May 2020
WMIA is here for you
Coronavirus (COVID-19) poses challenges to us all. The staff at WMIA hope you, your family, friends, and co-workers are all safe and well. As we continue navigating this pandemic together, we want you to know that we are committed to continually providing our services to members. If there’s anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to reach out.
WMIA Educational Foundation Awards $35,400 in Scholarships
For a number of years, the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association’s (WMIA) Educational Foundation has awarded scholarships to those who want to study, and eventually pursue a career in, wood technology, machinery, and related fields. To date, the Foundation has provided over $480,000 to assist talented students with furthering their educational and career goals.
This year, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees selected eight students to receive a total of $12,400 in scholarships. The Foundation also continued its scholarship endowment program (SEP) this year, in which it provided a fixed amount of scholarship funds to several schools, and the schools determined how many scholarships to award, and in what amounts. Five schools—Pittsburg State University, the New England School of Architectural Woodworking, Seattle Central College, Madison Area Technical College, and the École Nationale du Meuble et de L’Ébénisterie (ENME)—participated in the program, awarding a total of $23,000 in scholarships to seventeen students.
The Foundation’s total award in 2020 was $35,400.
The 2020 scholarship recipients are:
- Matthew Arnold, Overland Park, KS – Pittsburg State University
- Kelson Claassen, Hesston, KS – Pittsburg State University
- Gage Davis, Dorchester, TX – Pittsburg State University
- Aiesha Goodlow, Seattle, WA – Seattle Central College Wood Technology Center
- Kyle Gorham, Baldwinsville, NY – SUNY Morrisville
- Jenny Hefferan, Madison, WI – Madison Area Technical College
- Thomas Hill, Rockford, MN –Hennepin Technical College
- Walter Iverson, Coon Rapids, MN – Hennepin Technical College
- Connor Jennings, Overland Park, KS – Pittsburg State University
- Andrew Laufenberg, Madison, WI – Madison Area Technical College
- Patrice Lavoie, Montreal, QC – École Nationale du Meuble et de L’Ébénisterie (ENME)
- Evan Martin, Seattle, WA – Seattle Central College Wood Technology Center
- Celeste McDonald, Seattle, WA – Seattle Central College Wood Technology Center
- Colman Momenee, Francestown, NH – Vermont Woodworking School
- Aline Moreau, Victoriaville, QC – École Nationale du Meuble et de L’Ébénisterie (ENME)
- Travis Perrett, Northampton, MA – New England School of Architectural Woodworking
- Sarah Provard, West Jordan, UT – Pittsburg State University
- Adam Reigel, Star Prairie, WI – Hennepin Technical College
- Madeline Samet, Chapel Hill, NC – NC State
- Aaron Schneider, Madison, WI – Madison Area Technical College
- Jared Spence, Seattle, WA – Seattle Central College Wood Technology Center
- Curtis Taylor, Peyton, CO – Pittsburg State University
- Theodore Vallente, Long Beach, CA – Cerritos College
- Kendra Van Polen, McBain, MI – Pittsburg State University
- Chris Wernimont, Overland Park, KS – Pittsburg State University
Bios on each of this year’s award recipients will be available on the WMIA website the week of June 8.
In case you missed it: Working from Home? Check out the Joint Technology Committee’s Latest Webinar!
The WMIA and WMMA Joint Technology Committee has created an informative webinar on… WEBINARS. Interested in learning how to choose which webinar software you and your company should use? Click here to access the JTC‘s webinar and related materials.
Last call for the Wood Industry 40 Under 40 Class of 2020
June 8 is the deadline for Woodworking Network’s Wood Industry 40 Under 40 nominations. An annual award program, the Wood Industry 40 Under 40 recognizes the achievements of 40 professionals, under 40, in the categories of: productivity, profitability, social good (locally or globally), ingenuity, innovation, peer inspiration, product development, organizational leadership, or other areas. Persons in all job levels, in all facets of the woodworking industry, are eligible to enter. The nomination process is free, and closes June 8; go to bit.ly/submitunder40 to submit.
That’s Neat!: Dad builds three-seat rocking chair to read to his kids at once
In order to properly read to his three kids, craftsman Hal Taylor built a special three-seat wooden rocking chair.
After his third child Rose wanted to be part of the ‘reading crowd’, Taylor says: “This presented a problem for me because, not having a lap large enough for three children, this meant that Rachael, the oldest, had to stand by the chair at story time. I felt this was not at all fair and thought, ‘Well, I make rocking chairs, I can figure this thing out!’ And, I did. The StoryTime Rocking Chair is the proof. Now, all three children could have a comfortable seat when reading.”
To read more, visit Woodworking Network.
Virginia Tech Housing Report – March 2020
Virginia Tech – U.S. Forest Service has published its housing market commentaries for March 2020. These commentaries contain in-depth data and comments on the U.S. housing market.
The housing report is a free service of Virginia Tech, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the U.S. Forest Service. The reports are intended to help you gauge future business activity. All past housing reports are archived here.
To read past housing reports, click here.
Where Are They Now? Requests
To date, WMIA has awarded over $480,000 in financial support to students looking to continue their education in the wood industry. But once these scholarship recipients graduate, what happens to them? Do they stay in the industry or do they pursue another path? WMIA has recently begun profiling past scholarship recipients. We’re looking for more past recipients, so if you received a scholarship or know someone who has, please contact Olivia Mueting at [email protected].
Learn more about some of our past recipients by visiting here.
