Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1453353
8 PalletCentral • January-February 2022 palletcentral.com PDS Advisor McLeod Retires J ohn McLeod, Advisor to the President, retired at the end of 2021, following nearly 40 years of dedication and service as leading staff of the Pallet Design System™. He has been instrumental throughout all the ongoing developments of PDS, starting with its first release on a floppy disk in 1984. John began his career at Virginia Tech, serving as a Senior Research Associate in Wood Science and Forest Products, working in the newly built Pallet Lab, established in 1976 with funding from NWPCA. In 1980, John was the principal researcher and programmer on a cooperative research project between the NWPCA, the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, and Virginia Tech. e project titled "A Research and Development Project for Developing Design Technology for Wooden Pallets" aimed to develop pallet design standards that could provide a means of communication for pallet users and pallet manufacturers regarding expected pallet performance. After more than four years of work by many researchers and "considerable blood, sweat, and a few tears," says John, "PDS Version 1.0 was released in November 1984. It arrived on wood pallet manufacturer's desks – usually along with their first PC and dot matrix printer." Reflecting on his work over the years, John said it'd been an honor and privilege to work for an industry he truly loves. John especially loved teaching PDS courses and meeting all the new students who shared his passion for designing and engineering wooden pallets. He equally enjoyed meeting and learning from members who used PDS. INSIDENWPCA NWPCA Announcements and Upcoming Events NWPCA ALC Excitement Building A s we roll into 2022, the staff is putting final touches on programming for the NWPCA Annual Leadership Conference (ALC), March 9-11, 2022, in Carlsbad, California. Registration numbers are already climbing and speakers are building off the theme, "Building Resilience & Sustainability into the Supply Chain." Attendees can expect to hear from experts on business challenges and gain insights on how the wood packaging industry is primed for even greater success in the years to come. Two keynote speakers will headline ALC: Joel Makower, GreenBiz Group, will speak on Friday, March 11. For 30 years, Joel Makower has been a well-respected voice on business, sustainability, and innovation. Economist Todd Buchholz "lights up economics with a wickedly sparkling wit," says the Associated Press. e former White House senior economic advisor is a frequent commentator on the state of the markets. Todd will keynote on ursday, March 10. Read more about ALC on page 12. Panel discussions on sustainable business and the supply chain are in development. Exhibit hall space is approaching a sell-out. We've expanded our optional events on Wednesday for early arrivals. In addition to the Pallet Foundation's John joined the NWPCA staff in 2005. He dedicated his work to research and development efforts for continuous improvements of PDS. Today, PDS is delivered via the internet, speaks in eight languages, uses technology associated with rocket science, and is the global leader in pallet design and unit load solutions. Each new version of PDS incorporates the latest data, engineering, and technologies, along with the blood, sweat, and tears of great staff like John McLeod! All of us – your colleagues, friends, industry leaders, members of the NWPCA, Pallet Foundation Trustees, PDS Advisory Council – say thank you and wish you all the best. Your retirement is well deserved. Annual Golf Tournament (lunch sponsored by SouthernCarlson), there is a fishing excursion (sponsored by Pallet Alliance) and tennis tournament. Check the online listing for times, learn more about ALC, and make your hotel reservation at palletcentral.com/ nwpcaannualconference. Stay tuned for more program and speaker confirmations in the coming weeks. iStockphoto.com/dlint South Carlsbad State Beach, Carlsbad, CA