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WRLA and MRU announce establishment of new certificate program

The WRLA is excited to confirm the establishment of a new certification program designed specifically for the LBM industry – by the LBM industry. This program is the first of its kind and the WRLA is very proud to bring this education program to the industry. The WRLA has been working closely with Mount Royal University's Faculty of Continuing Education and Extension to develop this formal certification program. At this moment the program is in the final stages of development and classes are confirmed to launch in the fall of 2018.

The WRLA Fundamentals of the Lumber and Building Supply Industry Certificate registration fee is $615. It is a four-week program consisting of four courses designed to be easily accessible online for new industry hires and to those in career transition. The scheduled start dates are:

FALL 2018 Session

• OCT. 01 – OCT. 26

• OCT. 29 – NOV. 23

• NOV. 26 – DEC. 21

WINTER 2019 Session

• JAN. 07 – FEB. 01

• FEB. 04 – MAR. 01

• MAR. 04 – MAR. 29

A big shout-out to the following industry professionals for rising to the occasion to serve as sounding boards and course content subject matter experts:

• Mitchell Balog, Taiga Building Products

• Tom Bell, Sexton Group Ltd.

• Sheila Carr, All Weather Windows Ltd.

• Brent Connelly, Contractor First by RONA

• Randy Martin, TIMBER MART

• Scott McKee, McMunn & Yates Building Supplies

• Vanessa Morin, WRLA NexGEN Ambassador

• Eric Palmer, Sexton Group Ltd.

• Matthew Raetsen, Castle Building Centres Group Ltd.

• Len Regier, Fries Tallman Lumber (1976) Ltd.

• Joel Seibert, Mountain View Building Materials Ltd.

• Mark Westrum, Westrum Lumber Ltd.

• Don Wygiera, UFA Co-operative Limited

Missed out on the initial uptake, but still want to get involved, be a trailblazer, and leave a legacy? Contact Wynne Au, Member Services Manager at WynneA@wrla.org to see how you can contribute.

Call for volunteers!

The WRLA is putting a call out to members to help support their advocacy and career awareness efforts and is looking for volunteers interested in supporting one of the following two task forces.

1. Government Relations - this is a new working group to identify and address issues that impact the building supply industry both on a regional and national level. We are looking for volunteers to a leadership role to be trailblazers for the industry.

2. WRLA through NexGEN 2.0 is refocusing its mandate. If you are interested in working to create pathways to employment and support talent recruitment into the LBM industry then this task force is for you!

Office Manager Irish Chrol says farewell to WRLA

Powering the future of material handling

Together with Hyster material handling products, Wajax provides sales, rental and product support for a broad range of lift trucks, container handlers and large material handling vehicles. From traditional power to clean, non-combustive, non-emissive and sustainable technology such as Hyster’s hydrogen powered Nuvera fuel cells, we provide the lift you need with the power options you prefer.

To Learn More

WRLA Members save up to $600 on travel!

Put your WRLA Member benefits to good use during the Collette Centennial Sale and Save an extra 10% on Collette’s 2018 tour departures on new bookings made by July 31st. (Note: this sale only excludes Collette’s Alaska Discovery, Antarctica, Iceland’s Magical Northern Lights, Inspiring Iceland and Icelandic Adventure and cannot be combined with any other offers, except the additional $100 off per person. The sale is also not available for groups or prior bookings, space is limited and offer may be withdrawn at any time).

For more information call Collette at (844) 303-7523 or contact your travel professional. Mention MEMORIES10 to receive 10% off and be sure to mention that you are a part of HUB Select to save an additional $100 per person.

Calendar of Events

Important Dates coming up

August 22 – WRLA Memorial Golf Tournament, Winnipeg

September 5 – Member Networking Event 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Calgary
September 6 – Calgary Classic Golf Tournament
September 7 – WRLA NexGEN Member Tours for Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Students, Calgary
September 10 – Member Networking Event 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Regina
September 12 – Kenosee Golf Tournament

November 5 & 6 –Manual Estimating Level 1 (Decks & Garages), Red Deer
November 7 & 8 – Manual Estimating Level 2 (Residential Construction), Red Deer
November 9 – Principles of Yard and Warehouse Operations, Red Deer
November 26 & 27 – Manual Estimating Level 1 (Decks & Garages), Winnipeg
November 28 & 29 – Manual Estimating Level 2 (Residential Construction), Winnipeg
November 30 – Principles of Yard and Warehouse Operations, Winnipeg

January 16, 17, and 18, 2019 – WRLA Buying Show

January 17, 2019 – Annual General Meeting

The WRLA Education Grants Program (formerly the Scholarships and Bursaries) is undergoing some improvements to help make the program more suitable to students in the LBM Industry, to improve industry training, and to provide readily employable new graduates directly to companies. Please look for updates in the Yardstick, WRLA News, and wrla.org.

Contact Wynne Au to renew your membership or for any member information at WynneA@wrla.org or phone 1-800-661-0253 extension 0.

WRLA Buying Show - book your booth now

This year we are implementing a Member Area on the WRLA website to book your booths. The Member Area requires a Member password to access information. Look in your inboxes for an email from BuyingShow@wrla.org for your Member Login details.

The WRLA team has been hard at work planning new initiatives for the 2019 Buying Show. There are several exciting improvements to the Show, including more quality networking opportunities, education events, speakers, and other items designed to maximize your business development.

WRLA Memorial Golf Tournament - only dinner sponsorship is left

Thank you WRLA members for selling out the tournament! Yes, the teams are all sold out as of this morning, but there are still a couple of ways to join us:

1. Become the Dinner Sponsor

2. Buy tickets for the dinner - there are only 20 seats left for dinner.

See you on August 22 for 18 holes of golf, a superb dinner, and amazing prizes. If you are interested in sponsoring, contact the WRLA office at 1-800-661-0253.

Calgary Classic Golf Tournament sponsorship and team registration OPEN

Click on the links for the sponsorship and team registration packages.

For information on the tournament, contact Mike Doyle, phone: (403) 248-7333, or fax at (403) 248-7675.

Kenosee Golf Tournament - book TODAY

Click on the links for the sponsorship and team registration packages.

Member Benefits

WRLA Members and employees can access the BeingWell portal - FREE

WRLA Members and their employees are automatically part of the BeingWell community where you receive:

Unlimited, 24/7 access to tools and resources that help you improve your total health and build your personal network of wellness connections!
An intuitive layout of the portal to simplify navigation and allow you to find what you’re looking for - fast.
@BeingWellSocial feed on Twitter and Facebook to provide helpful tips and resource links right to your daily news feed - no search required.
The ability to customize a BeingWell portal for your own organization exclusively! Host your own benefits and/or retirement plan details, feature sections that address your employees’ health risk areas and receive your own activity reports to demonstrate the value of this program within your organization.

We encourage you to explore your BeingWell portal through the WRLA Member Benefits webpage or with the following:

www.hubinternational.com/WRLABeingWell

Password: BeingWell

Please share this information with your staff and team members. Use this poster to share information with your team.

Industry News

TIMBER MART announces new team members

TIMBER MART welcomes new LBM Procurement Manager for Ontario, Aaron Gilmoure to their procurement team. Read the full news release here.

TIMBER MART expanded their lumber-trading team in the prairies with new Commodity Trader, Garry Barrault. Read the full news release here.

Bissett Fasteners acquires Levcoh Supply & Repair

Bissett Fasteners Limited announced the acquisition of Levcoh Supply & Repair Ltd., based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Read the full news release here.

Home Hardware's Ray Gabel announces retirement

Following a long and illustrious career of nearly 68 years in the home improvement retailing business, Ray Gabel, Senior Merchandise Advisor, has announced his retirement. Read the full news release here.

Rona celebrates the 100th Rona dealer store to join its e-commerce program

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