Under the banner of Wood, Naturally, NELMA was one of five 
wood product associations that collectively took part in this year’s JLC Live Residential Construction Show, held March 21 & 22 in Providence, Rhode Island with more than 8,000 in attendance. This popular New England event was the first Softwood Lumber Board (Lumber Check-Off Program) sponsored activity for the North American industry’s “appearance” type wood products, which includes interior pattern products, exterior siding, and outdoor decking. Participating associations included NELMA, the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA), the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association (SLMA), the California Redwood Association, and the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (WRCLA) in this unique combo promo.
In addition to having a kiosk within the 25’x25’ prime exhibit space located just outside the entrance doors to the show floor, each Association was permitted to have their respective species’ products incorporated within selected demonstrations and clinics held throughout the 2-day event on the Show floor. Two separate demonstrations were targeted to utilize NELMA’s Eastern White Pine products, both repeated a second time.
Promoted as “Crafting Dramatic Interior Ceilings”, NELMA’s E&CB pattern drew the attention with attendees of the natural beauty and the value-added aspect of the product used in this type of application. The other demonstration was touted as “Installing a High Performance Integrated Siding System”, prominently using Eastern White Pine Bevel Siding within the 1-hour clinic. Both demonstrations were a reunion for NELMA with JLC’s Builder/Presenter Rick Arnold. Rick was the expert used in the Association’s last demonstration and video project at JLC Live in 2011. His how-to videos from that event may be seen on YouTube’s NELMAtv, which provide expert tips and advice that resonate with the truly “hands-on” builder and contractor.
“This SLB-sponsored activity was an excellent first-step in extending the Check-Off
program’s funding to support promotional opportunities for appearance-grade lumber and wood products, such as NELMA’s Eastern White Pine,” according to Jeff Easterling (NELMA President). “We would not have been at this event otherwise as it was not a budgeted marketing activity for 2014”.
NELMA would like to extend its gratitude to SFPA’s Eric Gee, who served as coordinator for the jointly-staffed exhibit space which incorporated large images and a continuous video loop of softwood applications on a large-screen monitor within the exhibit. In addition, a special thank you to Alden Robbins of Robbins Lumber for providing the pattern material and transportation of the product to the JLC Live Expo venue.
