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NEKDA

Rod Santaw, 2008 President
Morse Hardwoods
20 Morse Drive
Essex Junction, VT 05452

William B. Smith, Executive Secretary
1 Forestry Drive
Construction Management & Wood Products Engineering
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
Syracuse, NY 13210

• 2008 Jim Catterick Industrial Recognition Award(application)
• 2008 Bill Rice Achievement Award (application)
• 2008 Spring Meeting Program (nekSprPro08)
• 2008 Spring Meeting Registration (nekSpr08Reg)
• NEKDA Awards
• Past Meetings, Presentations
• Useful Wood Drying Books and Resources
• NEKDA Presidents (left to right): Rod Santaw (2008) Morse Hardwoods, Sean Barrows (2006) Mill River Lumber, Ann Johnson (2005) The A. Johnson Co., Scott Ferland (2007) Brattleboro Kiln Drying.

2008 Dues

Dues for 2008 are payable with the enclosed notice at the rate of $60 for Supporting Member Firm Membership or $20 for an Individual Membership. Your membership and contributions are most appreciated and enable the NEKDA to maintain its activities, mission and service to the wood drying and processing industry. Your prompt mailing of the updated membership forms and payment will insure correct listing in the 2008 Membership Directory. Please note the information about your products and services being requested to make our Directory more useful to customers and suppliers. Also, to facilitate electronic communication, please provide email addresses.

• Download the 2008 NEKDA Dues Notice and Form (PDF)

NEKDA 2008 Officer and Board Members

President	Rod Santaw, Morse Hardwoods, VT
First Vice President	Thom Smith, Old Town Lumber, Kenduskeag, ME
Second Vice President	Jeremy Jacquet, Caledonia Kiln Corp., VT
Executive Secretary	Bill Smith, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, wbsmith@esf.edu
Treasurer	Bob Pope, USNR Irvington Moore, Montpelier, VT
Board Members	Dean Prentiss (2008), Rex Lumber, Acton, MA
	Bob MacGregor (2008), MacGregor Mill Systems
	Bob Stevens (2009), Stevens Kiln Drying, VT
	Wayne Cate (2009), H.G. Wood Industries, Bath, NH
	Brian Hughes (2010), Wagner Hardwoods, Owego, NY
	Jason Ayers (2010), Hardwick Kilns, Hardwick, MA
Past President	Scott Ferland, Brattleboro Kiln Drying, Brattleboro, VT

NEKDA News

• January 2008 NEKDA News (PDF)

2008 Kiln Drying Workshop

Our “Kiln Drying Workshop: Drying Quality Lumber for Profit”, was held January 7-10, 2008 at SUNY ESF in Syracuse. For further information call the ESF Outreach Office at 315/470-6817, look to or contact Bill Smith at or 315/470-6832.

• Information and Registration

Contributions to the 2008 NEKDA Scholarship and Jim Catterick and Bill Rice Award Funds

Contributions are greatly appreciated and help enable your association to recognize and support excellence in wood drying and processing. We would like to publicly acknowledge the following people and firms who have generously contributed in 2007: Andrew Oleksak, Bill Rice, Bill Smith, Bob Pope, Champlain Hardwoods, Delmhorst Instrument, Dick Hale, H G Wood Industries, Julius Enekes, Kiln Drying Systems, MacGregor Mill Systems, Madison Lumber Mill, Maritime Lumber, Morse Hardwoods, Precision Lumber, Qubica AMF, Steinway and Sons, and U*C Coatings.

2008 Jim Catterick Industrial Award

The NEKDA is again sponsoring its annual Jim Catterick Industrial Recognition Award (application) to recognize outstanding performance in the area of dry kiln and drying related and/or associated manufacturing. The award, named in honor of Jim Catterick, will be presented at our Spring Meeting with an engraved plaque and a $500 cash prize. Jack Little, Keiver-Willard Lumber, was honored with this award in 2007. We encourage you to nominate one of your employees, colleagues, or yourself for this prestigious award. Award application forms can be found online at , or from any NEKDA Officer or Board Member whom you can also contact with any questions.

2008 Bill Rice Achievement Award

The NEKDA Bill Rice Achievement Award (application) recognizes outstanding people who have made significant contributions in service, education, and/or technology in the area of dry kiln and drying related and associated operations. The award, named in honor of Dr. Bill Rice for his many contributions to the NEKDA and wood drying technology and industry, will be presented at our Spring Meeting with an engraved plaque and a $500 cash prize. We encourage you to nominate one of your employees, colleagues, or yourself for this prestigious award. Award application forms can be found online at, or from any NEKDA Officer or Board Member whom you can also contact with any questions.

2007 Student Scholarship Awards

At our 2007 award program the following students were presented with NEKDA Scholarship Awards:

• James Brown, SUNY ESF Wood Products Engineering, Maurice Roy Award ($1,500)

• Adam Bell, SUNY Morrisville Wood Technology, J. Harry Rich Award ($1,500)

• Neil Kohan, SUNY ESF Wood Products Engineering, Bill Delmhorst Award ($1,200)

• Chris Waite, SUNY Morrisville Wood Technology, Jack Bent Award ($750)

• Chris Dickey, SUNY Morrisville Wood Technology, Al Brouillette Award ($750)

These students have keen interests and capabilities in developing a professional career in the field of wood processing. We encourage you to consider them, along with the other highly qualified Wood Products graduates at these and our other northeastern area Colleges, for your staffing needs.

2007 Review

We held two very successful meetings this year; in Bangor, Maine in April and Owego, New York, in October. In addition to our traditional Kiln Operator's Clinics, we had informative and well presented technical presentations and interesting plant tours of high quality wood products manufacturing and kiln drying operations at each meeting. In March our plant tours were at Pleasant River Lumber, Dover-Foxcroft, and Old Town Lumber, Kenduskeag, Maine. Our technical presentations included:

• Kiln Drying for Quality - Market Expectations, Jack Little, Keiver-Willard Lumber
• White Pine Shrinkage - Practical Observations and Determination, Bill Smith, SUNY ESF Wood Products
• Sawing Practices and their Impact on Kiln Productivity, Bob Stevens, Stevens Kiln Drying
• Kiln Design and Improved Moisture Content Uniformity, Thom Smith, Old Town Lumber
• Triple Length Continuous Kilns - are they part of your future?, Bob Pope, USNR
• Presorting Green Lumber Based Upon D-C Moisture Measurement, Rene Ricard, Fabrication Delta
• Update on Stain - Issues and Prevention, Bob Rice, University of Maine

In October we toured R. J. Williams Lumber, Apalachin, Wagner Lumber, Owego, Double Aught Lumber, Candor, New York. Our technical presentations included:

• NHLA Heat Treatment, Kiln Drying and Hardwood Grading, Tim Moulton, NHLA
• Managing Kiln and Drying Operations Brian Hughes, Wagner Hardwoods
• Using Wood Moisture Meters, Alan Dlugasch, Delmhorst Instrument
• Vacuum Kiln Drying, Dennis Socling, PC Specialties
• Economic Analysis of Kiln Drying Costs, Dan Wightman, Wightman Lumber
• Steam System Design and Practices Related to Kiln Drying: Scott Herl, Herline Technologies

Premier kiln operators and managers know that the best way to become knowledgeable and informed about interesting subjects such as these is to attend and participate in our meetings!

NEKDA website

Please link to our NEKDA website at for information on upcoming meeting and events, award applications, dues notices, current and past program details, contacts, and other worthwhile information on drying and wood products manufacturing and processing.