More than 300 North American architectural woodworkers and industry suppliers shared leadership, workplace, and other best practice strategies during the Architectural Woodwork Institute’s annual convention.

What follows are highlights from the event, held Sept. 22-26, in Florida, as well as a look at the projects earning the Standard of Excellence for 2024 (see below). For information on AWI and its events visit AWInet.org.

Networking & education abound
Networking and education took center stage, starting with a team-building event that included alligator wrestling, relay races complete with costume changes, and an eating challenge. The convention also featured a product fair with more than 40 tabletop exhibits, and sessions on a variety of topics, including mental health, AI, manufacturing technology, economic outlook, and the launch of AWI IS (Industry Solutions), a strategic initiative for industry recruitment and retention, including the development and expansion of industry-specific education. 

With more companies prioritizing mental health and well-being in the workplace, Sunday’s keynote speaker Mark Potter was especially timely. The founder of D2UP, Potter discussed his journey from a 30-year basketball coach to an advocate of mental health, including the challenges faced in diagnosing and living with his depression, insights, and encouragement to others to seek assistance. His wife, Nanette, also provided a perspective from the family’s side. 

Monday kicked off with a keynote from Captain Jack Becker, CEO of Flight Level Solutions Inc. His presentation, “Supersonic Success,” focused on removing/reducing human error in the workplace, and the retired U.S. Navy pilot shared seven critical skills of Crew Resource Management (CRM) – communication, assertiveness, leadership, decision-making, task analysis, adaptability, and situational awareness – along with strategies for battling workplace egos, stress, fatigue and task saturation.

The afternoon featured a presentation on “AI Demystified,” by Hugh Seaton, CEO of The Link. Seaton provided tips for how to best utilize artificial intelligence in the workplace. While standard software is based on instructions, he noted, AI is based on probabilities. Much of the discussion focused on generative AI, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which can be ideal for summarizing pre-existing content and speeding up job analysis, as well as creating first drafts of items, such as reports, emails, and marketing copy. However, he noted that the human role is essential when it comes to providing instructions, context, constraints, and examples.

What can we expect in the future? Connor Lokar, senior forecaster with ITR Economics, provided the closing keynote, “2925-2026: Preparing for Cyclical Changes”. The United States has a lot going for it, and we should be seeing global recovery in 2025, but there’s also going to be outside pressure on inflation. While we’re in a “dip” right now, looking ahead to 2026, “We all need to wake up to that fact and start planning around the fact that interest rates are going to be higher than you’re used to, and inflation is going to be higher than you’re used to. It’s not going to go away.” Looking ahead, other key takeaways include: the service sector is expected to hold up better than private manufacturing in 2024; consumer trends are softening; and bifurcated income streams will be a factor. Manufacturers therefore should: assess their cash needs, maximize their competitive advantages, and finally, think about expanding the asset classes they are invested in and plan to pivot hard in 2028–2032.

Rounding out the conference was a roundtable on Automation in Woodworking by Diego Piersanti, key accounts manager at FerWood USA, Jobsite Climate Intelligence by Scott Banda, co-founder and CEO of Floorcloud, and information on AWI’s standards, Quality Certification Program (QCP) and pre-tested audit presented by AWI staff Hunter Morrison, Greg Parham, Keith Barrett. The AWI Tech Taskforce also provided insight on the current state of technology in the industry and its increasing impact on manufacturing, presented by Piersanti, Jacob Edmond, CEO of DuckWorks, Sergio Castro, CNC product manager at SCM Group North America, David Fairbanks, president/owner of Microvellum, Dan Murphy, regional director at Stiles Machinery, Brandan Koehn, VP of Finance & Administration at Victory Woodworks, and Jonah Coleman, head of product at Innergy.

Awards were also given during the convention for company safety achievements, Standard of Excellence recipients (see below), and volunteers.

Award-winning projects recognized
The Architectural Woodwork Institute’s Award of Excellence distinguishes exceptional custom architectural woodwork projects each quarter and features them in its quarterly Design Solutions magazine. The projects selected as the best of the Award of Excellence winners for the year receive the Standard of Excellence award, recognizing them as leaders in superior quality.

Winners in five categories, plus one project deemed the overall winner, were recognized during AWI's annual convention. The winning projects, along with information on the woodwork manufacturers, architects, and design professionals are shown below.

Overall Winner. Project: Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP Office, Chicago, IL Member: Inter Ocean Cabinet Co. Architect: HED, Chicago, IL General Contractor: Valenti, Chicago, IL Photographer:  Garrett Rowland, San Francisco, CA. Featured in Design Solutions Fall 2023	Retail Winner. Project:  Lucido Fine Jewelry, Birmingham, MI. Member: MOD Interiors, Ira Township, MI. Architect: Davis & Davis, Farmington Hills, MI. General Contractor: Tower Construction, Sylvan Lake, MI. Photographer: Nick Vansen, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. Featured in Design Solutions Fall 2023	Public Facility Winner. Project: St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, Daniel Island, SC. Member: Low Country Case & Millwork, Ladson, SC. Architect: Hord Architects, Memphis, TN. General Contractor: Trident Construction, North Charleston, SC. Photographer: Chris & Cami Photography, Charleston, SC. Featured in Design Solutions Summer 2024
Corporate Winner. Project: Cambridge Associates, Boston, MA. Members: Manufacturer - Wright Architectural Millwork, North Hampton, MA. Supplier - Navy Island, St. Paul, MN. Installer – Archer Corp., Malden, MA. Architect: Interior Architects, Boston, MA. General Contractor: Structure Tone, Boston, MA. Photographer: Wendy Benson, Hartford, CT. Featured in Design Solutions Summer 2024	Hospitality Winner. Project: Nemacolin's The Grand Lodge, Farmington, PA. Member: Giffin Interior & Fixture, Inc., Bridgeville, PA. Architect: Gensler, Washington DC. General Contractor: Martik Brothers, Finleyville, PA. Photographer: Kevin Casterline, Hanover, PA. Featured in Design Solutions Summer 2024	Healthcare/Research Winner. Project:  Promega Corp. Kornberg Research & Development Center, Fitchburg, WI. Member: Lange Bros. Woodwork Co., Inc., Milwaukee, WI. Architect: Uihlein Wilson Ramlow Stein Architecture, Milwaukee, WI. General Contractor: Kramer Brothers, Plain, WI. Photographer: Tricia Shay, Oconomowoc, WI. Featured in Design Solutions Winter 2024

Upcoming events
The AWI’s 2025 annual convention will be held Oct. 19-21 in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that event, AWI Boot Camp will take place May 19-23 in Pittsburg, Kansas. More information can be found at AWInet.org.