I hate amusement parks. I refuse to go on the rides that drop you. I can handle the speeds, but I can’t handle my stomach going into my throat. I try breathing and all sorts of ways to cope with the drop, but they never fully work and the ride overwhelms me. The price drop since I came to the NHLA feels the same way. I started in June of 2022 and the industry was at a high, but by August it started to fall. Someone told me in May 2024 that the pendulum has started to swing the other way, so has our membership. It reminded me of the pirate ship ride, you know the one. A pendulum back and forth, until it leaves you hanging upside down. As the pendulum swings up one way you need to get ready for the next swing down. That is what NHLA membership is here for.
When it comes to roller coasters, pirate ships and other drop rides, all sorts of people give me different advice on how to handle the drops. I am sure you get plenty advice how to handle price drops too. Some help, but most are just a gimmick and don’t really impact the feeling as you fall. I am not suggesting that you just get off the Hardwood ship. I am trying to grow and stabilize the market, so we don’t have any steep drops. But it is always going to be a commodity product, it will go up and down.
You know better than I do how you can handle the drops. I don’t need to talk about optimizing your operations, increasing value added commodities and creating niche markets. What I need to communicate is that while the Hardwood market is volatile, there is some stability. The NHLA membership is going up. We are growing, and not just the sustaining members, the NHLA is continuing to bring on active members seeking value and getting a return on their investment in dues and in services, sponsorships, advertising, and exhibits.
If you are wondering how you are going to improve your operations, you need not look any farther than your partnership with the NHLA. The NHLA is forging better relationships with the USFS, universities, and allied associations to add value to membership. Plain and simple; if the value was not there the NHLA would not exist. The same is true for Hardwoods, if they had no value they would simply remain in the forest until the tree dies, but they have value, and we harvest them for that value so that we can make the world a better place. I have found the stability I want at the NHLA; Memphis is really flat. You can find it at the NHLA too. Whatever your problem is, the NHLA can help you. From staff training, and hiring, to optimization and grading. From advertising and building your brand to showing off new products or connecting with the right people. Membership has its benefits.
NHLA convention services and programs are not just amusing, they are growing and stabilizing. Why knot slow the pendulum and utilize your NHLA membership to grow and stabilize your business.
