Industry honors John Somerville
John Somerville, a leader in the lumber and building material industry as both an executive at Dow Chemical Co. and more recently as president of the Lumbermens Merchandising Corp. (LMC), has been a strong proponent of lumberyards for decades.
His contributions were recognized during last week’s ProDealer Industry Summit, during which he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association – an honor that has presented only twice previously.
"It has been truly an honor to work with such an important association that represents the best interests of all lumber and building material dealers across the country," said Somerville. "I am very proud to have been part of NLBMDA's history and sincerely thank NLBMDA for this Lifetime Achievement Award."
Somerville joined LMC in October of 2009. LMC a lumber and building materials co-op serving nearly 400 Stockholder companies with over 1,400 locations from coast to coast including Hawaii and the Bahamas. LMC was founded in 1935 and has grown steadily over the years. Despite the global pandemic, LMC set a record for purchases in 2020.
Prior to LMC, Somerville worked for The Dow Chemical Company holding several positions including Sales Vice President-Building Materials North America. Throughout his career, John has been an active contributor in the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association. He is a former Board and Executive Committee member, as well as, Chair and Vice Chair of the Manufacturers Service Council (MSC).
Somerville has also been involved in the NLBMDA Strategic Sustainability Task Group, Membership Task Force, and Strategic Conference Planning Committee to just name a few. In total, John has over forty years of experience in the building and construction industry.
"It gives me great honor to present John with this award. Throughout his career, John has been an active contributor to NLBMDA and has over 40 years of experience in the building and construction industry," said NLBMDA Immediate Past Chair Bob Sanford. " John has been an invaluable part of the team with his passion for and dedication to the industry and his perspective that he has from years in it."
Following his recent announcement of retirement from the industry, Somerville shared he is looking forward to spending more time with his five grandchildren and enjoying time traveling, golfing, and skiing.