Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1161332
34 PalletCentral • July-August 2019 palletcentral.com lear and effective communication is a critical part of any successful trade association. This was one thing I knew for sure coming into my summer internship with the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association. I had no previous experience with the wooden packaging industry and couldn't even begin to imagine the importance of wooden pallets. Throughout the summer though, NWPCA has not only proven this communication rule to be true but has also taught me so much more about the day-to-day trade association tasks and the world of advocacy. Having this opportunity to experience all that goes into running a trade association has given me a unique perspective on the natural resources sector. Working with NWPCA, I have realized the impact that the wooden pallet industry has on so many other industries and its importance to the world. As I gained this perspective and began to share it with fellow DC interns, I developed a deeper understanding of how necessary communications and messaging are to an industry. Each intern who I discussed wooden pallets with responded the exact same way: that they'd never given pallets a thought, let alone a second thought. If they even recognized what a wooden pallet was, they thought of it only as fuel for a bonfire or something that they occasionally see piled outside of grocery stores. I think that this small group of interns also speaks for most people when they say that they have never thought about the true purpose of wooden C A Millennial View on Communications BUSINESS BLOG Blog by Grace Johnson iStockphoto.com/Chaay_Tee