Call for Nominations – Softwood Lumber Board Seeks Candidates

The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) seeks nominations of softwood lumber manufacturers and importers interested in candidacy for Board seats coming open in January 2018. The deadline for nominations is March 13th, 2017.

NOTE: The nomination process for this year’s election is now closed.  A similar process will be followed for seats coming open in January 2019.

The 19-member Board will hold elections to fill seven seats for Directors whose terms expire on Dec. 31, 2017. Domestic manufacturers are being sought to fill four seats – two large companies* representing the US South region and two large companies representing the US West region. Importers are being sought to fill three seats – one large company and one small company representing the Canada West region, and one small company representing the Canada East region.  Each Director will serve a three-year term, which may be renewed once.

To be eligible, nominees operating within the regions must manufacture and ship within the United States, or import, at least 15 million board feet of softwood lumber annually. Ballots will be mailed to eligible companies and votes will be tabulated for each region. The top two candidates for each position will be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary will then appoint members from the pool of candidates receiving the most votes.

The Softwood Lumber Board meets regularly to develop marketing and research programs with the goal of growing markets and benefiting the industry. The national program, which became effective in 2011, is industry-funded and supports the national marketing and promotion of softwood lumber. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) oversees board activities.

The SLB sees the pursuit of diversity in Board membership as an opportunity for embracing new ideas to better serve the industry. Central to this effort is recruiting new leadership that reflects a diversity of size of operations, experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. All eligible women, minorities and persons with disabilities are invited to seek nomination for a seat on the Softwood Lumber Board by the March 13, 2017, deadline.

Interested parties may self-nominate or nominate others to become candidates in the regional elections by sending the form “NOMINATION FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE SOFTWOOD LUMBER BOARD” to Peter Andrews, Director of Operations at pandrews (at) softwoodlumberboard.org, or mail information to Peter Andrews, Softwood Lumber Board, 1101 K St. NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005. Nominees should include a short background statement outlining their qualifications to serve on the Board. Information about a candidate’s relevant experience such as participation in industry research and promotional activities, along with the reasons for wishing to serve, will be appreciated. The deadline for nominations is March 13th 2017.

Qualifications for serving on the Softwood Lumber Board follow:

• The Board is comprised of manufacturers and importers of softwood lumber who annually ship or import 15 million board feet or more of softwood lumber into the United States. Heads of business and senior executives are encouraged to consider running for a seat on the Board.
• No two members of the Board may be employed by a single company.
• Seats on the Board are apportioned by region based on the volume of softwood lumber manufactured or imported.
• Domestic manufacturers and importers who manufacture or import softwood lumber in more than one region may seek nomination in one region of their choice.

The timeline and details about the nominations – elections – appointments process follow:

January 31 through March 13, 2017:
Softwood lumber domestic manufacturers and importers may submit nominations to the Board. Self-nominations are welcome.

March 13, 2017:
Nominations closed. Background statements outlining candidates’ qualifications to serve on the Board are due.

On or about April 14, 2017:
The names of the domestic manufacturer nominees shall be placed on a ballot by region. The ballots along with voting instructions and the background statements shall be mailed to domestic manufacturers in each respective region for a vote. The election period shall be 30 days.

On or about May 20, 2017:

Ballot envelopes shall be opened by an independent auditor. Votes shall be tabulated for each region with the nominee receiving the highest number of votes at the top of the list in descending order by vote.

June, 2017:
The top two candidates for each position shall be submitted to the Secretary. From the nominations submitted by the Board, the Secretary shall select the members of the Board.

Prior to December 31, 2017:
Secretary appoints new Board members.

*Under the program, large companies are defined as those that account for the top two-thirds of the volume of assessable softwood lumber annually and small companies account for the remaining assessable softwood lumber.