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8 Pallet C e nt ral • July -Aug u st 2 0 26 C hampions know that winning isn't a single moment; it is a body of work. You build the goal and the strategy to achieve that vision. You point the bus in the right direction, then make sure the right people are on board and in the correct seats. Midyear is the perfect time to pause and evaluate progress toward that goal. I'm proud to share that we are off to a fast start. Consider what our team has accomplished in just the first half of this year alone. After a multiyear campaign in Brussels, we secured landmark exemptions for wooden pallets in the European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. en, on May 1, California's SB 54 took effect, explicitly excluding wooden pallets. at win stretches far beyond one state. California sets the benchmark that other states follow, and our work there protects the entire industry from coast to coast. ese are not incremental steps. ese are the kinds of results that reshape the regulatory landscape for a generation. At the same time, our LATAM Chapter has delivered one of its most active and visible periods in history, engaging the US Congress, the Mexican Embassy, and the Inter-American Dialogue, while preparing for our fifth sold-out conference in September. In the USA, our PalletPAC is having the strongest fundraising year on record, and we're just back from the largest Washington Fly-In in our history. And the world is taking notice: our social media reach nearly doubled this quarter, PalletCentral earned a Hermes Creative Award, and our release of the Crate Design System TM is off to a fast start. None of this happens by accident. Championship teams win because they do the unglamorous work. ey win because they stay in the room when others leave. ey win because they are armed with data and driven by purpose. at is this team. at is our membership. When we rebranded earlier this year, retiring the NWPCA name that had served us well for decades and stepping into our identity as Woodpack Global, we made a declaration of who we are becoming. An organization that represents not just an industry but a worldwide movement of manufacturers, innovators, and advocates who believe that wood packaging is the most sustainable, most circular, and most essential transport solution on the planet. e name changed. e mission deepened. So, enjoy these summer months. And know that while you are out there running your businesses and winning your battles, your association is in the field, doing the work, and adding to our industry's win column, too. Sincerely, Brent J. McClendon, CAE President & CEO What Winning Looks Like A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT

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