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8 PalletCentral • March-April 2021 palletcentral.com 2021 Annual Leadership Conference – Connecting Champions. Creating Opportunities. P lans are underway for the NWPCA 2021 Annual Leadership Conference (ALC) September 15-17, 2021, at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Florida. e host hotel, staff, and vendors are working tirelessly to provide a safe and stimulating event. An exciting program is in development. Confirmed speakers include Clint Pulver, a high-energy speaker, author, musician and workforce expert (top, left). Known as a leading authority on retention, Clint offers a fresh perspective that supports corporate leadership by giving them solid insights on how to inspire themselves and inspire every member of their team. Ross Bernstein (bottom, left) is an author of nearly 50 sports books, an award-winning peak-performance business speaker, and featured in several mainstream media outlets. His mission is to help us think differently – think like champions – and raise our game to the next level. e Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, located at Universal Orlando, ™ is open for hotel reservations. Visit palletcentral.com/alc_hotel to learn more. e group rate is $199/night. Look for attendee registration to open later this spring; exhibit booth reservations are open. Visit palletcentral.com/nwpcaannualconference. INSIDENWPCA PDS: Trenched Stringer Research N WPCA has partnered with the Softwood Export Council (SEC) to conduct a series of studies and developments mutually beneficial to both organizations. Under this partnership, the SEC funds projects that will help promote and facilitate the U.S. softwood export market, while NWPCA provides the engineering expertise to make sure that the projects have widespread benefits. e first joint project examined the performance of dado cut pallet stringers. NWPCA's Kristen DeLack, PDS Structural Engineer, designed the study and sourced appropriate test material. is winter, Virginia Tech meticulously manufactured and tested nearly 200 sample Southern Yellow Pine stringers with dado cuts. DeLack has been busy crunching the numbers and interpreting the data. "It is essential that we understand how these series of shallow square cuts might weaken a wood beam and take this into account when predicting the performance of pallets with recessed decks," remarked DeLack. "It is exciting to see the SEC support this research. It's truly a reflection of the passion we both feel about wood products and the pallet industry." NWPCA Announcements and Upcoming Events NWPCA's Membership Week – A Virtual Success N WPCA hosted Membership Week from March 16-18, 2021. is series of virtual events offered members the opportunity to engage, connect and gain insight from NWPCA leadership. Membership Week kicked off with our annual General Business Session led by President/CEO Brent McClendon, Chairman Frank Shean, and incoming Chair Mike Hachtman. e annual tradition of passing the gavel was virtual. Members were provided a recap of association accomplishments from 2020 and learned about new project plans for 2021. roughout the week, members engaged in committee meetings discussing critical topics affecting the industry. Each day concluded with networking from our community of Hispanic leaders, future leaders, and the women in business network.

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