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SAVE THE DATE!
March 26 - MLA Estimating
April 15 - Scholarship Deadline
May 1-2 - MO Swing-into-Spring
June 13 - KS Sunflower Shoot-Out
Oct. 28-30 - ProDealer Industry Summit - San Diego, Calif.
Nov. 6-7 - MLA Fall Fling
Visit www.TheMLA.com for more information!
OUR SPONSORS
Blish Mize
Westfall GMC GSWP-Yellawood
Associate Members
All Season Bldg. Supply
Allied Building Stores
American Wholesale Corp.
Basys Processing
Blish-Mize Company
Bluelinx Corporation
BlueTarp Financial
Boise Cascade
Builders Material Company
Cargotec USA - St. Louis
CCM Countertop & Cabinet Mfg
Cedar Creek Wholesale
Central States Insulation Wholesale, Inc.
Central States Mfg., Inc.
Central Woodwork, Inc.
Continental Divide Fence
Delden Mfg.Co., Inc.
Denver Southwest
DMSi
Do it Best Corporation
East Side Lumberyard Supply
Federated Insurance
Forest Products Supply Co.
Frontier Forest Products, Inc.
Great Southern Wood Preserving
Hardman Wholesale Co.
Hixson Lumber Sales
Huttig Building Products
iLevel
Jack Morgan Construction
Lee Wayne
Lumberyard Supply
McCray Lumber Millwork
Mid-Am Building Supply
Midwest Low-E Insulation
Modern Equip. Co., Inc. (MECO)
Monarch Cement Co.
Moulding & Millwork, Inc. - Midwest
Neff Packaging Systems
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual
PrimeSource Building Products
PWD, Inc.
Roberts & Dybdahl, Inc.
Rollex Corp.
Schutte Lumber Company
Service Partners dba Denver SW
Shelter Distribution
Simpson Strong-Tie
Tamko Building Products
Tax Favored Benefits
Tennison Brothers, Inc.
Thomas Nielsen Wholesale
Timber Products, Inc.
Treeline Forest Products
USP Structural Connectors
Valspar
Warrior Building Products
Westfall GMC Truck Center
Weyerhaeuser Co.
About Us
Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) serves independent lumber and building material retailers in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We offer a variety of services and products to our members, as well as events throughout the year to provide educational and networking opportunities.

We're proud to be affiliated with the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA), which gives us a connection tot he industry at large and provides representation in Washington, D.C. on federal legislation and regulatory issues. Visit our website at www.TheMLA.com.

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Vol. 13, No. 6, March 24, 2014
Welcome to our new mobile newsletter!
You're receiving this online newsletter because you've subscribed through the MLA website (www.TheMLA.com) or you're an Association member. We'll send a new issue every two weeks to let you know what's happening in the industry, at your MLA, and in the world that affects your business. We welcome your opinions and ideas. If you have information you'd like to share with other members, we'd be happy to include it in our next issue. We welcome both personal and industry-related news - members would love to hear your news and views - so don't hesitate to email us with information.
Cleaver Farm & Home Honored
Chris Cleaver (l) and Jason Cleaver (r) accept award.
True Value Company recently honored 13 True Value hardware stores, selected from each of the co-op's retail regions, as winners of its seventh annual "Best Hardware Store in Town" international recognition program.

Brothers Chris and Jason Cleaver, owners of Cleaver Farm & Home in Chanute, Kan., were one pair of winners in the spotlight at True Value's 2014 Spring & Rental Reunion, held in Atlanta from Feb. 21 through Feb. 23.
Read more.

 

MLA 2014 Buyers' Guide Available Now

The Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) has announced that the exclusive MLA Online Buyers' Guide (the Guide), the premier resource of relevant products and services for lumber professionals is now available at the MLA website at www.TheMLA.com.

 

MLA partnered with Overland Park, Kan.-based Strategic Value Media, a leading nationwide provider of print and digital media solutions to national, state and local trade and membership associations, to produce the Guide. MLA is proud to provide its members with this useful and easily accessible year-round resource. Read more.

Does Someone There Need Training?
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MLA will conduct an Estimating and Residential Material Takeoff Workshop, March 26, 2014, at the MLA Office in Kansas City, Mo. In today's highly competitive market, the success of a material supplier relies heavily on the ability to generate quick and accurate estimates. the ability to estimate the materials costs of a project is an essential  skill for those in the lumber business.  Read more and register!
Four Things Your Staff Needs to Know

The Second in a Series of Articles from Master Trainer Bill Sharp

 

Leaders of high performance teams consistently do a good job of letting all they supervise know four important things about their work:  

  • What am I supposed to do?
  • Why am I supposed to do it?
  • How good is "good"?
  • How am I doing?
Read more.

 

Bill is the author of an extended series of articles that will appear in our newsletter. He has been an independent consultant, speaker and friend of our association since 1981 and the only trainer ever to have been simultaneously endorsed by NBMDA, NLBMDA and 12 state and regional LBM dealer associations in the U.S. and Canada. 

Cost Analysis Program Open for Business
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Enter Your Data Now!!

 

The 2014 Building Material Operations Comparison (BMOC) Program is open for business!  Attached is a brief summary of the program, along with a list of available reports and a few samples.  Also attached is a BMOC Order Form


Participating members can enter their financial data from now through April 30, 2014.  The participant fee is $200.  This program - now in its fifth year - is the only comprehensive financial comparison tool for our industry. There has never been a better time to participate - get on board in 2014!

Other Articles of Interest
Here We Go Again!

Tornado Preparedness Takes Center Stage

 

Preliminary estimates for 2012 by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) report more than 900 tornadoes - 22 of which were "killer tornadoes." From droughts to floods to temperature extremes, it seems that weather systems are upside down all over the country. January 2012 was an unusually violent month for severe weather, with more than 70 tornadoes reported. Unfortunately, extreme weather is becoming more commonplace: Over the past three years, the United States has averaged more than 1,300 tornadoes. Read more.

 


This article provided courtesy of Federated Mutual Insurance Company, your association's recommended insurer. 

the last word
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

~John Quincy Adams