA Legislative Counsel, John Satagaj.

The reports from members of all associations who made visits with their legislators on Wednesday, February 16th were positive and encouraging. The experience of a constituent "going to The Hill," whether for the first time or the fifth time, is always an exciting account. This is democracy at work. The numbers to which the contingency from Illinois or Indiana or North Carolina have grown on this Day of Visits is attributed to the forum which WMMA created for such a turn-out to take place. WMMA is pleased to have had the involvement and interest of these sister groups, and looks forward to orchestrating this growing annual event year after year.

More in-depth accounts will be reported over the next month. In the meantime, if you were a participant at the 2005 Public Policy Fly-In: Keep That Momentum Going! Write a thank you letter. Follow up over the months. Invite your elected official to your plant. (They really do come!) Call their local office and find out when they will be home, and visit them right in their local office. You don't have to go to Washington, DC to be a constituent in action!!

To review the background and issue papers with which Fly-In participants became familiar, click here http://www.wmma.org/events/legislative.cfm.

Public Policy

CAN-SPAM
By John Satagaj, WMMA Legislative Counsel email@jsatlaw.com

Back in December 2003, President Bush signed into law the "Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003," the first bill aimed at the regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic mail (e-mail). On December 16, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the regulations and defined what constitutes a "commercial" e-mail.

If you transmit any commercial e-mail message, the message must: provide a clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation; provide a clear and conspicuous notice of the opportunity to decline to receive further commercial e-mail messages from the sender; and provide a valid physical postal address of the sender.

If the recipient has given prior affirmative consent, the sender does not have to comply with the first condition, that is, you do not have to provide a clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation. The term "affirmative consent,'' when used with respect to a commercial e-mail message, means that the recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient's own initiative; and if the message is from a party other than the party to which the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated that the recipient's e-mail address could be transferred to such other parties for the purpose of initiating commercial e-mail messages.

With respect to the "opt out" mechanism, the commercial e-mail must contain a functioning return e-mail address or other Internet-based mechanism that a recipient may use to submit a request not to receive future commercial e-mail from the sender. The e-mail address or mechanism provided must be capable of receiving messages for no less than 30 days after the transmission of the original message. After a recipient transmits to the sender a request not to receive future commercial e-mail messages, it is unlawful for the sender to further transmit commercial e-mail to the recipient more than 10 business days after receiving such a request.

The conditions noted above do not apply, if the e-mail is a transactional or relationship message. What everybody had been waiting for, is how the FTC would define a "commercial email" and what constitutes a "transaction or relationship message." Now we know.

According to the FTC rules, in applying the term "commercial electronic mail message" defined in the CAN-SPAM Act, the "primary purpose" of an electronic mail message shall be deemed to be commercial based on the criteria below:

1. If an electronic mail message consists exclusively of the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, then the "primary purpose" of the message shall be deemed to be commercial.
2. If an electronic mail message contains both the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service as well as transactional or relationship content as set forth in these rules, then the "primary purpose" of the message shall be deemed to be commercial if: (i) A recipient reasonably interpreting the subject line of the electronic mail message would likely conclude that the message contains the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service; or (ii) The electronic mail message's "transactional or relationship content" as set forth by these rules does not appear, in whole or in substantial part, at the beginning of the body of the message.
3. If an electronic mail message contains both the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service as well as other content that is not transactional or relationship content as set forth by these rules, then the "primary purpose" of the message shall be deemed to be commercial if: (i) A recipient reasonably interpreting the subject line of the electronic mail message would likely conclude that the message contains the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service; or (ii) A recipient reasonably interpreting the body of the message would likely conclude that the primary purpose of the message is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service. Factors illustrative of those relevant to this interpretation include the placement of content that is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service, in whole or in substantial part, at the beginning of the body of the message; the proportion of the message dedicated to such content; and how color, graphics, type size, and style are used to highlight commercial content.

   In applying the term "transactional or relationship message" defined in the CAN-SPAM, the "primary purpose" of an electronic mail message shall be deemed to be transactional or relationship if the electronic mail message consists exclusively of transactional or relationship content. For the various aspects of these rules, "Transactional or relationship content" of e-mail messages under the CAN-SPAM Act is defined as content:

   1. To facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender;
   2. To provide warranty information, product recall information, or safety or security information with respect to a commercial product or service used or purchased by the recipient;
   3. With respect to a subscription, membership, account, loan, or comparable ongoing commercial relationship involving the ongoing purchase or use by the recipient of products or services offered by the sender, to provide (i) Notification concerning a change in the terms or features; (ii) Notification of a change in the recipient's standing or status; or (iii) At regular periodic intervals, account balance information or other type of account statement;
   4. To provide information directly related to an employment relationship or related benefit plan in which the recipient is currently involved, participating, or enrolled; or
   5. To deliver goods or services, including product updates or upgrades, which the recipient is entitled to receive under the terms of a transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender.

Business Briefing

Changing Woodworking Industry Demographics
By Art Raymond, A.G. Raymond & Company, Inc., araymond@raymondnet.com

A glimpse at attendance data from the 2004 IWF provides anecdotal evidence of changing woodworking industry demographics.

The adjacent chart compares 1996 and 2004 IWF attendance by major industry sector.

As expected, residential wood furniture, impacted by numerous plant closings, sent 12% fewer people to the Fair. Over 13% fewer members of the contract wood furniture sector attended as that industry continues the severe hangover from the 2000-01 economic downturn. Attendance rose by 28% and 67% respectively in the cabinet and architectural woodwork sectors. Both continue to defend their markets from foreign competition. Recent investments in mass customization and speed to market have profited both cabinetmakers and architectural woodworkers. Cabinet companies have also benefited from healthy home building and remodeling demand (see story below).

Apparently more, smaller firms now populate the woodworking industry. Companies with less than 20 employees sent 48% of all attendees vs. 43% in 1996. Firms with sales revenues less than $5 million accounted for 60% of total attendance last year vs. 57% in 1996.

The market for woodworking machinery follows these demographics. To grow your machinery sales, you must develop equipment that is affordable by smaller companies and designed to manufacture customized products efficiently.

Remodeling Set To Maintain Growth
Remodeling expenditures by home and rental property owners totaled $233 billion in 2003, accounting for 40% of all residential construction spending and more than 2% of the U.S. economy. Last year's performance continued a decade-long boom in such spending. Along with new home construction, remodeling has supported much of the activity in the U.S. secondary wood products industry. Indeed, with the steep decline in capital spending and raw materials purchases by the furniture industry, one can make a case that remodeling has prevented a total collapse in the wood products industry.

What does the future hold for this important driver of wood products demand? A recent study released by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies provides insight into this sector's past and future.

The inventory of homes in the U.S. totals nearly 120 million. We add about 1.4 million new houses each year. The average age of these homes is 32 years. The need for repair and maintenance plus the incentive of rising home prices have motivated owners to invest in their homes' value. Over the past decade owners of over 30 million homes have made improvements worth over 10% of their homes' value.

About 20% of this spending goes for repairs and maintenance. Of the remaining dollars, about 45% were spent on interior space changes like kitchen remodels and 28% for exterior and interior replacement of floors, walls, and the like. Of the $138 million spent on remodels and additions in 2003, about $24 million were kitchens and baths. Kitchen and bath remodeling projects over $5,000 in value grew from 750,000 in 1995 to 1.3 million in 2003. That's a lot of cabinets and vanities.

The drivers of future growth in this sector are numerous. Beyond the aging housing stock, the keys are:

1. The shrinkage of developable land - Less land for new housing will push owners to stay put and remodel their older homes.
2. Increasing household formation - Experts predict the number of households to grow by 12 million through 2015. That's a 10% faster growth rate than during the 90's.
3. Higher spending by Gen X'ers - The post Boomers are spending at a higher rate than their predecessors.

Threats to future growth are obvious:

• Higher interest rates - Tighter money will mean less credit for remodeling projects.
• Slower gains in home values - Consumers used cash-out mortgage refinancing based on highly appreciated house prices to finance many remodel projects.

Despite these potential obstacles Harvard is predicting continued 3% annual growth in remodeling over the next decade. This strength will be increasingly important as new home starts soften in 2005.

You can retrieve the full Harvard study at www.jchs.harvard.edu

2005 CFO Outlook
Bank of America's seventh annual survey of chief financial officers at U.S. manufacturing companies revealed some key predictions for 2005:

• 77% of CFO's believe the national economy will expand in 2005.
• 81% predict revenue growth at their companies.
• 41% expect to increase capital expenditures, up from 32% in 2004 - Only 19% are planning to spend less.
• The cost of materials, supplies, and equipment is their no. 1 concern followed by rising energy costs.
• 53% expect higher labor costs.
• 62% predict a rising cost of capital.

Economic Factoid The newspapers and airwaves are full of bad news about the U.S. budget deficit. Yes, the shortfall is $300 billion, serious money in anyone's book. But taken as percentage of the $12 trillion U.S. gross domestic product, the deficit is small. Last year, the deficit percentage was about 3.8%. Since the mid-60's, this measure has been higher in ten years. In 1983 the deficit measure was 6% and remained near 5% in 1984-86. During that period, President Reagan cut taxes while waging the war against communism. The percentage fell to the 4-5% range during the early 90's. Once the economy started its eight-year run-up in the later 90's, the measure fell dramatically. A booming GDP caused this fall, not lower government spending. That same scenario - a rising economy resulting in higher tax revenues - is predicted for the remainder of this decade. The bottom line - big deficits in the past have not proved a hindrance to a healthy economy. Keep the faith.

Sector Situation Report
Latest news from the wood products industry by sector...

• Office Furniture - BIFMA reported that December 2004 orders increased by 17% year over year marking the second month in a row of double-digit order growth. Twelve-month industry orders totaled $9.1 billion, the first time that measure has been above $9 billion since July 2002. Shipments grew by 11%, the eleventh consecutive month of increases. The association's latest forecast calls for shipment growth of 8.1% for 2005.

  Steelcase reported 3Q2005 sales up by 9.7% year-on-year with growth from North America up 9.6%. Margins continue to be hurt by higher raw material costs and costs incurred by plant consolidations.

  Herman Miller's 2Q2005 revenues advanced 11.5% to $368 million with much of the growth coming from international shipments. Gross margin rose to 32.6% despite raw material cost inflation. SG&A expenses increased to 25.7% leaving a 6.8% operating margin.

• Kitchen Cabinets - Cabinet sales rose 16% in December vs. the same month in 2003 according to the KCMA's Trend of Business Survey. For the full year cabinet sales were up 16.8% vs. 13.9% in 2003 and 13.2% in 2002. Quite a solid three-year run.

  Predictions of fewer housing starts in 2005 bode badly for the cabinet sector. Companies have expanded capacity as if the boom of the early 2000's would continue forever. Certainly the inability to fill that new capacity will mean slower machinery sales to this important sector. Pressure too is coming from foreign competitors. The industry is already using significant volumes of imported components such as finished doors and drawer fronts.

  Continue watching the numbers for the cabinet industry. Look for softer cabinet demand in the last half of 2005.

• Home Furniture - The Furniture Civil War over dumping of Chinese wood bedroom products has ended. Final tariffs levied by the Department of Commerce range from just above zero to 198% with most falling at less than 6%. At the end of the day, the tariffs will not save a single U.S. furniture manufacturing job. The big winners in this unfortunate event were the attorneys who earned about $4 million in fees from each side. Consumers will not suffer from higher prices as importers absorb the tariff cost. Encouraged by the low trade barriers, entrepreneurs in low cost labor countries like Vietnam are also planning large investments in furniture manufacturing capacity. These increases will add to the overcapacity that exists in this industry.

  One example is a new plant announcement by Yihua Timber Industries, a Chinese company whose marketing partner is casegoods importer New Classic Home Furnishings of Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The Guangdong, China plant, to be completed in early 2007, totals 3.6 million ft2 and will employ 20,000 workers! Valuing that capacity at $80 per ft2, that plant should produce nearly $300 million of furniture annually.

  Overcapacity, of course, shows up in lower prices. In 2003 the industry sold 8.2% more furniture units than in 2000. However, those extra units only generated 2.8% more dollars. This deflationary spiral will end only when capacity is in balance with demand.

  Shipments of Chinese bedroom furniture to the U.S. did slow last year. In the first ten months of 2004 imports of wood bedroom rose by only 10.7%, substantially slower than the 148% growth from 2001 through 2003. Don't look for this decline to become a trend.

  Vietnam has moved into the top ten of source countries for U.S. furniture imports. Shipments for the first half of 2004 totaled $130 million, up 93% from the same period of 2003.

  A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the "customize-me movement" among furniture consumers. Many small furniture producers are adopting customization, long a strategy of cabinetmakers, to stave off foreign competition. Hickory Chair, a 93-year old producer, has seen sales increase by 25% since offering custom finishes. Effective ways to compete with imports do exist for those willing to change and take a risk.

  Those U.S. furniture companies that market imported furniture continue to grow while more domestic operations are shuttered.

• Hooker Furniture reported FY2004 sales of $346 million, up 12%. Net income of $18.2 million was up 24%. A 24.7% growth in its import division drove this revenue gain. Sales of domestically produced furniture declined by 11.3% and now accounts for only 30% of company revenues.
  • Furniture Brands International reported 4Q2004 sales fell by 5.4%. Operating margin rose slightly to 6.8% largely due to an improved gross margin of 26.1%. Management indicated that weak demand would continue into 1Q2005.
  • Producer/retailer Ethan Allen reported 2Q2005 sales of $245 million, up 1.7%. Gross margin rose to 48.7% in spite of higher raw material costs. Operating margin fell to 15% due to increased advertising spending.
  • Bassett Furniture said FY2004 sales were $316 million, down 3% from the prior year. Their BFD retail store program now totals 116 stores with expectations to open 20 to 25 in 2005. BFD sales grew by $20 million to offset lower shipments to JC Penney and small independent stores. Net income rose to $8.2 million vs. a loss of $0.5 million last year. Operating income was impacted by the closure of the Macon, GA, plant. Management believes that domestic capacity is now aligned with demand.
  • Ready-to-assemble producer O'Sullivan Industries reported a sales increase of 1.5% to $66.2 million in its 2Q2005. The quarter, however, resulted in a $3.2 million operating loss. Management continues to attribute its poor performance to higher particleboard prices and unabsorbed manufacturing overhead.
  • Furniture maker Keller, who had closed the last of its three U.S. plants in 2004 to become an import-only operation, has now sold its remaining furniture assets. Included in this sale were its customer list, inventory, web site, product designs, and High Point showroom. Management plans to "move into a new line of work" outside the furniture industry.
  • Contract furniture maker Kimball International has discontinued operations of its Kimball Home residential furniture unit. Management cited the challenges of the retail furnishings market and long-term profitability issues as reasons for the exit. The bankruptcy of its major customer, Breuners, also was a contributing factor.
  • Upholstery producer Dunmore Furniture of Hickory, NC, has also ceased operations. The major factor was the bankruptcy of retailer Heilig-Meyers, an event that left Dunmore with substantial debt. The closure came in spite of recent sales growth and resulted in the shuttering of 375,000 ft2 of plants and lay-off of 150 workers. In general upholstery has not suffered from foreign competition to the same extent as wood furniture. However the overhang of the upheavals in the retail end of the business in the last five years has affected the soft goods sector.
• Wood Flooring - December 2004 shipments of strip flooring increased 5% over the same month in 2003. For the full year, shipments were up 6% over 2003. NOFMA reports that flooring prices declined during most of 2004. Anecdotal evidence from the market shows slower demand and rising inventories. Mills are refusing receipt of dry lumber. Capacity and supply have increased faster than demand as imports flood the U.S. market and consumers substitute engineered flooring for solid strip flooring. The volume of solid wood flooring imports rose by 75% in the first ten months of 2004.
• Hardwood Lumber - Hardwood Review has predicted a modest increase in hardwood lumber demand in 2005. Unfortunately imports from Eastern Europe and Russia will take up much of the increase. The result - production at U.S. mills will be flat with 2004 at about 11.35 billion board feet.

Industry Information

Remodeling Set To Maintain Growth

Accurately forecasting the future of your business is critical to maximizing your bottom line performance. In an effort to give members a competitive advantage, WMMA has once again partnered with the Institute for Trend Research (ITR) to provide members with the tools to stay at least one-half business cycle ahead in your business planning process. This glimpse into the future will enable you to appropriately plan for the ups and downs in the marketplace.

As an added bonus, Alan Beaulieu, the leading economist from ITR, will be present at the 2005 Woodworking Industry Conference (WIC) in Destin, Florida for Contact Table appointments for WMMA members only. Those members who sign up for the ITR service in advance of the WIC can sit down with Alan for a one-on-one consultation about your company's trends and forecasts. Bring your sales data for a personal analysis.

If you want to learn more about the forecasting service from Alan personally before you sign up, schedule an appointment with him to learn about the available tools for your business. Don't let the valuable face-to-face time pass you by at the 2004 WIC.

Go to http://www.wmma.org/members/secureDocument.cfm?docID=287 for the latest quarterly report from ITR, December 2004

ACT NOW!
To schedule an appointment with Alan during the WIC Contact Table hours, contact Bill Norton at bnorton@fernley.com and he will coordinate a time that works for you. Space is limited - contact Bill early to guarantee your meeting with Alan.

Forecasting tools include:

1. The WMMA Quarterly Economic Outlook Report - These Reports are FREE to all Members and are issued quarterly through The Cutting Edge. The Reports have been expanded to include more useful information and designed to make them easier to follow and understand. To view the Reports issued in 2004 visit - http://www.wmma.org/members/economic_freports.htm.
2. Company Specific Analysis - For a minimal fee ($400), you can have a professional economist provide you with forecasting information that matches up with your unique business. How can you pass up this customized company analysis? If you would like to speak with a member who is already using this service to see what impact it is having, please contact Bill Norton at 215-564-3484, ext 2235.

How the Company Specific Analysis service works:
When you sign up for the Company Specific Analysis, ITR's expert economists will confidentially compare your company to a variety of leading indicators and trends. They will review your sales for the past five years and identify which leading indicators relate best to your company's own business cycle highs and lows and then assist you in keeping your charts up to date through their website - www.ecotrends.org.

The Company Specific Analysis service is provided to WMMA members for the one-time discounted rate of $400.00. (That's more than 50% off the normal rate because you are a member of the WMMA!). The fee includes charts and analysis pertaining to one measure of your company's business, i.e. Sales. WMMA members who elect to take advantage of this opportunity, will be billed directly from ITR and gain access to the ITR website: www.ecotrends.org.

Note: If you want ITR to analyze both your Bookings and Sales, the fee would be $400.00 for Booking and $400.00 for Sales, for a total fee of $800.00.

• An Excel workbook including the past two years of data for all 44 data series that are presented each month in EcoTrends.
• A Technical Reference Guide to assist the members with the information presented in both the quarterly WMMA report and any Company Specific Analysis.
• Key Leading Indicators: Corporate Bond Prices, PMI, ITR Leading Indicator and the USLI, which are updated within 24 hours of the data being released every month. Charts, Excel files, as well as, analysis are all available to be downloaded at your convenience.

Contact Erin Hennigar at erin@ecotrends.org to sign up for the Company Specific Analysis service and receive your username and password. Be sure to identify yourself as a WMMA Member. Proceed to the secure subscriber area of the website. Enter your username and password. You will see the following page:

• Subscriber download page
• Leading Indicators
• Data Files for EcoTrends Series
  Technical Reference Manual
• When you select Leading Indicators, the list of leading indicators provided below will appear. To access the most current data, simply click a link from the following list:
• Corporate Bond Prices Data
  Data for LIS
  ITR Leading Indicator Data
  Purchasing Managers Index Data
  US Leading Indicator Data
  

Member News

Cameron Holdings Corporation Acquires North American Products Corporation

Vincent Gorguze, Chairman of Cameron Holdings Corporation, announces the acquisition of North American Products Corporation. North American Products is a world leader in the design, manufacture and servicing of industrial cutting tools for the wood products and metal working industries. The company, founded by Arthur Segal in 1941 and headquartered in Jasper, Indiana operates 12 cutting tool service centers in the United States and Canada. The company will operate under its new name and logo NAP Tools LLC and additional information can be found at its internet address of www.naptools.com. The acquisition was effective January 20, 2005.

Cameron is a private equity company with a proven track record of successfully acquiring and building mid-size businesses and has completed over 29 acquisitions. This track record starts with its Chairman, Vincent Gorguze, and its President Lynn Gorguze (daughter of Vincent). Prior to launching their own investment firm in 1978, Vincent Gorguze served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Emerson Electric, a multi-billion dollar electronics manufacturer. Prior to becoming President of Cameron Holdings Corporation, Lynn Gorguze served as partner in a Minneapolis, MN investment firm. Additional information can be found at its internet address of www.cameron-holdings.com.

"I've spent my career acquiring, building and nurturing businesses. My main interest has focused on taking mid-sized businesses and making them grow as a financially sound global enterprise," Vincent Gorguze said. Lynn Gorguze added, "Cameron is attracted to North American because of its strong name recognition, outstanding growth potential and reputation for high quality and innovative cutting tool solutions. With the stability and leadership Cameron can provide, we are very confident about the long term future of the company. We are also very pleased that the management team will remain intact under the direction of Steve Segal as Chief Operating Officer and John Segal as President and that both will continue to be investors."

Steve Segal, Chief Operating Officer, said; "We are very excited to become part of the Cameron team. North American is experiencing rapid growth in its core markets and recently entered the ferrous metals cutting tool market. We believe Cameron gives us the ability to not only continue this growth into the future, but also our commitment to excellence to our customers and employees."

John Segal, President, said; "North American will be the start of a new cutting tool platform for Cameron Holdings. Since Cameron operates each of their platforms as stand alone businesses, we will continue to be headquartered in Jasper, IN and all current employees of North American are now part of NAP Tools LLC. We are looking forward to a successful long term future with Cameron Holdings."

For additional information contact:

Gary Sahrmann
Senior Vice President
Cameron Holdings Corporation
314-984-0700
gsahrmann@cameron-holdings.com
www.cameron-holdings.com

Steve Segal
Chief Operating Officer
NAP Tools LLC
812-482-2000
steseg@naptools.com
www.naptools.com

John Segal
President
NAP Tools LLC
812-482-2000
johseg@naptool.com
www.naptools.com

Association News

Tom Onsrud Named WMMA Treasurer
Tom Onsrud, President of C.R. Onsrud Inc., has accepted the position of Treasurer for WMMA. Tom is a long time member and contributor to WMMA, and is also on the WMMA Board of Directors. Tom will be Treasurer through the 2005 WIC, when the Board will be asked to vote Tom in for another full year as Treasurer, through the 2006 WIC. Please welcome Tom to this position.

2005 WIC Early Bird Registration Deadline March 4th!
The deadline to save $100 on your WIC registration is Friday, March 4th. Act now! All details for events, schedule, registration discounts for volunteer leaders, spouse activities and hotel can be found on the WMMA website at HYPERLINK http://www.wmma.org/events/wic.cfm. Don't delay! The sooner you register for the WIC and the Contact Table Program, the sooner your suppliers, dealers and manufacturing colleagues can schedule appointments with you!