In a shockingly short period of time, we’ve gone from hearing about the coronavirus hitting Italy and China, to experiencing its impact in virtually all areas of our lives. As I write this on March 25, the situation is changing daily, and I’ve no way of knowing how the landscape will have changed by the time you read this. Hopefully COVID-19 will spike quickly, so we can get back to normal. But it’s always wise to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. For now…
“Job one” for all of us to keep our families and colleagues safe and healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a rich source of updates and information. I urge you to rely on this site when looking for the latest facts on this historic health crisis.
“Job two” is working together to ensure that our companies navigate this crisis. Here at LBM Journal, we’ve been hearing from and responding to industry pros looking for insights and answers. In fact, so many businesses are looking for information that we expanded the bandwidth on LBMJournal.com to accommodate the sudden increase in online traffic.
We don’t have all the answers. However, as the leading media company serving the lumber and building material distribution channel, LBM Journal is uniquely positioned to serve as a clearinghouse for the latest news, information and insights to help you and your company weather this storm. We take that responsibility very seriously. To that end, here’s what we’re doing:
• Actively seeking the latest practical information and insights from LBM dealers, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers and service providers.
• Making that practical information available to you as quickly and efficiently as possible, whether that’s online at LBMJournal.com, in the LBM Journal Daily enewsletter, via social media, or live webinar.
• Encouraging you to reach out to us if you have questions about what to do, suggestions based on something you tried (that worked, or that didn’t), or stories about how you and your customers have worked together to find a solution to the very real, “street-level” problems as they emerge.
Here’s what I know. The LBM distribution industry that we belong to is one of the oldest, proudest, and strongest industries in the world. We, and those who came before us, are no strangers to catastrophic events including severe economic recessions/depressions and world wars. If you’re reading this, you’re a member of an industry that’s a cornerstone of every city and town in the U.S. It’s not just an industry…it’s a community. Working together, we will survive this, and we’ll be here tomorrow to help the people in our markets move forward with their lives. Because that’s what we’ve always done, and what we’ll continue to do. It’s in our DNA.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone on the LBM Journal team if we can help. Here’s to working through this together.