I’m an Addict

It all started innocently enough a few years back when I attended a BCMC show. That’s where I met my pusher and dealer, Kirk Grundahl (SBCA’s Executive Director). I admit, I was young and naive at the time and didn’t have a care in the world. I had little idea what I was getting myself into, but Kirk and the other members of the Board of Directors knew. They surely knew. Soon after, they introduced me to the Godfather of trusses: “Don Dwight,” or the Honorable Mr. Hikel, as some in the industry call him.

It was then that I began my journey into the world that they like to call their little “triangle of trust!” I jumped feet-first into this unknown organization, taking it in one meeting, one dose, at a time. One day, recently, I woke up and found that I had become a diehard user of this nation’s greatest trade association, SBCA.

This group has gone to great lengths to establish world peace and solve global hunger…well, perhaps not. However, we collectively have done some pretty cool stuff. For instance, we developed the flux capacitor for the component industry, the SBC Research Institute (SBCRI), which will transport us to a brave new world of construction we haven’t seen before. For those of you who didn’t get the humor in that last statement, and haven’t seen the movie Back to the Future, SBCA also sells bracing tags.

I am often asked what it is like to be the President of such a powerful and awe-inspiring group. Okay, to be honest, my wife doesn’t really ask me all that often. Really, she just tells me to hurry up and get off of the phone and stop playing with my “association friends.” I’m kidding. She’s 100 percent supportive of SBCA…just as soon as she allows me to remove the block on all calls from SBCA headquarters from our home phone. No, that’s not true either. However, what is true is, behind every member of the SBCA Board, there is a supportive family that allows us to do good work on behalf of this industry we care so much about.

It is because of this support that we are such a strong group. Sometimes we are called upon to be outlaws, going against the grain and traditions of the construction industry to pave new roads. I’ll be honest, it’s gotten pretty scary at times. Although I haven’t woken up with a horse head in my bed, I’ve had some pretty scary nightmares about being stuck on an island with a bunch of truss engineers and needing to build a “consensus-based” life raft out of tongue depressors.

All kidding aside, I am a simple man who doesn’t know much. What I do know is that the individuals within our membership who have stepped up to the plate to be leaders in our association are really an awesome bunch. They truly care about this industry and our membership, sometimes making huge personal sacrifices to be present at meetings and putting their businesses aside to take care of association work.

When the economy took a nose dive, most of us spent the majority of our time trying to keep the doors open to our own businesses. To some degree, SBCA and our association’s management team were left to fend for themselves in the wilderness. Thankfully, we survived. While things are never perfect with any organization, I believe SBCA came through that trial stronger, with a renewed energy to keep us headed in the right direction.

As I look forward to the coming year, I see a great land of opportunity for us to seize. With our builder customers facing severe labor shortages, now is the time for us to promote our products as the only logical framing method.

As the energy code drives the building code to require greater and greater energy efficiency in building practices, now is the time for us to promote our products as the only logical framing method.

As rising raw material costs drive the desire for material optimization, now is the time for us to promote our products as the only logical framing method.

We have been talking about our industry and its products as the “Future of Framing.” It is evident to me that the future is now (it must have been that flux capacitor). We have two choices—we can each grasp at it individually, or we can hold onto it firmly through a collective effort. I challenge and invite each and every one of you reading this to find some way to get involved in SBCA. Your input and leadership are needed now more than at any time in our industry’s existence.

I would argue that one of the best places to start is by attending a component manufacturers-only roundtable discussion at an SBCA Open Quarterly Meeting (OQM). Our discussions cover important industry issues that affect all component manufacturers, and participant insights go much deeper than you would expect. Beyond the ideas that are shared, the greatest benefit of these meetings is the enduring friendships that are established through them.

I want to extend a personal thank you to those who have already made the sacrifice and are a member of SBCA. Without your support and encouragement, we could not be the great association that we are today. If you aren’t a member of this organization, I invite you to join me in my addiction.