Georgia Foley has been the executive director of the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) since 2000, but her involvement with the trade organization dates to when she was barely a teenager, when she helped her father — founder Morrie Halvorsen — run the operation out of the family basement.

Through the years, Foley has seen membership grow in numbers and stature even though STAFDA has maintained the same dues rates it first established in 1977.

It’s official. The Lumber Association of California and Nevada is now the West Coast Lumber & Building Material Association (WCLBMA).

In an announcement letter, the association’s Executive Director Ken Dunham explained the motive for the name change:

The California State Water Resources Control Board is proposing new regulations on stormwater runoff and containment that the Lumber Association of California & Nevada (LACN) has called "controversial, costly and unfair."

According to Ken Dunham, LACN executive director, the regulations affect lumberyards and any business with a physical outside yard. LACN Government Affairs Chair and LACN Second VP Augie Venezia presented his views and those of the LACN at an Aug. 17 workshop organized by the Water Resources Control Board.

The Earth Advantage Institute announced its annual selection of top ten green building trends, which range from “affordable green” to lifecycle analysis of materials.

“Despite market conditions, we have seen the market share for high performance homes increase from 18.5% to 23 % in the Portland Metro area alone,” said Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “This is a sure sign that the rate of appeal for these homes is increasing.”