By Tom Le Vere, President | Shareholder, Weekes Forest Products and 2020 NAWLA Chair
For most of this spring, I’d been cautiously optimistic that the North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) would be able to host its signature event, the Traders Market, this November in Columbus. I know many of you felt similarly, possessing both a strong desire to connect with your customers or suppliers in-person and a growing concern about the safety of doing so. Even though the decision to cancel this year’s Traders Market was difficult, there’s no question it was the right one.
That leaves NAWLA with two choices: To embark on a new virtual alternative to help fulfill a need for connecting with and learning from others that is probably greater than ever, or to wait until we can convene in one physical location together to host another event. I don’t see how the latter serves our members – and the industry – during this time of need and relative isolation.
Your businesses and teams have adapted to the circumstances and are still operating. In fact, I’ve heard some of you are doing better than you have in years. Our industry continues to be so much more fortunate than many others in that regard. It’s far from an ideal work environment for many of us, but we’re thriving in the face of much adversity. NAWLA must evolve its offerings too.
In a recent NAWLA member survey, we learned that many of you may be struggling to understand the value of a virtual event and feeling a little apprehensive about attending one. I understand those sentiments completely. We are, as an industry, much more accustomed to and comfortable with face-to-face meetings and in-person events. Individually, I’m sure we’re all frustrated with the current situation and long for a return to business as usual.
If you’ve never seen a virtual event platform, it may be difficult to envision how joining one will be any different from one of the many Zoom calls we’ve sat through in recent months. Certainly there are limits to those platforms, and we’re all feeling fatigued with days full of video conferencing.
But those platforms offer many more capabilities and a much more engaging experience than a webinar or Zoom, which means there are new opportunities that come with this new event format as well. I hope you will be open to exploring them with NAWLA. Our Education Committee, Traders Market Committee and Headquarters Team are already hard at work developing this virtual experience with you in mind.
Our intent is not to duplicate the Traders Market. With our all-new NAWLA Exchange, we’ll bring you some of what you value most about Traders Market, but also new elements you don’t usually have the chance to experience. For example, you’ll find more education on the agenda, focused on helping you thrive in the current times.
Sponsors and partners will have the chance to showcase their support and their offerings in new ways that address our collective inability to walk a show floor. These new platforms also allow for small group discussions on various topics, which we can put to work. And rest assured, we will create opportunities for you to swap war stories with fellow attendees, although you’re going to need to bring your own cocktail.
By removing barriers to attending the event such as travel or several days out of the office, food and lodging, it may be that even more members of the NAWLA community are able to experience this virtual NAWLA event, or that we are able to bring more non-traditional service affiliates to you to demonstrate how they can help you enhance your business. These are just some of the possible benefits to a virtual experience.
In the coming weeks, NAWLA will provide more details about NAWLA Exchange, including the dates and schedule, and how to sign up. Prior to the event, NAWLA will also provide more instruction about how to get the most out of the experience, either as a sponsor or an attendee. I would ask you to approach that information with an open mind and recognize that many of your peers are working to create an exciting new experience on your behalf. We would love to have you join us at our NAWLA Exchange Event. If you are interested in joining NAWLA please contact us via email at info@nawla.org or call 312.321.5133 (toll-free 800.527.8258). To learn more about NAWLA Exchange, visit nawla.org.
