The BRS Advisory Committee guides the continued development of the Penn State’s BioRenewable Systems undergraduate and graduate programs, described as “the perfect storm of sustainability, technology, science, and business.”
The connection is more than Penn State-to-LMC pipeline .In 2000, John graduated from what was then the Wood Products undergraduate program. The program would go on to be rebranded multiple times is now the BioRenewable Systems program.
In addition to LMC's version of the 'Penn State Alumni Association', the BRS Advisory Committee has had other veteran LMC members such as Vern Dando, Senior VP of Panels, Special Woods, & Logistics. Vern's multi-term involvement demonstrated the opportunity for John to contribute to talent development and dealer support, bringing benefits to LMC's members through continued committee representation.
John is a big believer in the power of these programs and the value of the talent they produce. “Graduates of the program just understand everything about this industry,” John explained.
“I did a wood products manufacturing and production major and a minor in sales and marketing of wood products. I learned everything from tree and wood identification to how a sawmill is built. We covered things like kiln drying schedules of wood to the physics of how much force a certain species of wood can withstand.”
And with the sales and marketing minor, he learned how to pick up the torch and forge a career in purchasing in this industry, too.
Programs like these can offer incredible value and longevity to the industry. As LMC dealers continue to feel the effects of pandemic-amplified labour shortages both on their floors and in supply from mills and demand from builders, attracting new talent to carry the industry into the next decades is a common topic of conversation.
“Enrollment in the BioRenewable Systems program has dropped over the last five years,” John explained. “It mirrors what we see in the lumber and building materials industry, particularly among our dealers.”
For John’s part, he is hopeful about the ideas he can bring to the committee to inspire more people into the industry and attract the next generation of bright minds. The BRS Advisory Committee guides the continued development of the Penn State’s BioRenewable Systems undergraduate and graduate programs. John and his fellow committee members work both with current students and professors to provide feedback that steers the future of the program.
Fresh from his first committee meeting of many, he already has some potential routes forward taking form.
John said, “Penn has already been a great pipeline for talent for LMC over the years. BioRenewable Systems at Penn is a high-quality major that covers everything. When I joined the program, we covered everything I would need to get started. I am excited to dig into how we can market not just this major but the industry as a whole. There is a real opportunity to not just draw the younger generation into the program but to bring in people from diverse backgrounds.”
One opportunity he has already seen is in simply promoting the quality of the program and raising the profile of the program and its professors online.
“At our first lunch with students, the dean of the program showed us all the awards the professors have won,” John said. “There must have been 100 different awards they’d won just over the course of a year. I said to them, we have to get these online. We need to promote these accomplishments everywhere!”
“Both the Penn program professors and the other board members are really plugged into our industry,” John said. “The professors are doing research and consulting work and winning serious awards doing it. I am looking forward to the continued participation keeping our access to the latest information coming out of the field that we can then use internally and to share with our members.”