Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1212207
8 PalletCentral • January-February 2020 palletcentral.com NWPCA Welcomes New Staff P lease join us in welcoming a new staffer to the NWPCA government affairs team. Grace Johnson, our former summer intern, is now employed full time as manager, policy and public affairs. Grace graduated from the James Madison College and Honors College at Michigan State University in December 2019 with a major in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy, and minors French, and in Science, Technology, Environment, and Public Policy. Her responsibilities include monitoring legislation at the federal and state level and expanding NWPCA's participation in congressional hearings and briefings in Washington, DC. She manages the day-to-day operations of the NWPCA Political Action Committee and supports the implementation of a strategic approach to NWPCA's communications, sales and public relations efforts. INSIDENWPCA Keep your Membership Current 2 020 is in full swing with half our membership already renewed. Membership dues run January 1 through December 31 of each year. This is a reminder to renew your membership now so you may continue enjoying the numerous benefits without lapsing. We now have several payment options: pay in full by check or credit card; pay in four installments using your credit card or pay with an E-Check (E-Check has a maximum of $5000 per transaction). Take a moment now so your membership or your PDS license does not expire. On the Road N WPCA President and CEO Brent McClendon participated in the National Association of Manufacturers Council of Manufacturing Association Board of Advisors meeting in Florida on January 7, before presenting at the conference on the Wood Packaging Economic Impact Study we conducted with NAM. Brent then traveled to Germany, January 29-31, to present to more than 200 European pallet and packaging companies at the 11th EUROBLOCK Customer Forum in Freising, Germany. He talked about U.S. pallet industry production, sales, and market figures, along with information about NWPCA activities and the newest Pallet Design System™ (PDS) features and unit load design capabilities. McClendon continues NWPCA's international outreach in February with a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, February 19-20, to meet with leading wood packaging companies and their trade association, IMEXFOR, and a joint workshop with the Softwood Export Grace Johnson, NWPCA's manager, policy and public affairs.