Hello all! What a long crazy time it has been! At the end of 2019, I put a pause on blogging because I was having eye surgery. I expected that to ground me for a few months and then I’d naturally pick up were I left off… I was just starting to return to my normal life in the spring of 2020 when everyone’s world went sideways. Life is what happens when you’re making other plans, right?
So here we are, about two years later and nowhere close to our eventual New Normal. And I’ve ended up trying to predict what it might look like or how long it’s going to be before we start to stabilize into whatever that’s going to be.
But in an attempt to return to some semblance of normal, the NWFA has asked me to do some blogging again and I’m going to try to oblige. I don’t promise to be regular about it, but I’ll get something out here and there. I’ll do a bunch right now and then will probably go silent for a while unless people have specific topic requests.
I do want to say something about the NWFA. I was delighted to finally get back on the road again and see everyone at the Expo. I was really impressed by the positive warm feeling throughout. The wood industry is truly a family and it was clear that everyone was just happy to be together again. Although the topics covered were often about stresses and frustrations, the mood was positive.
It has been a tough time for everyone and we’ve got a lot of challenges ahead. Our country is terribly divided and I worry about our ability to solve these problems if we can’t find a way to talk together. But I’m hoping that at least within our industry we can rally together as a family. We have a big welcoming tent under the NWFA banner and I hope that we stay focused on the positive and support each other. Let’s focus on creating solutions and supporting good business people doing it right!
Elizabeth Baldwin is Environmental Compliance Officer for Metropolitan Hardwood Floors. In her 25 plus year career in the wood industry has visited over 70 countries and hundreds of facilities of all sizes and types. She describes herself as a “jack of all wood trades.” Familiar with jungles of all sorts–having camped out along the Amazon and walked the halls of Congress–she blogs for the NWFA on both environmental and regulatory issues for educational and informational purposes only. Her blog is not intended and should not be construed as legal advice. Persons seeking legal advice on compliance with CARB, TSCA, the U.S. Lacey Act or any other law, regulation, or compliance requirement/claim should consult with the regulatory agency directly and/or a qualified legal professional.