Pacific Coast plans great fall meeting.

The Pacific Coast Division of PIMA announces that Debra Evans and Dr. Jamie Weiss, Kepner-Tregoe, will present a short course entitled "When Problem Solving is Not Enough" at the Fall local section meeting.

This two day seminar will spend time on actual paper industry problems as well as how to institutionalize Problem Analysis.

* Cost: $275 (meals & course materials included)

* Location: The Resort at the Mountain, Welches, OR

* Check-in: Wed. evening, Nov. 5

The Dixie PIMA fall conference was held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Ala. September 10 - 13. During the opening ceremony, the colors were presented by the Daphne High ROTC color guard, the Pledge of Allegiance was given by all, and an invocation offered. After breakfast, the keynote speaker, David Naster, talked about the power of laughter and having a good sense of humor. His theme was "You Just Have To Laugh". David also gave the afternoon session about "Stress Management". Being a professional comedian and author, he was enjoyed by all.

Several technology showcases were presented over a two-day period that allowed companies to showcase their current products and services. Educational material was handed out to those interested. Following each showcase was a question and answer period. Companies presenting programs were Coldwater, Albany International, J & L, Johnson Foils, Honeywell, Buckman Labs, and G L & V.

A safety program was given by Randy Marconnet of A to Zero Consulting. He explained the Zero Accident Technique and offered safety program assessments and audits. His 25 years of management experience in the construction industry was shared with the conference participants as he detailed safety techniques. Following the safety presentation, Mill Managers / V.P.'s shared their knowledge on a wide range of subjects. On the panel were Buddy Allen, Jim Emerson, and Derek Hutchinson.

The last session for the conference was a Superintendents Roundtable. Each panelist was asked to give their view on mergers, training, early retirements, and work force reductions. Afterwards, the panel answered questions from the conference participants. During the awards ceremony, scholarships were offered to several college students and awards were given to the outgoing chairmen of each section. A dinner/dance followed the final night ceremony and leisure activities were enjoyed on Saturday.

The Southwest Division of PIMA had its first meeting of the year Thursday 25 September 2003. It was a combination meeting, lunch and mill tour and took place at the Smurfit-Stone Container mill in Santa Clara, California. This was in essence a trial to see if a different style meeting would get more involvement from mills in the area. Historically, our meetings are held late afternoon with dinner etc. and normally 4-7 p.m. This experiment started at 10 a.m. with John Lamb, Plant Mgr. at SSCC, leading a discussion on Leadership-Teamwork-Communication. After lunch the discussion finished up around 2 p.m. and all interested attendees went on a tour of the mill. It was a great meeting attended by 28 persons from the area mills-SSCC, California Paperboard and Georgia Pacific-and vendors from NSK Bearing, Dupont and James Ross Ltd. I believe we can be very happy with the success of this meeting and the board will be meeting soon to discuss agenda for the rest of the year.

The fourth annual Guns of Navarino took place this past month. There was a good turnout with 45 shooters making up nine teams. The teams shot one round of sporting clays and a round of stand. The Clayslayers were the winning team only missing 20 out of 300 targets. Team Tomahawak, from the PCA mill in Tomahawk, WI, took second place at the event. The Top Gun Award, which is awarded to the top individual shooter, was given to Pete Maccini of AFT. Brian Leitinger of PCA was the lucky winner of the "I Should Have Gone Fishing Instead Award". After the competition ended there was dinner for everyone attending the event.

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Overall there were about 30 shooters from mills and 15 vendors. Prizes that were donated by vendors were given to mill participants. The top prize that was given was a pheasant hunt won by Howard Jersild of SCA Tissue. The Guns of Navarino V will take place at J&H farm in Navarino on Tuesday September 28, 2004.

The Northeast Division of PIMA held it's 83rd Fall Meeting on September 18 & 19 at the Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The program, largely put together by the Northeast Chair, David Embley of Irving Pulp & Paper, was among the best ever presented by the Division. On Thursday, Ron Pote of BYO Solutions and the New York Canadian Division, presented a day-long seminar on QBQ!, the Question Behind the Question, an excellent and valuable session that even included a reference to the Division Secretary's dog.

On Friday a distinguished group of nine people, either in or part of our industry, presented their views on "The Current State of the Pulp & Paper Industry in the Northeast." Their remarks were thoughtful, sobering, but for the most part optimistic about the chances for recovery in the years ahead.

At the Annual Banquet Friday evening, Doug Daniels, retiring mill manager of the SAPI North America Somerset Mill, gave his "Reflections & Projections" from more than 40 years of service in the industry.

More than 90 people came out for the meeting. Attendees came to Kennebunkport to visit with people in the industry and to enjoy an educational weekend. The meeting combined a superlative program with a lovely old-style hotel to make this meeting a success.

Mark your calendars for November 6-7 Questions? Email Mashood Dalal, Idaho Pulp and Paperboard Superintendent: [e-mail], or log on to www.pimaweb.org

for more information about division activities, go to www.pimaweb.org

RELATED ARTICLE:PIMA 2003 Pacific Coast Division Fall Conference

Thursday & Friday, Nov. 6-7 Welches, OR

"When Problem Solving is Not Enough"

Humor, technology and expert panels provide value to attendees

By: Duane Dohse, Southwest Division Chair, Georgia-Pacific, San Leandro, CA