USDA appoints 19 National Softwood Lumber Board members to represent U.S., Canadian manufacturers, schedules first meeting for Nov. 29 and 30 at Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport in Illinois

Wendy Lisney

WASHINGTON , November 1, 2011 (press release) – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today appointed 19 representatives to serve on the first national Softwood Lumber Board. Members will serve two, three or four-year terms of office.

Members appointed to represent U.S. manufacturers are: Alden J. Robbins for the Northeast and Lake states region; Jack Jordan, Henry C. Scott, Michael Case, Robert Taylor, Fritz Mason and Aubra Anthony, Jr. for the South region; and Steven J. Zika, Marc A. Brinkmeyer, George R. Emmerson, Andrew W. Miller and Rick Re for the West region.

Members appointed to represent Canadian importers are: James Lopez and Charles Tardif for the East region; and Duncan Davies, Al Thorlakson, Hank Ketcham and H. David Gray for the West region. Francisco Figueroa will represent all other importing countries.

“These appointees represent a cross-section of the industry, and bring a wealth of diverse perspectives and backgrounds to the board,” said Vilsack. “I am confident that manufacturers, importers and others in the softwood lumber supply chain will be well served by them.”

The first Softwood Lumber Board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 29 and Nov. 30, 2011, at the Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport in Illinois. Contact Maureen Pello at (503) 632-8848 or via email at Maureen.Pello@ams.usda.gov for additional meeting information.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will provide oversight of the Softwood Lumber Board in accordance with the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 and the Softwood Lumber Research, Promotion, Consumer Education and Industry Information Order. Under the order, domestic manufacturers and importers who ship 15 million board feet or more annually will pay an assessment rate of 35 cents per thousand board feet beginning Jan. 1, 2012.

Research and promotion programs are industry driven programs funded through member assessments and administered by board members selected by the Secretary of Agriculture. They allow commodity groups to conduct promotion, market and production research and new product development for the benefit of their industries. AMS monitors board operations. Visit www.ams.usda.gov/FVPromotion for more information about research and promotion programs.

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