Cedar Champion Award Poignantly Awarded During Annual WRCLA Cedar Summit

The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association’s (WRCLA) 2023 Cedar Summit and Cedar School recently wrapped up a highly successful week of business sessions, networking and training seminars with a completely sold-out Cedar school, and over 150 attendees representing 49 member companies.

The week-long Cedar school, taking place in Vancouver, BC’s Lower Mainland and Island, saw attendance from both Canadian and U.S. companies. The school included a forestry presentation and woodland tour, mill site tours, a marketing and reforestation presentation, as well as manufacturing, grading, installation and finishing courses. All students excelled and passed the school with flying colors!

The students ended their time by meeting up with delegates at the 69th annual AGM (Annual General Meeting) and Cedar Summit, held this year in Victoria, British Columbia, which was well attended by delegate WRCLA members made up of WRC manufacturers, remanufacturers, distributors, and retailers from throughout North America.

The Summit kicked off with the WRCLA golf tournament at the popular Cordova Bay Golf Course. Following the tournament was the Welcome Reception and Dinner that brought everyone together to network and enjoy beautiful Victoria, BC. The following day, the Summit shifted into high gear with the business session that included introductory remarks from WRCLA Managing Director Brad Kirkbride; Keynote speaker Bill Browning, founding partner of Terrapin Bright Green, the New York-based sustainability consulting firm, who spoke on the emerging trend of biophilic design (the health and habitat benefits of incorporating natural elements such as WRC into the built environment), and a marketing and advertising year in review by Bare Advertising and Communications.

Perhaps the most poignant section of the session, however, was the Cedar Champion Award presented by WRCLA Chairman Jake Power of Power Wood Corp. which was awarded to the late Jeff Derby from Precision Cedar, who sadly was not in attendance as he passed away the day before the summit. Jeff was a big advocate for the Association and with almost 40 years in the industry, he strongly promoted the use of Western Red Cedar. Jeff was someone many looked up to and aspired to be like, he was loved by all and will be greatly missed.

The Summit concluded with the WRCLA Chairman’s Dinner at Victoria’s historic Empress Hotel (first opened in 1908 and unbeknownst by many of the guest reputed by Condé Nast Traveller to be one of the world’s most haunted hotels) and gave all attendees a last chance to network and connect before returning home the following day.

The WRCLA is “the voice of the Cedar industry” and is always looking to grow its membership base across all categories. The greater our numbers, the greater our budget to keep Western Red Cedar top of mind. Reach out to us if you are interested in joining the association (realcedar.com). The Cedar Summit and School are great events that provide real value to our members, noted a WRCLA representative. Next year’s Cedar Summit and Cedar School will be held in May 2024 in Whistler, BC, and will mark the WRCLA’s 70th anniversary. Watch for details later in the year, as this members’ only event enrollment fills up quickly.

Find details at www.realcedar.com.