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LBM Strategies is the leading educational and networking conference in the industry, attracting more dealers and distributors by focusing on sales, business, and brand growth.
October 15-17
Embassy Suites Downtown Nashville
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LBM Strategies Conference
Bringing together LBM pros to address and share practical, tactical solutions to today’s toughest business challenges. The educational sessions address the issues you’re facing, delivered by LBM pros who’ve faced down those challenges and found solutions that work.
Networking
We get it: The most valuable part of any industry conference is the opportunity to connect with fellow industry pros. That’s why your registration includes breakfasts, lunches, coffee breaks, and cocktail receptions. Quality, in-person time with other LBM pros leads to fresh connections that live on beyond the event.
Speakers
Presenters and panelists were carefully selected to address today’s top business challenges. Our lineup includes LBM industry veterans, up-and-comers, innovators and thought-leaders, all willing to share their strategies and successes to help you build your business. All presentations end with live Q&A.
Venue
Next to Music City Center and Bridgestone Arena, our all-suite hotel is perfect for exploring downtown Nashville. We are within a mile of the State Capitol, Ryman Auditorium, and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. We’re within 10 minutes of Vanderbilt and Tennessee State Universities. Enjoy dinner and drinks with a view from our 30th floor restaurant and bar.
Speakers
Schedule
Schedule is subject to change.
7:00am - 8:30am
Registration Open for Tour Participants Only
7:30am - 8:30am
8:30am - 11:30am
LUMBERYARD TOUR
Walker Lumber—A 2023 LBM Journal Dealer of the Year
Includes pre-tour breakfast and bus transportation.
Sponsored by Seljax, Bluepoint Fasteners
11:30am - 5:30pm
Conference Registration Open for all Attendees
12:00pm - 1:00pm
12:50pm - 1:00pm
1:00pm - 2:30pm
2:30pm - 3:00pm
Networking Break
3:00pm - 4:30pm
CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE IN THE LBM COMMUNITY
Recognizing Dealers of the Year, LBM Century Club, 40 Under 40, and the LBM 100.
Speakers: Rick Schumacher
5:00pm - 6:30pm
7:00am - 5:30pm
Registration Open
7:00am - 7:50am
7:50am - 8:00am
8:00am - 9:00am
KICK-OFF KEYNOTE: Turning Insights Into Results: What Your Pro Customers Really Want
In this fast-paced opening keynote, Beth PopNikolov and Grant Farnsworth will turn the latest research into actionable strategies you can use to acquire, retain, and grow wallet share with your customers. They’ll cover the value propositions that drive your customers’ decisions, why they switch suppliers, what keeps them loyal and much more. No fluff, no filler, just real-world, practical insights built on the latest research into what your customers want. You’ll leave this session with practical ideas and proven tactics your sales and marketing teams can implement immediately to establish and solidify your role as supplier of choice with your clients.
Speakers: Grant Farnsworth, Beth PopNikolov
9:00am - 9:30am
Sparking Your Team & Fanning the Flames
In this can’t-miss session, Patrick Goebel, President & CEO of Star Lumber & Supply will share some of the more impactful initiatives that positioned the company to earn its place as a 2024 LBM Journal Dealer of the Year. The company is doing big things—Emerging Leaders classes, University of Star, a countertop fabrication plant, embracing 2 Second Lean—but as Patrick will explain, the real secret lies in sparking people to do great things, and then getting out of their way. After this fast-paced session, you’ll have ideas to spark your team, and the know-how to fan the flames.
Speakers: Patrick Goebel
9:30am - 10:00am
10:00am - 10:30am
From Values to Retention: Creating a Top Workplace
Erie Materials, ranked #20 on the LBM 100, is a family-owned company that lives its core values—not as aspirations, but as daily practice. When new team members join and find their values align with the company’s culture, they stay—often for decades. This commitment to culture starts at the top and is carried forward by leaders at every level. In this session, Chris Neumann and Theresa Thoryk will share the strategies that have helped Erie Materials earn the “Great Place to Work” designation. You’ll leave with actionable ideas to strengthen culture, improve retention, and inspire long-term employee commitment.
Speakers: Chris Neumann, Theresa Thoryk
10:30am - 11:00am
A Practical Path to Building a Great Workplace
Michelle Rose and Carl Moyer walk through a different HR approach to creating a great workplace. Instead of relying on perks or benefits, they introduce a practical model that reveals organizational risk and highlights individual talent. You’ll learn how to anticipate critical vacancies, prepare successors, and grow future leaders. Attendees will leave with actionable tools and a clear 90-day plan to strengthen continuity, retain high performers, and build a workplace where employees can see a better future for themselves.
Speakers: Carl Moyer, Michelle Rose
11:00am - 11:30am
Smart Buying: Southern Yellow Pine Futures
We’ll introduce the new Southern Yellow Pine Lumber Futures contract and explain why it matters to LBM dealers. This session will break down the details in familiar industry terms, showing how it differs from the legacy Softwood Lumber contract. You’ll see real-world examples of how to buy physical wood through the futures market and how to use the available pricing data to quote jobs with confidence. Attendees will leave with a new perspective on price transparency and a better understanding of how to manage and control lumber costs for future business.
Speakers: Michael Wisnefski, Alison Coughlin
11:30am - 12:00pm
Walker Lumber: 17 Minutes and Second Chances
In this conversation, Ray Hayles will go beyond what we learned on our tour of Walker Lumber’s operations, and take a deeper dive into the details that earned the company recognition as an LBM Journal Dealer of the Year. Ray will share insights into the yard efficiencies—like the 17-minute average (!) that customers spend at their store. He’ll also share more facts about the Second Chance program that gives returning citizens an opportunity to build a career. You’ll leave this session inspired by the time-is-money efficiencies that drive Walker Lumber’s success, and a powerful real-life example of doing well by doing good.
Speakers: Ray Hayles, Rick Schumacher
12:00pm - 1:00pm
1:00pm - 2:00pm
Attracting Next Gen Pros: 40 Under 40
Attracting, hiring, and retaining young talent can be a daunting challenge. To learn what tomorrow’s leaders are looking for in an employer, 40 Under 40 alumnus Emily Morgan will host a panel of LBM Journal’s 2025 40 Under 40 class. During this interactive session, these LBM pros will share personal insights on what makes a business appealing during the hiring process and beyond. You’ll discover what excites these young leaders about their future in our industry, and how to make your company a place where tomorrow’s leaders are eager to go to work and build a career. Live Q&A will follow.
2:00pm - 2:30pm
2:30pm - 3:30pm
M&A Insights: Tips on Driving Up Your Company’s Value
Whether you’re thinking of selling your company or not, there are valuable lessons to learn from the mergers and acquisitions that are reshaping the LBM community. John D. Wagner and Ted Rieple from 1st West M&A lead a discussion with a panel of five leading acquirers with a focus on steps you can (and should) take to maximize your company’s value. After all, the KPIs that make your company more attractive to acquirers (sales, gross profit, OPEX and EBITDA) are often the exact same things that measure a company’s financial health and fitness for the future. Bring your tough questions for live Q&A.
3:30pm - 5:00pm
HOT TOPIC ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
- Recruiting Next Gen Pros led by Emily Morgan
- Mergers & Acquisitions led by John Wagner & Ted Rieple
- Leveraging AI led by John Marshall & Shane Soule
- Second Chance Program led by Ray Hayles
- Succession Planning led by Sam Brownell
6:00pm - 9:00pm
7:00am - 7:50am
7:50am - 8:00am
8:00am - 9:00am
KICK-OFF KEYNOTE: The DAM Problem with Salespeople
Your sales team isn’t lazy—they’re just dam builders. Pressured by constant firefighting and eat-what-you-kill commissions, even your best reps Drift to Account Management (the DAM problem), spending their days babysitting existing accounts instead of prospecting for new ones. In this engaging, interactive, and highly practical keynote, Bradley Hartmann explains why this drift happens—and what you can do to reverse it. You’ll leave with four coachable habits to jumpstart proactive prospecting immediately—no pitchforks or Successories posters required. If your team habitually drifts toward reactive account management and customer service, it’s time to break the DAM and restore the flow of future revenue.
Speakers: Bradley Hartmann
9:00am - 10:00am
PANEL DISCUSSION
Straight Talk from Builders: Pain Points & Partnership
Moderator: Bradley Hartmann
10:00am - 10:30am
10:30am - 11:30am
HOT TOPIC ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
- Sales Management led by Bradley Hartmann
- Leadership led by Russ Kathrein
- Credit & Collections in the Real World led by Thea Dudley
- Southern Yellow Pine Futures led by Mike Wisnefski
11:30am - 12:00am
“It’s well worth the investment. Needs to be top of list for events you need to attend yearly.”
Sponsors
Platinum
Gold
Speaker Dinner
Welcome Reception
Thursday Reception
Silver
Sponsors
