Wanted: Editor of popular woodworking magazine seeks dedicated individual to appoint as the 2007 Jerry Metz Achievement Award winner.

Interested candidates must exhibit the following characteristics:

• Have a minimum of 10 years professional experience in the woodworking industry;

• Be an owner or supervisor of a woodworking plant employing at least 20 people; and

• Have made a significant contribution to the company’s safety, training, quality and productivity programs.

Jerry Metz: 1909-2003

The Jerry Metz Achievement Award was inaugurated in 2003 by Wood & Wood Products in memory of woodworking icon, and beloved longtime columnist, Jerry Metz. Metz passed away in February 2003 at the age of 93, after a long illness. He had become a columnist for W&WP in 1970, following a nearly 40-year career with the J.L. Metz Furniture Co. in Hammond, IN. The popular “Consult Jerry Metz” columns, and Metz’s rules for a successful company, repeatedly touched on the cornerstones upon which the award is founded: safety, training, quality and productivity. Previous winners all embodied these traits: 2003 awardee Joseph Cannon Jr., president of CAS America; 2004’s Paul Wellborn, president and CEO of Wellborn Cabinet; 2005’s Bob Gronlund, chairman and CEO of Wood-Mode; and last year’s awardee, Sam Stoltzfus, president of Keystone Wood Specialties.

In addition to running a successful business, these men also have distinguished themselves through their community service and, simply put, by being “good bosses.” From one of Metz’s popular columns, this involves, among other things: getting to know employees by their first names; attending departmental meetings and really listening to employees’ needs; making sure everything is in place at the start of the day so employees don’t have to leave their posts to search for things; responding to customer inquiries and complaints in a timely manner; and making sure people dress for safety and that all machines are equipped with guards. Metz, a strong advocate of safety in the workplace, once wrote, “Accident prevention should always be at the forefront, no matter how great the productivity goal.”

Send in Your Nominations
Do you know a deserving individual whom you believe embodies Jerry Metz’s ideals? To receive a nomination form, please e-mail me at [email protected]. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 21.

Selection of the next awardee will be made soon, so please don’t delay. The 2007 Jerry Metz Achievement Award winner will be featured in the November issue of the magazine.