In MeMorIaM

For the first time in almost two years, LMC hosted its network of dealers, suppliers and the LMC team in person at the 2021 LMC EXPO Nov. 15-17 in Philadelphia.

Dealers reconnected with exhibitors and the LMC team, bringing a sense of normalcy that had been missing over the last two years. Dealers discussed current industry challenges and gathered market intelligence from insiders to help plan their purchasing strategy for the upcoming year.

“I come to the LMC Expo because it’s a great opportunity to network with my fellow yards, and also meet the people with LMC that you don’t often get the chance to see face to face and get a little bit of that personal time,” said Jason Pickelsimer, operations manager for Building Solutions, Bend, Or. “The most beneficial thing for me is actually the networking. People buy from people, but at the end of the day LMC is a big family.”

Sessions during the EXPO included the LMC Update from Paul Ryan, who assumed the role of president/CEO in July. Ryan gave his first organization-wide recap of the buying group’s past year and what to expect for 2022.

Keynote speaker Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D., president and chief economist of graphsandlaughs.net and former senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders, presented an overview of the housing and economic outlook for 2022.

During the Supplier Forum, key principals from leading manufacturers touched upon their own challenges of 2021 from a supplier’s perspective and what to anticipate for 2022.

“There was a unique sense of excitement about this event before it even started. The hotel lobbies were buzzing, and you could tell it was going to be a successful show,” said Sean Tighe, LMC senior VP of purchasing. “The energy once the event began really reflected that and was just further proof that relationships are always best built in-person.”

The industry has changed since the last in-person event at the LMC annual in Nashville in March of 2020. Expo attendees strongly believed that learning how to overcome industry challenges is always best when you can talk to other professionals from different parts of the industry at once.

“There’s a lot in our industry that’s changed in the last year and a half,” said Jeff Wolfe, owner of Montana’s Massa Home Center. “Being able to get some insight on what’s here to stay and what’s never going to be the same is vital so we can move forward and be successful.”

LMC PRESIDENT and CEO Paul Ryan addresses attendees at the 2021 LMC EXPO. Ryan recapped the year and what to look forward to in the upcoming year.

Curt Allan “Curt” Wood, 75, longtime Northern California lumber salesman, passed away Oct. 25 in Fortuna, Ca., following a long battle with Parkinson’s and prostate cancer.

A graduate of Humboldt State University, he began his lumber sales career with Twin Harbors, Arcata, Ca., then moved to Sound Stud, Cottonwood, Ca. He next spent more than 20 years in sales at Eel River Sawmills, Fortuna, before finishing his career working remotely for Agwood Mill & Lumber.

John Hartwell Boddington, 75, former president of Boddington Lumber Co., Colorado Springs, Co., died Nov. 9.

After graduating from Colorado College with a degree in economics in 1969, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam. He joined Boddington Lumber in 1974, rising to president in 1995. He sold the 50-year-old wholesaler to BMD in 2006.

William Gus “Bill” Flechsen-

har, 77, former owner and operator of Mattson Lumber Co., Cascade, Mt., died Nov 1 in Great Falls, Mt., after a brief illness.

H graduated from Western Montana College in Dillon, Mt., in 1966. After a decade as an educator, Bill moved to Cascade to purchase the family lumberyard/gas station in 1977. He and his wife, Jeannie, owned and operated Mattson Lumber for 28 years.

Carol Ann Newman, 85, longtime co-owner with her father of C&K Hardware, Albany, Or., died Oct. 27.