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Retoilers ond Wholesqlers Level With Eoch Other At SCRLA's 4th Annuol lAembership Conference
'l'hc 4th :rrrnual llenrbership Conference of thc Southcrn California Itetail Lrrmber '\ssociation \\'as hclri in the Stiitler-Hilton hotel, Los Angelc's, this vear for <1ea1ers anrl u'holes:rlc tnenrbers of the :rssociation. ancl n'irs consirlcrerl an outstanrling success b1- Hal Brown, presiclent anrl presiclirrg r.rIficer, ancl Orrie Hamilton, e-recutir-e vicc-presirlent.
"Consi<lering the fact that nrarrr- menrbers. lL>oth ret:rilers arrrl lholesalers, recognizecl Iicbruarr- 23 as a holitlar.', it u'as gratif"'ing irr<1ee<1 to n'elcorne rnore tharr 120 intercstecl Iutnbertrren tr-r this -lth:Lnt'rrral conclave." sairl Prcsirlent llrotvn. "C)ur recc,rrcls indicate the attendance ll.as zrbout par. An cc1ual nrrmber of both n'holesalers :rncl rctailers rlerc :rttrircterl to the ruernber-slritr confer-ence." aclclcrl \-icePrcsi,lt.rrt H atrr ilt,,rr.
l-unclteotr rr'as serr-ccl pr()nrl)t1\- at 12 noori irr tlrc very comfortabie (krlclen St:rte rot.rnr in r-ieu' of tlic healv schednle, :rrrt1 inrnre<1iatel1' follou,irrg Hal lJrol'n introtlrice<1 the lirst speaker, J. R. "Joe" Jones, vice-presirlerrt of thr: Secrrrit)'-First \:rtirrrral ll:tnk. I.,,s -\ttgelr'.. u h,, is ru :triurger t(, tlre lrrrrrber Ilrrterrril_r'.
-fottes eavc a cornplete rrrnclou'rr ot1 crlrrerlt lltortg:ril-c 1r-lo1rc)'arrrl lrzr.interl a goorl ltictr.rrc for the lttouev tnarkt't for the rest of the ycar. He saicl business is on the irlt-gra<le an<l should hit a neu' high in '59. His rernirrks u-ere frrll o{ optirtrisnr for tl.re future. Crrrbirrg inflatit,n is the big job, he sai<1. llou,cr-er. the outlook {or Southern Califorrria secnrs to be verr- goocl irrdeed, :rccorcling to this :LStrlte banlrer.
Iteeping the shou' movirrg zrt a fast ltzrce. Presitlent I Ial introdrrcetl Charles "Chuck" Clay, presirlent of the Clay Lut'nber Co., Irrglcrvoorl. u.ho actecl irs nroclerator of the panel cliscrrssiorr on the "Outlook for 'fransportatiorr ancl Ar-ailabilitr-of Lr.rnrber" for the 1'reavy clenrand months a llea o.
Cla1-c:rllecl on John P. Weston, Far \\'est l,-ir Sales Co., Ileverlv lJills, u'ho reporte<1 cargo shipmerrts u,oulrl be goocl for the balance of the r-e:rr.
Jim Newquist, presirlent,,f ]arrrrs \\-. Nen-cluist Co.. P:rsaclcrra, reltortecl ort rail shipments. F[e u'as ll()t too optimistic because of the car shortagc brrt <lc'clarerl, in liis opit'riorr, this situation conlrl arrcl n'orrlrl be licked b_v the u'holcs:rlers, ancl retailers coulci anticipate a stearl_i'- flol. of n-raterials fronr tl'rc' north lia this nrocle of transportatiorr.
Presidenr ore
Next on the agenda was Carl E. Poynor, headman of Wholesale Forest Products Co.. Beverly Hills. who stated truck & trailer shipments were here to stay. Fie was quite humorous in his remarks and kept his audience well interested during the time allotted to him.
W. T. "Bill" Smith, Jr., vice-president of Smith"Robbins Lumber Corp., Los Angeles, informed the membership, in his opinion, that pine and white fir were in good supply.
Abel H. Jackson, district manag'er, Union Lumber Co., Los Angeles, reported.on redwood. He declared there would be a continued shortage in redwood commons and warned that there appears on the horizon a coming shortage in uppers.
In reporting the outlook for future shipments of Douglas fir, Wholesaler Herb Meier, Arcadia, declared fir in- all grades was in good supply but steady demand will create of a shortage in this specie also during the spring and summer months.
Chuck Clay handled his Panel in an efficient, expeditious manner and was commended, and thanked, by Prexy Hal for his effort.
"Let's All Pull Together" was a splendid talk delivered by Sterling Wolfe, sales manager, Marquart-Wolfe LumberCo., Los Angeles. Assisted by two salesmen'from his firm, George Cameron and Ralph Norum, the three presented a clever sales skit on the trials and tribulations of a wholesaler in his dealings with a mythical, but hard-to-please, retailer. It got the laughs and applause-and the boys got the message.
Floyd Yates, president of Southwest Plywood 9otp., Compton, and Don Braley, branch manager, United States Plywood Corp., Los Angeles, covered the subject "Outlook. (Continued on Page 26)
