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20 PalletCentral • January-February 2023 palletcentral.com the environmental product declaration and landfill avoidance helps our customers understand how critical wooden pallets are in the supply chain and our planet. Research has begun for the Pallet Market Survey in collaboration with Virginia Tech with preliminary results being presented at the ALC 2023 in Fort Worth. Membership & Governance Today, we are 720+ members strong, the highest number in NWPCA's history. Meetings of the NWPCA Board of Directors and Pallet Foundation Trustee are ongoing, and your leaders discuss shared values and goals with an eye on the current trends and the future. Bylaws were amended in August to address our new world of company mergers/buyouts on the Board. e Association is only as strong as its members, and we thank you. Our members and industry leadership are keys to this past year's successes. NWPCA staff is honored and proud to work for this industry. Pallets Move e World®, and NWPCA remains your dedicated advocate for progress. Growing your Business at Events NWPCA Annual Leadership Conferences continue to attract over 600 people with sold- out exhibit space, and our fall plant tours sell out regularly. Plant tours are made possible with support from our members. In October 2022, Battle Lumber Company and Heart Wood Products hosted NWPCA members at their facilities in Augusta, Georgia. ese face-to-face networking events allow you to get your questions answered by industry experts, gain peer knowledge and advice, and make some great new friends. For 2023, NWPCA and the CWCPA co-host Interpal (an international wooden pallet conference held every four years) from October 3-5, 2023, in Montreal, Quebec. Interpal 2023 combines plant tours and a full day of education in one location. Pallet Foundation Our Pallet Foundation had a milestone year. Our budget of supporting nearly $700,000 in projects in 2023 is almost three times larger than in 2021! e research behind projects like

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