Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/666889
10 PalletCentral • March-April 2016 palletcentral.com education and marketing. This level of support represents a 70% increase over the amount raised in 2015. A big thanks to Bill MacCauley (John Rock Inc.) for once-again being the auctioneer for Thursday night's jam packed exhibit hall reception and auction. What does the money go toward, you may ask? Foundation resources are mobilized, for example, to defend the industry with development of science-based factual information about the benefits of wooden pallets and containers which will be prominently displayed on the new Nature's Packaging website (naturespackaging.org). NWPCA staff is conducting direct outreach to university packaging programs, funding a full time graduate student at Virginia Tech, conducting significant proprietary and expanded PDS research, and is funding nearly $100,000 in new research to benefit the industry. The Pallet Foundation has an aggressive work plan for 2016. More on The Pallet Foundation and specific projects funded can be found on page 42. We thank Board Chair Jim Schwab (Pallet Logistics of America) for his leadership this past year. During his term we defeated Oregon Bill HB 4089 that, if passed, would have started a preferential purchasing program for corrugated pallets over wooden pallets. The beginning of which could have spread to other states. Jim brought focused direction on the NWPCA strategic plan and its three priority goals: web, advocacy and PDS. He led the release of PDS 5.2, and the launch of Nature's Packaging during his tenure. All association projects are focused on raising the profile with strategic entities, developing resources and tools for member use, and advocating and defending the wooden pallet and container industry. Schwab's last duty of the year was handing off the gavel to incoming Chair, Steve Mazza of Bettaway Pallet Systems. Mazza gave a great speech during the general session and noted to Schwab, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, "Jim, you left the ship in good order [to me], and that is the highest compliment I can give to a naval officer." Mazza plans to build on the INSIDE NWPCA