WPA 2025 Annual Meeting: Insights, Innovation, and Community
Dear WPA members and friends,
As we reflect on the 2025 WPA Annual Meeting, I want to take a moment to thank each of you for making it such a success. Our goal was simple: to create a seamless, productive, and engaging experience so you could focus on what truly matters—building relationships, gaining valuable knowledge, and strengthening the connections in our industry together.
To achieve that, this year we worked to streamline the event logistics, ensuring that your time was spent where it mattered most—networking, learning from top-tier speakers, and having fun.
One of the highlights of this year’s meeting was our keynote speaker, Merril Hoge, former NFL player and ESPN analyst, who delivered an inspiring message on perseverance, leadership, and mental toughness - qualities that strongly connect with each of us as we face the challenges and opportunities in the pallet industry.
Beyond that, we assembled a strong lineup of expert speakers covering critical topics impacting the pallet industry today:
✔ Lumber markets – Understanding the market trends that affect supply and pricing.
✔ International trade – Navigating global impacts of trade decisions and their effect on the pallet industry.
✔ Pallet industry technology – Software tools and innovations that will shape the future of how we do business.
✔ Automation on the shop floor – Investment in tools and equipment to improve efficiency and productivity.
The strength of the WPA lies in its members and the connections we build. Your engagement, conversations, and shared experiences at this year’s event reaffirm the power of our industry when we come together.
We’re also excited to provide innovative educational tools and workforce development through Pallet University, a new learning platform that helps businesses and employees start a step ahead in our rapidly changing environment. If you haven't explored it yet, I encourage you to check out the Wood Pallet Fundamentals Certificate Course at www.thepalletuniversity.com.
Thank you for being part of WPA and for contributing to an event that continues to grow in impact and value. We look forward to building on this progress and seeing you all again next year!
Glenn
Glenn Meeks
Executive Vice President
Western Pallet Association
February 2025