Another national meeting in the books and we survived yet again.  I have the feeling that I am getting the hang of this!  The turnout was ahhhhmazing and we got to hang out with all our favorite lumberjacks and lumberjills in Music City, nonetheless!  As you know, or the small percentage of my family that read my blog do, I like to point out a few All-Stars at each convention, the real big players, ya know?  I'd have to start out with the planning committee and John Hester.  HIGH-CLASS people y'all!  How about that Grand Finale and Richie McDonald?!? Incredible!… [more]

To read about 'Why I give' please click on the link... http://www.rileykids.org/stories/donor-stories/why-i-give.html#.VfgmZRFVhBd… [more]

So now that I have had a weekend to recover from all the hustle and bustle at one of the largest attended IHLA conventions, all I can remember is that I think I signed up to be a Woodhead?  Noooo, that's not all, downtown Indy has amazing food especially bone-in filet's and horsey cocktail sauce, the people in the hardwood industry are still solid individuals, Ray Moistner and Rich Solano are super cool cats, and Cole Hardwood is still highly regarded (even after Vegas).  One more thing, our customers rock!  It took me about 15 minutes from check-in on Tuesday evening… [more]

First NLHA Convention under my belt and I survived.  I'll start by going over some brief initial observations....there are some REALLY good looking people in the hardwood industry! You heard it here first folks, whether you believe it or not, let me just say YOWZA!  However, it is a male majority market so...hmmm well you can make your own assumptions but I am the author here so we'll just go with it.  Secondly, everyone greeted me with a big warm smile, especially after they knew I was from Cole Hardwood.  After the introduction, it was usually followed up… [more]

Since I’ve been blessed with my lumber sales position at Cole Hardwood, a visit to a sawmill was always on the bucket list, I mean agenda, to help broaden my hazing, I mean training and education process. Words cannot describe how uber cool it is at a sawmill, but since I am blogging about it and that’s kind of the point, I’ll do my best. I’m fairly certain I felt like one of the 4th graders who visited Cole that I mentioned in my last blog when he saw the vending machine. WOW. (Haven’t read… [more]

Sometimes we get groups of people come in to tour Cole Hardwood, i.e. architect students from universities, current or prospective customers, saw mill professionals, but nobody could come close to the inquisitive minds we had a couple weeks ago....the 4th grade class.  I used to give tours of the police department and it was somewhat similar.  There is one cardinal rule...NEVER ask a group of children under the age of 12 if they have any questions. Unless of course you plan on having a sleepover without sleep because you will be answering them into the wee hours of… [more]

Administrative Professional's Day was this week and I received the opportunity to accompany the ladies to a luncheon celebrating their hard work.  There were food, prizes, and free stuff!  Who doesn't like free?!  Oh...by the way, IF you are a boss AND you have people working for you AND you didn't show them how much you appreciate what they do on April 23rd, you better be good at apologizing and be prepared to dig deep!  You may get some coffee that tastes just a little 'off' or some very important emails go missing from your inbox...just sayin!  If … [more]

Spring has sprung…it’s raining cats and dogs…and Milt’s back.  Cole Hardwood is whole again.  When he was away enjoying the nice weather and spending time with his lovely wife in Florida he was also missing us, his loyal employees.  We know this…because he didn’t go too many days without a phone call. Things are looking bright in the lumber industry is the daily word around here.  The large icebergs at the front of the yard off the highway have been replaced with large stacks of green lumber.  INVENTORY!!!!  We hit a sales and shipping… [more]

We decided it'd be a great idea for me to take to the highway and travel north to meet some of my friendly customers.  I wanted to let them know that Tom approved my taking over some of his responsibilities so I took him with me! I let him drive but I got to choose where we lunched. Tom had warned me that we were going to be traveling ‘off the beaten path’…so I brought snacks.  They make fun of me at the office because I’m the ‘bag lady’ BUT if we broke down or were ‘off the… [more]

The anticipation of my first week on the phones at Cole while the guys were away shaking hands, sipping top-shelf whiskey, and talking hardwood gave me an adrenaline rush. My own little adrenaline rush of course. I had been working in the yard learning inspection, species, and general operations of Cole Hardwood for three months. I cut out a gazillion boards, ingested large amounts of sawdust, I even acquired my first pair of Carhartt overalls. And now it was time. Dave referred to it as 'immersion.' Here is how it went down...I'm at my desk...in the middle… [more]