The Canadian Hardwood Bureau (CHB) recently held its 2023 Fall Meeting in Louisville, KY, in conjunction with the NHLA Convention. Chairman Shaun Rowe, of Quality Hardwoods Ltd., welcomed delegates and lead the informative session.
The guest speaker was Geoff Webb, Dean of NHLA’s Inspector Training School, who outlined NHLA’s Apprenticeship Program and noted that Class 1 graduated from Inspector Training School in 1948. There is today an increased emphasis on “Trades.” The program includes a contract between the employer and apprentice and featured structured pay increases during Apprenticeship. The NHLA program is 2,000 hours and 300 of Relevant Technical Instruction, which includes 144 hours of classroom instruction. The program is currently registered in Tennessee and the paperwork is submitted in Pennsylvania. They expect to register in Michigan and Arkansas and other states as requested.
Allison DeFord, executive director of the North American Forest Foundation (NAFF), addressed the meeting to spread the word about the Back to School with NAFF fundraiser. NAFF was working to raise the remaining amounts with their matching sponsor’s contributions in an effort to be able to educate 75,000 students about sustainable forestry. They have a keen interest to send education kits to schools in Canada.
Chairman Rowe reported that since the Bureau’s very successful meeting back in May, it has been doing some training and held an English-language hardwood grading short course in mid-May in Ontario. It was sold out with almost 30 people enrolled. The practical portion was to be held at Ontario Hardwood Products in Bolton. CHB held its first-ever French-language short course recently in Drummondville, QC, at Goodfellow Inc.
Chairman Rowe spoke about the CHB’s successful Promotions Program, which aims at the great story of CHB, which resonates with consumers. The goal of the program is to tell the story of Canadian hardwood as a beautiful, durable, and sustainable interior building material to as many consumers as possible. For a second straight year, CHB secured partial funding and directed efforts at export markets, specifically the U.S. designers and architects, who will promote the Bureau’s story to homeowners and commercial end users.
CHB is completing two years of webinars that have been included in educational events dealing with specifying wood products; commercial (retail, offices and mixed use), healthcare; building green: products that support sustainable design; hospitality (hotel, restaurant etc.); education (school, college, university); interior finishes and commercial solutions; and institutional and government etc. Members asked about undertaking domestic promotion as well and that will be studied and brought back to the members at the next meeting in April.
Learn more at www.canadianhardwoodbureau.com.
