Presenting the NHLA Leadership Award

WILLIAM MILTON “MILT” COLE

Presenting the NHLA Leadership Award

The NHLA Leadership Award is presented every two years to an NHLA member whose leadership has made a significant difference to NHLA, the industry, and our membership. To be nominated for this prestigious award, candidates had to meet specific criteria, including being an NHLA member for at least 20 years. Nominees also had to demonstrate ongoing contributions and dedication to serving the industry. Finally, nominees had to be proven innovators with consistent track records of supporting NHLA and the industry.

The Award Selection Committee considered all the nominees and awarded the 2021 NHLA Leadership Award to the late William Milton “Milt” Cole of Cole Hardwood, Inc. at the 2021 NHLA Convention and Exhibit Showcase.

Dave Bramlage of Cole Hardwood nominated Milt Cole. Dave showed how integral Milt was to our industry, saying, “It is with great honor that I submit the name of William Milton Cole for your consideration. Throughout his career, Milt has always been a supporter of NHLA and the hardwood industry. Milt was a very philanthropic and generous man, donating millions of dollars to his community, state, and industry. Three schools that greatly benefited from his generosity were Indiana University Kokomo, Ivy Tech, and the NHLA Inspector Training School in Memphis, which he helped to build through donating $100,000 to the Building Fund.”

Dave continued, “Milt loved the hardwood industry dearly; he supported numerous causes and sponsored many events. He encouraged his employees to be generous and active in the industry as well. Milt was a unique individual, the kind you are honored to know. In a lifetime, you’d be lucky to meet someone like him. I knew Milt for almost 42 years and had the honor to work with him, for him, and get to know him on a personal basis. He is greatly missed!!”

Milt was born in 1935 in Drummonds, TN. He graduated from Munford High School in 1952. Milt had very humble beginnings and worked in his father’s sawmill. He lost two fingers, and his father insisted on getting him out of the mill, sending him to the John W. McClure Lumber School (now known as the NHLA Inspector Training School) in 1956, where he graduated with the 16th class.

Milt married Doris “Jean” Rhodes in 1955 and moved to Logansport, Indiana, in 1956. Milt began working for the John I. Shafer Hardwood Company, Inc. in 1956, where he was the general manager for many years. He purchased the company in 1986, changing the name Cole Hardwood, Inc.

He was famous for a saying he had about his philosophy, “We’re all on this stairway, and no one reaches the top without reaching out to others. If you will reach back and help someone who is a step or two behind you, you not only elevate yourself and that person, but you also elevate your local community and society in general.”

“Dad certainly elevated the community,” said his son, Keith Cole. “He had given back all his life. He thought the town of Logansport was always good to him, and he wanted to repay that.” It was that generous spirit that led Milt and Jean to donate a million dollars toward the new Logansport Ivy Tech campus in 2008.

Ivy Tech Chancellor Emeritus, Steve Daily, told the Pharos-Tribune, “He inspired other people in the community to give, which multiplied his gift many times over.”

In 1998, tragedy struck Cole Hardwood. A massive fire broke out in a storage shed and then spread to the other buildings. The fire was enormous, with flames 60 feet tall. The fire burned so intensely that it could be seen from 20 miles away and took over 200 firefighters to get it under control. The fire gained worldwide attention from the media, but the stories didn’t focus on the fire as much as they concentrated on Milt’s compassion.

He gathered his employees together, greeting each one with a hug and a handshake. When everyone was settled, he addressed the group.

Dad was a very talented man. He was blessed with immense common sense; he was a hard worker, and he loved humanity. He was the rock of the family.”

— Randy Cole

Milt waved his arm toward the devastation of the fire and said, “All of this is replaceable. I’ve talked it over with the family, and we’ve all agreed to rebuild bigger and better than before. If we were only in it for the money, we could grab the insurance payout and run. But that’s not what we’re about. It’s you, the employees. Our employees are number one. You are the ones that make us. The community comes 2nd, and the business itself comes third.”

Milt then explained that everyone would continue to be paid through the rebuilding, guaranteeing them their paychecks. He vowed, “Nobody will miss a paycheck.” Milt genuinely cared for his employees, and the fire brought how much he loved them into focus.

Jean Cole said Milt’s generosity started from day one, just giving his time when they didn’t have money to spare. Telling his wife that God told him to buy farmland, Milt purchased a Christmas tree farm in the early 1970s. The family would plant and hand trim 10,000 Christmas trees each year. Milt invited his customers to come to the farm to choose their Christmas tree; then, the Cole family would cut down the trees and pack them up for each customer.

It was the money earned from the Christmas tree farm that Milt used to purchase crop fields, which quickly became a successful farm. Milt’s son, Randy Cole, said, “Dad was a very talented man. He was blessed with immense common sense; he was a hard worker, and he loved humanity. He was the rock of the family.”

Milt always wanted the best for his community. And while he didn’t do it for attention or awards, the list of the recognitions Milt received is quite extensive. Some highlights include receiving the Logansport Exchange Club’s “Book of Golden Deeds” award, “Sagamore of the Wabash” (Indiana’s highest honor), and the Chamber of Commerce “Man of the Year” award.

Milt Cole gave his time as well as his money. In Logansport, he was on the Board of Directors for many groups, including Salin Bank & Trust, the Fanners and Merchants State Bank, the Logansport Rotary Club, Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation, and many more. Milt served as an Elder at Calvary Presbyterian Church, Treasurer of the Logansport Economic Development Foundation, as Chairman for the Cass County United Way Fundraising, and gave his time to many more charitable organizations.

In the hardwood industry, he was CEO of Indiana Dimension, Inc., sat on the Lumberman’s Underwriting Alliance Advisory Board, served on the Hardwood Manufacturers Association Executive Board and the NHLA Board of Directors. He was a Dean’s Advisory Board member for the Purdue University School of Agriculture and sat on the Purdue University Forestry Department Steering Committee. He also served as President of the Hardwood Distributors Association and President of the Indiana Hardwood Lumber Association in 1977.

If Milt were alive to accept his NHLA Leadership Award, he would probably use another much-loved Milt-ism, “don’t confuse activity with achievement.” Still, Milt Cole’s activities led him to outstanding achievements throughout his life, including a successful business, a giving heart, and a well-respected leader in the hardwood industry. NHLA is proud to have had Milt Cole as a member and will always be thankful for his kindness, passion for the industry, and philanthropy.