On December 8, SFPA held the first-ever SFPA Summit. The Summit marks a new expansion to SFPA’s annual fall meetings, which have traditionally been only available to SFPA members. Registration for the SFPA Summit was free and open to the public, presenting an opportunity for everybody involved in forest products to gain insights and advice from experts in the field.
The Summit included a robust schedule of presentations with industry-leading speakers, all focused on a centralized theme: Vital Viewpoints for an Essential Industry. Speakers addressed the current climate of the Southern Pine lumber industry, what to expect down the road, and provided regulatory updates, sales tips, and insights valuable to everybody in the wood products industry.
Presenters and topics included:
– The SYP Pressure Treated Lumber Customer (Jim Dudley, Culpeper Wood Preservers)
– Welcome to the Age of Experience (Deb Calvert, People First Productivity Solutions)
-Southern Pine Market Outlook (Paul Jannke, Forest Economic Advisors)
-Treated Wood Regulatory Update (Jeff Miller, Treated Wood Council)
-Think Wood 2.0 (Ryan Flom, Softwood Lumber Board)
Along with the presentations, the Summit provided attendees with ample opportunities to be active participants with live Q&A sessions at the end of each presentation, and a bustling virtual networking mid-day lunch break.
The Summit drew a substantial crowd, especially considering it was a first-time event. There were 145 attendees the day of the event, representing 6 countries and 21 states. All registrants will be able to access recordings of the sessions with a valid login at: https://sfpa.526event.com/ and registration is still open for those who want to get a login to access the recordings. Once posted, the recordings will be available for two weeks, then access to those recordings is reserved only for SFPA members.
Not an SFPA member?
Learn more about becoming a member of the Southern Forest Products Association here.