commented Stephanie Kiernan, a first time attendee and owner of Harbor Packaging. “It was great getting to meet so many of my current yards and new yards face to face, as well as others in the industry. I was told the event was more casual than a lot of other trade events, and I couldn't agree more. I felt at home immediately, though I knew no one when I first walked into the room.”
Speakers at the Annual Meeting included a range of consultants, academics and industry experts: Guy Gruenberg, Dr. Bill Bellows, Dr. Jimmy Ghandhi and Chaille Brindley. In next month’s issue, we will dive deeper into key takeaways from those sessions.
The annual charity auction for Nature’s Packaging raised almost $47,000. The winning golf tournament foursome included Joe Robinson and Kyler Landa of TJ Forest Produces as well as Connor Smith and Bailey Frost of Smith Machine Worx. The winner of the vitally important membership contest was Beatrice Vasquez of Oxnard Pallet. The race for next year's membership champion is already in progress, so please keep new member recruitment at top of mind as you connect with other companies in the course of business.
And be sure to mark the WPA 2025 Annual Meeting on your calendar. It will be held once again at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas in Rancho Mirage, California. The meeting, historically held on Martin Luther King Day long weekend, will be moved to the following week next year to ensure that a bigger block of rooms can be held for attendees. WPM
There were centuries of pallet industry experience in Rancho. There were plenty of past members of the Executive Committee in attendance: From left to right, Scott Gutierrez, Mark Garnett, Ralph Rupert, Tom Thayer, Beatrice Vasquez, Steve Mazza, Dave Uppal, Greg Vipond and Gary Crane.
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WPA Annual Meeting
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