Cutting Edge Newsletter™ Special Edition – WIC 2006WMMA® Honors Kenneth R. Hutton with Baldwin Award of Excellence At the 15th Annual Woodworking Industry Conference (WIC) in Maui, Hawaii, the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America® (WMMA®) honored Kenneth R. Hutton with the Ralph B. Baldwin Award of Excellence. This annual award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the woodworking industry, the Association, their companies and their community. Mr. Hutton is currently the Executive Vice President of WMMA and has served the WMMA in a variety of positions throughout his 16 years of service. The presentation speech given by the 2005 Baldwin Award Winner and former WMMA President Charles Granger, noted, “It was the late 1980’s when this year’s winner joined WMMA. He joined the association as Export Director during a time of transition that saw the retirement of long time Executive Vice President Don White, a well known and respected leader of WMMA.” Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Hutton is responsible for the leadership that rejuvenated the ASC 01.1 WMMA sponsored Committee into writing the ANSI 01.1 standard in the late 1990's and helped by finding a project manager to support this committee full time. The 90's also saw WMMA’s membership double, which brought obvious gains, and WIC grew to a three organization event, providing tremendous business benefit. Moving into the new millennium, Mr. Hutton helped guide WMMA very successfully to a paperless organization, saving over $100,000 of expense, which also improved communications, all at the same time. With Ken’s direction, strategic visioning became part of our Board discipline and practice allowing the organization to become more focused than ever before. In the same time period, Mr. Hutton developed a relationship with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that has borne many benefits to WMMA members. Two years ago, he was honored with the NAM Leadership Award, which recognized the significance of his achievements and leadership during his tenure within NAM. He was selected to receive this award for his leadership role as a catalyst for the NAM “Pro U.S. Manufacturing" campaign which continues to sweeping across the United States today. His achievements with WMMA are a matter of record. The strong financial position alone, developed under his leadership, will help perpetuate WMMA’s influence and priorities for a considerable period of time. Mr. Hutton has distinguished himself with WMMA during a period of time known for world competitiveness, difficulty in competing with our domestic manufacturing versus outside of U.S. manufacturing, health care costs, energy costs and wood market shrinkage. Mr. Hutton has responsibilities outside of the WMMA as well. His other professional obligations include managing and coaching a team of Executive Directors at WMMA’s association management company, Fernley & Fernley, to insure "Best Practices" are being followed throughout his company. He currently provides leadership to other professional trade associations as well. The Baldwin Award was the highlight of WMMA’s Annual Business Session, held on May 3rd during the 2006 WIC, at the Wailea Marriott Resort in Maui, Hawaii. The Ralph B. Baldwin Award of Excellence is presented annually. Nominations come from the membership and are voted on by a panel consisting of WMMA Officers, Past Presidents and Membership Services Committee. This year marks the 23rd year that WMMA has bestowed this honor.
New Officers & Directors Named to the Board At the Friday, May 3rd Business Session, Jim Laster of Newman*Whitney was nominated and approved as the new President of WMMA, and Tom Onsrud of C.R. Onsrud was named WMMA’s new Vice President. The leadership Development Committee officially nominated Ed Fiantaca of Accurate Technology as Treasurer for a three year term during the final Board meeting at the WIC.
Corporate Strategist Stan Slap Engages WIC Attendees At Opening General Session Delegates and spouses alike were informed and entertained at the WIC 2006 Opening Session by Stan Slap’s compelling and provocative corporate strategies and solutions. He shared his unique expertise on how to cause corporate strategies to be implemented even better than they're planned, how to gain emotional commitment and full-tilt discretionary effort from managers, how to achieve dependable business gains driven by loyal customer relationships and how to create a wicked competitive edge for any company. Stan has been a CEO himself for over 20 years. Prior to starting his own company 18 years ago, he was Executive Vice President of Mrs. Fields Cookies during their growth from a 19 store regional chain to 300 stores in 4 countries and he set performance records that have never been bested. He was brought in to helm 500-store retail franchiser WNS during their bankruptcy and steered that company out of Chapter 11 and onto record sales in just ten months – the shortest amount of time in history for a franchise company to successfully emerge from bankruptcy.
The WMMA Business Session The 2006 WMMA Business Session on Wednesday, May 3rd, presented members with three hours of education and information geared toward keeping them competitive in this changing marketplace. John Satagaj provided the members with his view on legislation being proposed now and in the near future; China’s currency manipulation, the Estate Tax Repeal and Statute of Repose. John also took time to tell members about several recent victories WMMA has gained through the cooperative efforts of WMMA members and others. The goal of his presentation was to provide members with his views on what bills WMMA and its members can realistically expect to see passed and what action steps members need to take to help the cause. Brian Beaulieu’s presentation provided the membership with an economic forecast of the U.S. economy and U.S. manufacturing industry with highlights on the wood processing industry. Through charts, graphs and a thorough description of what these charts and graphs show, he provided the members in attendance with realistic expectations for the months ahead. For more detail on ITR’s forecast data, members can access the WMMA Economic Outlook Report posted on the WMMA website at http://www.wmma.org/members/efreports.cfm for a great deal of this presentation. For $400, members can submit five years of sales data to receive a customized analysis, which can help track where your company should invest, spend, and cut back over the near term. WMMA members who are already signed up for this customized service (16 members and counting) attest to the benefits they have derived from their report already. From building a new plant, to refinancing, to hiring personnel in anticipation of a sales increase - the results are in. This is a major member benefit that all members should act on - today. See http://www.wmma.org/members/efreports.cfm for details to subscribe.
Through the lively discussions at each of the roundtables, members learned more about many of the member benefits and programs that are provided through WMMA. Visit the Committee section of the WMMA website to learn more about what areas of the association you would like to be involved in here and read about all the benefits of WMMA membership here. Concurrent Workshops Give Delegates Tools for Focusing on the Customer and Strengthening On Saturday morning, delegates attended concurrent workshops on a variety of pressing topics. The speakers were experts in their respective fields and gave great insight to the delegates. Staying A Step Ahead of Your Competition Stan’s presentation focused on the survival and growth of small businesses, how to expand your resources and making wise business decisions that give you the edge over the competition. China – Superpower of Tomorrow? Brian’s focus was on the economic realities of China, what it means for our future and how US manufacturing can prosper now and in years to come, in spite of what is happening overseas. Participants learned what most people don’t know – the truth about China. Leading Excellent Customer Service Suzanne provided attendees with a to-do list of what needs to be in place to lead and sustain great service and why it is so important to create a service focus from the perspective of the bottom line. Time Management & Personal Leadership Steve showed attendees how to prioritize in relation to results, how to set and achieve goals and how to balance your personal and professional life. Time Management & Getting Organized Steve’s presentation included such topics as the four keys to using any time management system, the three skills needed to be a great time manager and how to get organized and reduce stress. Retooling US Manufacturing Tom offered attendees a better understanding of the impact on the US woodworking industry from the globalization of markets and technologies, the emergence of universal connectivity and the exponential increase in competition.
Contact Table Program Draws More Than 100 Companies; The 2006 Contact Table Program offered manufacturers, distributors, importers, suppliers and educators in our industry a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face. A key component of WIC, the Contact Table Program offered delegates the chance to conduct business with more than twenty-five customers over two days. On Thursday, May 4th and Friday, May 5th, importers, manufacturers and suppliers held host tables and met with their distributors, while on Friday, distributors hosted tables and met with their suppliers Declared one WMMA member, “What a great event! The one-on-one tables were well worth the entire trip!” Participating in the two-day Contact Table Program reduces company sales costs and brings you greater return on your WIC investment. The Contact Table Program continues to be an opportunity for industry leaders to get more done for less. Make sure you attend next year!
There’s Always Time for Fun at the WIC Let’s not forget the all-important social activities, where the delegates escape the meeting rooms and get out onto the dance floor! This year, attendees enjoyed beach front dinners, a traditional Hawaiian luau, pool side socializing and more! A special reception for first timers and new members made everyone feel comfortable at WIC and WMMA delegates who sat in with the Membership Services Committee were treated to an outdoor meeting.
Spouses had a chance to reconnect with their industry friends and delegates enjoyed the casual opportunity to network and relax. This year’s spouse program offered several exciting activities, including an introduction to Maui and a cooking demonstration by world-renowned chef Beverly Gannon.
No matter how you look at it, WIC continues to be a more informative and enjoyable time than the last! Here’s what some WMMA members had to say about this year’s WIC: “As a new WMMA member and a first time WIC attendee, I found the conference to be enjoyable and worthwhile. I plan to attend future WIC conferences and I encourage others to attend!” “WIC is a window on the industry that one just can’t get by going to trade shows.” “A great opportunity to boost your business through networking, direct leads and meetings, recruiting, distribution and awareness of new technologies, trends and the economic outlook for the next two to five years.” “Great event to build business relationships!” MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! WIC 2007 |
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| ©2006 by Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, Philadelphia, PA. All rights reserved.
This publication or any parts of it may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. For permission to reprint articles or to send correspondence, write to: WMMA, 100 North 20th Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1443, Phone: (215) 564-3484. Fax: (215) 963-9785. E-mail: wmma@fernley.com. The opinion expressed in any articles by outside consultants are their own views and not necessarily those of the WMMA. |
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