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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
Klauer Manufacturing Co. - NEW
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. 9, May 5, 2014
Welcome to the MLA 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.
Product Liability Bill Passed in Oklahoma

Governor Mary Fallin signed a measure into law that provides liability protection to retailers who sell a product manufactured by someone else, as well as a rebuttable presumption against liability when a product is manufactured to meet mandated federal laws.

 

HB 3365, by Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City and Sen. Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City, passed the House 69 to 19 and the Senate 34 to 8.

 

The bill states that in a product liability action brought against a product manufacturer or seller, there is a rebuttable presumption that the product manufacturer or seller is not liable for any injury to a claimant caused by some aspect of the formulation, labeling, or design of a product.

 

The bill takes effect November 1.

The Art & Science of Positive Feedback

Fifth in Series by Bill Sharp

 

The most significant work on this subject was done by Dr. Thomas Gordon. He was a child psychologist searching for ways to balance power between children and parents. His work was based upon giving children an avenue for expressing themselves to parents who could easily reject their upsets and exert power to "stomp" the child's concerns.

 

Today, though, Gordon's approach appeals to a huge number of people in leadership positions because of its easy to remember and use words. 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. 

Mixed Signals as Spring Data Bloom

With the unseasonably cold winter now finally over, the spring home building and selling season has begun. Economic data thus far presents mixed news. For example, new home sales disappointed for the month of March. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that March new home sales were down 14.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual basis of 384,000, the slowest pace since July 2013 and down 13.3 percent year-over-year. Read more.

 

Source: NAHB Eye on the Economy, May 1, 2014


Other Articles of Interest

Small Business Loan Approval Drops at Big Banks... Small businesses have a better bet seeking loans with small banks than with big ones. Small business loan approval drops to 18.8 percent at big banks in March. (Those are banks with assets of $10 billion or more.) The new figure represents a drop from 19.1 percent in February. Read moreSource: Smallbiztrends.com, April 22, 2014

 

Five Ways to Engage Employees in Change... Change is constant in most organizations - and it is an essential component of growth. Typically, when organizations undergo change initiatives, leaders tend to focus on laying out the procedural steps they must take, but they often ignore the human component of change: steering their team toward the new vision, transforming culture, encouraging learning and growth, and communicating. Read moreSource: Home Channel News, April 24, 2014

 

EPA's RRP Chief Touts Lead-Paint Rule's Success... Four years since its launch, the federal government's lead-paint program has "a good foundation in place" and anecdotal evidence that it has helped reduce cases of lead poisoning in children, the official in charge of the program says. Read more.

Source: Craig Webb, Remodeling Business Update, April 24, 2014

 

Four in 10 Fatal Falls Involve a Ladder... According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention press statement, "Falls remain a leading cause of unintentional injury mortality nationwide, and 43 percent of fatal falls in the last decade have involved a ladder. Read more.

Source: Builder Online, April 27, 2014

 

LBM Executive... Pundits are still arguing about how badly harsh winter weather in the East hurt the housing market this year. But the bigger news is that the mortgage market is finally starting to thaw. Read more.

Source: Greg Brooks and the Building Supply Channel, Inc., April 30, 2014

All in Favor, Say Eye

No one can put a value on his or her eyesight - it's priceless, and should be treated that way. Doing everything you can to protect your eyes on the job by following your company's eye safety guidelines and using appropriate protective eyewear can help save your sight. Read more.


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

the last word

There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.

-Jack Welch