EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Opening Remarks of John Murphy, Chairman, APA Board of Trustees and William Bennett, President, Plywood Pioneers Association

John Murphy

Good evening everyone. It is great to see all of you here this evening, and to welcome you to this celebration of the 100th anniversary of the softwood plywood industry.
We are here tonight to honor a great legacy, to renew old friendships, and—to put it very simply—to have a good time. We’ve earned it.

This is a great industry. We have played a significant role over the past century in building this country—and this entire continent—and we have contributed immeasurably to North American prosperity.

Most of us here tonight have been around this industry for awhile now. And some of us have been around for…well…more than just awhile. We’ve seen some good times, and some bad times. We’ve seen history being made, and we have made history.
It is especially gratifying to see so many of our industry’s elder statesmen here this evening. We all know the names—names like Deardorff, Fields, Smales, Ehinger, Schick, Leland, Parrish, Knokey, to name just a few. To you, and to others of your generation who are here tonight, I say thank you. Thank you for the contributions you have made to this great industry over many decades.

Some of that generation cannot be here tonight because, sadly, they are now gone from us. But in my own experience, I think of such industry standouts, among others, as Will Gonyea, Harold Jones, and, of course, Ken Ford, the founder and legendary leader of Roseburg Forest Products. No name in the history of the western plywood industry looms any larger than that of Ken Ford.

As you know, this is not just a western plywood celebration. Our industry ranges throughout the country, into Canada, and beyond. And I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you who came from far and wide to be here tonight…

Including those associated with the southern pine segment of our industry…

With Canadian companies and organizations, including, for example, the Canadian Plywood Association and Forintek Canada Corporation…

…with the machinery and equipment supply industry…

And with allied groups and businesses, such as the North American Wholesale Lumber Association and the Mid South Building Material Dealers Association, among many many others…

Including, it must be noted, all the way from Australia, Kevin Lyngcoln, former longtime chief executive of the Plywood Association of Australasia. Kevin, you win the “long distance” award.

And Australia wins the “Association Longevity Award” as well because the Queensland Plywood Board—PPA’s predecessor—was formed in 1928, five years before the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. So cheers, Kevin.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to special guests Betty Autzen Rossman and her children Wendy Ullman and Bob Patton. Betty is the granddaughter of Peter Autzen, a co-owner of Portland Manufacturing Company, which produced the very first softwood plywood panels right here in Portland 100 years ago. Thank you Betty, Wendy and Bob for coming tonight…

And welcome one and all.

We owe a special thanks to the many companies and organizations that have made this evening possible by their financial support. Those companies are listed in your program, but I would also like to personally acknowledge and thank all of you: Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Ainsworth Lumber Company, Eagle Plywood Specialties, Canadian Plywood Association, Corvallis Tool Company, Hardel Mutual Plywood Corporation, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Martco Plywood, McKenzie Forest Products, Pacific Wood Laminates, Rosboro Lumber Company, Roseburg Forest Products Company, Swanson Group, Boise Cascade, Borden Chemical, Canfor Corporation, Coe Manufacturing, Dynea Overlays, Engineered Wood Research Foundation, Hood Industries, Plum Creek, Potlatch Corporation, Timber Products Company, Ventek, Willamette Valley Company, Yakima Resources, and, I am proud to say, Murphy Plywood.

Let’s give those companies and organizations a hand.

Thanks also to APA President Dave Rogoway and his staff for planning and coordinating this event and other centennial activities.

We have a specially prepared video program to present to you tonight, which we will show in three segments throughout the evening. The program will roll when the lights go down, so that will be your cue to pay attention because you’re not going to want to miss any of this great video.

We also have some awards to present tonight. And we will have the pleasure of hearing from Oregon historian Chet Orloff. Some of you may know that name. His father—Monford Orloff—was for several years associated with the western plywood industry.

Before we proceed further, I would like to introduce Bill Bennett, retired vice president of manufacturing for the U.S. Plywood Division of Champion International Corporation, and current President of the Plywood Pioneers Association. Bill…

William Bennett

Thank you John. It’s wonderful to be here tonight, and to see so many former colleagues and old friends once again.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and membership of the Plywood Pioneers Association, I would like to add my thanks to APA for organizing this marvelous evening, and for including the Pioneers Association as an event sponsor and partner.

The Plywood Pioneers Association, for those of you who may not know, is an organization of active and retired plywood industry employees, and one of our chief missions is to chronicle the history of our industry.

As noted in the program for this evening, proceeds from this event and from the generous donations that John just cited are to be donated to the Plywood Pioneers Association in support of our scholarship and historical publication programs. That is very generous, and we are very grateful. Thank you so much.

One final brief comment, and then we can eat and enjoy: For many years there has been interest in the idea of placing an historical marker on the site where the first commercial softwood plywood was produced in 1905. That site is in the St. Johns district, along the Willamette River, here in Portland.

I am pleased to report that thanks to donations and to the efforts of the APA staff, and also to the assistance of the City of Portland, which owns the property, that beautiful plaque is now in place. A brief dedication ceremony was held this morning. And I encourage you, if and when you have the opportunity, to visit the site sometime.

And now, please enjoy your evening. And thank you very much.