About the Speakers:

Dave Sondel
Dave is the UC Coatings Industrial Hardwood Sales Representative. He has been with the company for 28 years. UC Coatings has supplied the lumber industry with protective coatings and supplies for over 50 years.

Lance Johnson
Lance is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for ISK Biocides in Memphis, TN. He is a graduate of Iowa State University in Ames, IA, and has worked in the forest products industry since 1992, mostly at ISK Biocides. Outside of work he enjoys hunting, fishing and the outdoors. ISK Biocides manufactures and markets anti-sapstain chemicals, end-coatings and other preservative products for lumber and wood.

Lee Stiles
Lee lives in McMinnville, TN, and began working for his grandfather, A.W. Stiles, during his eighth grade summer. Upon his grandfather's retirement, Lee worked with his uncle, Tommy Stiles, until his passing in 2017. He is currently the third generation owner of the company, where he shares ownership with Tommy’s wife, Christie Stiles. The company began by painting barns, which lead it down the path of commercial painting. The painting landed them a job coating some dry kilns in McMinnville, TN, for the Burroughs Ross Colville Company. As the coating business grew, they got into minor repairs, which turned into major repairs, ending up fabricating and installing dry kilns. They service both hardwood and softwood industries. They also do structural steel work, custom fabrication, furnish and erect pre-engineered metal building systems, boiler sales and installations, and they certainly still do commercial painting.

Bob Pope
Bob is a regional sales representative for SII Dry Kilns, headquartered in Lexington, NC. Bob joined SII in 2017 after a 30-year career with another kiln manufacturer. He has been involved in the forest products industry for over four decades, starting his career as a lumber grader with a furniture company. Since 1977, he has helped train many kiln operators as an instructor with a number of different kiln-drying workshops across North America. He has also provided individual/small group onsite training. Bob has a Master of Business Administration and a B.S. in Wood Science and Technology.

Benji Richards
Benji began his career in the hardwood lumber industry in 1993 at Hardwood Sales in Conover, NC, working under owner Jim Smith and General Manager Stuart Clark. He hand-packed lumber for John Oakes and learned the basics of lumber inspection. During his 8 years of service to Hardwood Sales, he also learned kiln operations and became the maintenance supervisor. Benji graduated from the NHLA Inspector Training School in January 1995 as part of the 116th class. Benji previously served as an NHLA National Inspector from 2003 to 2017. He loves his family, wife (Summer) and daughter (Darby), bear hunting with hounds, and providing high quality services to NHLA and their members.

Bob Bauer
Bob’s experience includes: 10 years with the Kentucky Division of Forestry as a Service Forester and Forest Products Utilization improving efficiency of the wood industry in eastern Kentucky; six years with Morehead State University working with the wood industry in eastern Kentucky to assist with economic development growth within the industry and recruitment of wood based industry into the area; and since 1995 has been the Executive Director of the Kentucky Forest Industries Association.

Tours include: Koetter Woodworking, Inc, Forest Discovery Center, Anderson Wood Products, Huber Winery

A room block of 15 king and 5 queen rooms has been reserved on a first come basis at the Holiday Inn, New Albany- Louisville. Room block releases October 24th so make your hotel reservation before then. Reservations can be made by calling 812.944.4600. Use group code OVLDA or this link https://tinyurl.com/OVLDAhotel