More than 200 LBM dealers and industry leaders from across the country gathered in Costa Mesa, CA, Oct. 16-18 for the annual LBM Strategies 2024 Conference hosted by LBM Journal.
The annual conference brings together LBM pros to address and share practical, tactical solutions to today’s toughest business challenge, including hiring and retaining employees, succession planning, sales growth, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
This year’s conference kicked off with a tour of Ganahl Lumber, which operates 11 locations throughout California, giving attendees the opportunity to see how the company operates and some of the innovative ways they’re investing in both their customers and employees.
Day One also included sessions from the Women of LBM, including a discussion about leadership and culture and a panel discussion on hiring the right people.
Speakers included Russ Kathrein, Tina Breen, Amber Little, Lindsey DiGangi, and Dana Cowart, and breakout sessions led by Jason Blair, Amber Little, and Tricia Kilrain.
Below are a few takeaways from “Chess vs Checkers: Winning the People Strategy Game.”
“[Culture is] easy to talk about, it’s easy to listen, it’s easy to read management books. How do employees see that we have it? By genuinely talking about these things. We have to be genuine about it. It’s not a, check the box, we got a good culture, right? Because every time we think we’ve done that, some thread starts to unravel. You have to work constantly.”
—Dana Cowart, VP of Technology and Acquisition Integration for TAL Building Centers
“I would say that don’t wait until it’s reactionary and focus on engagement, right? Make sure that you start and keep on it all the time. Once you wait until retention, engagement is a problem, it’s really hard to recover. So start, start now and not just when it’s a problem.”
—Amber Little, Chief Human Resources Officer for Nation’s Best Holdings, LLC
“Come up with a strategy and implement it, but you don’t have to do it all at once, and you shouldn’t. Then you can start small. And I think you can start just by getting curious about people in your organization. And I think that the curiosity will lead you down the right path.”
—Lindsey DiGangi, AVP of Marketing for Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company
Day Two of the LBM Strategies 2024 Conference began with a keynote address from sales expert and LBM Journal columnist Rick Davis on navigating the future in uncertain times.
“What I wanted you to hear from me today was an idea, a very simple idea, about figuring out what your business model is. We are not in tough times. We’re not going to suffer, very likely, when we suffered in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, and you’re probably not going to get the lucky boost you got in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. You’ve got to just assume a level field,” Davis said. “Companies don’t have more luck or grace than others. They’re just more prepared when the luck happens.”
The day continued with a panel discussion featuring representatives from Ganahl Lumber, including company Chairman Peter Ganahl, CFO Dan Delaney, and CEO Brad Satterfield. They talked about the company’s growth in Southern California over the past few decades, as well as how having an Employee Stock Ownership Plan has helped retain employees by giving them a stake in the company.
“As time progressed, we found out the real value wasn’t ownership. It was one of the elements that comes from that. But what it really was, we turned our people into big investors, inadvertently. That is one of the elements that we have that creates that sense of what I call skin in the game. They’re in the same game as all the rest of us, but all by itself, that would be enough,” Satterfield said. “We also have compensation systems … and these started many, many years ago as well, and what it’s evolved to over the last 45 years is a big part of their compensation comes from how the company performs, how their individual yard performs, and how they individually perform within that context.”
Additionally, Matt Semonik, chief operating officer from Arnold Lumber, talked about how the company is stepping outside its comfort zone to become an industry leader in leveraging video and social media to build an effective marketing platform.
Another panel discussion was led by members of the LBM 40 Under 40—Sunny Bowman, Clara Collins, Mike Linden, Aaron McGrean, and Emily Morgan—talking about how their companies attract young leaders. Attendees also attended hot topic roundtables on a variety of topics including sales leadership, lean operations, attracting young pros, leadership, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and more.
Day Three kicked off with a keynote from sales and leadership expert Bradley Hartmann on The Air Raid Sales Offense: A Former QB/Current Sales Trainer’s Guide to Quit Playing Defense and Start Driving New Sales.
“I think the choice of how we choose to compete is something that’s really relevant now, and we’re seeing that maybe for many of you across the country, we’re seeing sales teams the last few years—they’re underperforming year over year,” Hartmann said. “Now that the power has shifted from sellers to buyers, they’re shopping people more than beating up folks on price. We’re seeing sales people who don’t have confidence in prospects. It’s only a couple years ago, their sales leaders were telling them to quit prospecting. We don’t have enough material, so they’re out of practice. The number one rule in sales is, ‘It’s not about you.’ What they want to know is, ‘Can you help me with my needs, fears, pains, opportunities to grow?’”
The day also included a panel discussion on the advances of AI moderated by Jennifer Castenson, vice president of ambassador and industry partner programs for Buildxact. Speakers included John Marshall, co-founder of AI Growth Partners, Ben Beachy, executive director of information technology for The Keim Company, and Kyle Little, chief operating officer for Sherwood Lumber.
Also during the conference, Executive Editor & Publisher Rick Schumacher took time to recognize the achievements of several LBM dealers and professionals.
Members of this year’s class of the LBM 40 Under 40 were also recognized during the ceremony:
Hannah Baldwin, Walker Lumber & Supply
Clara Collins, S.W. Collins Company
Aaron Cox, Higginbotham Brothers
Garad Derie, Parr Lumber
Josh Fowler, Wilson Lumber
Emily Holtshouser, Simpson Strong-Tie
Javan Lapp, Keylink
David LeBlanc, Arnold Lumber Company
Kellianne Lundgren, LBM Advantage
Dan Magno, Builders FirstSource
Brandon Magor, Big C Lumber
Aaron McGrean, Beisser Lumber Company
Matt Michael, Your Building Centers
Emily Morgan, Ashby Lumber
Kristin Peterson, Nation’s Best Holdings, LLC
Joey Polingo, Tri County Lumber
Alyssa Richter, Bliffert Lumber & Hardware
Rob Riley, Hancock Lumber
Matt Spinks, Lumber King, Inc.
Phil Tieszen, The Keim Company
Jon Timmerman, Do it Best
Dozens of companies from the LBM 100 were in attendance, including:
No. 1 Builders FirstSource | Denver, CO
No. 2 US LBM | Atlanta, GA
No. 4 Kodiak Building Partners | Englewood, CO
No. 8 Parr Lumber | Hillsboro, OR
No. 9 Ganahl Lumber | Anaheim, CA
No. 11 Mead Lumber | Columbus, NE
No. 17 Nation’s Best Holdings, LLC | Dallas, TX
No. 19 Hancock Lumber | Casco, ME
No. 23 TAL Building Centers | Vancouver, WA
No. 28 Bliffert Lumber & Hardware | Oak Creek, WI
No. 30 The Keim Company | Charm, OH
No. 43 Mans Lumber & Home | Trenton, MI
No. 44 Big C Lumber | Granger, IN
No. 49 Your Building Centers | Altoona, PA
No. 56 Wilson Lumber | Huntsville, AL
No. 62 Beisser Lumber Company | Grimes, IA
No. 74 Preston Feather Building Centers | Petoskey, MI
No. 75 Arnold Lumber Company | West Kingston, RI
No. 82 Walker Lumber & Supply | Nashville, TN
No. 89 Morsches Builders Mart | Columbia City, IN
No. 92 Hamilton Building Supply | Hamilton, NJ
No. 94 Dakota County Lumber Co. | Farmington, MN
Several Century Club members—companies that have been in business for 100 years or more—were in attendance, including:
S.W. Collins Company | est. 1844 | 180 years
Hancock Lumber | est. 1848 | 176 years
Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber Company | est. 1856 | 168 years
Morsches Builders Mart | est. 1871 | 153 years
Higginbotham Brothers | est. 1880 | 144 years
Ganahl Lumber | est. 1884 | 140 years
Mans Lumber & Home | est. 1900 | 124 years
Bliffert Lumber & Hardware | est. 1904 | 120 years
Mead Lumber | est. 1910 | 114 years
Arnold Lumber Company | est. 1911 | 113 years
The Keim Company | est. 1911 | 113 years
Preston Feather Building Centers | est. 1915 | 109 years
Henry Poor Lumber Company | est. 1928 | 106 years
Marcus Lumber | est. 1920 | 104 years
Big C Lumber | est. 1921 | 103 years
Hamilton Building Supply | est. 1924 | 100 years
Total: 2,067 years
