LMC breaks its virtual attendance record

LMC, the forest products and building materials buying group, reported that its 2021 Annual Meeting broke its third straight virtual attendance record.

This year’s meeting, themed “Brighter Days Ahead,” hosted 90% of the LMC network of dealers, along with hundreds of exhibitors, from March 22 to March 26. The Wayne, Pa.-based company’s network includes more than 1,400 dealer locations in the United States and Canada.

LMC  said that it provided additional flexibility this year extending the event to a full week and added evening hours for dealers and suppliers.

“LMC was tremendous in their execution of the Annual this year, said Phillip Steffy,  president of Zarsky Lumber located in Victoria, Texas. “The added flexibility led to productive meetings with multiple vendors to help set me up for success moving forward. It was the most any of us could have expected out of a virtual event.”  

Highlights from the week included keynote speaker and industry expert Ivy Zelman who delivered a session titled  “2021 Housing and Economic Outlook” while providing insight into the market.

The event also included professional education seminars and specialized education tracks for kitchen and bath designers and marketing professionals as well as product knowledge sessions from dozens of suppliers. 

“I felt this year’s LMC Annual provided a great opportunity for more members of my team since it was virtual. The week was packed solid with great education and product knowledge sessions that we learned a number of new things from,” commented Bruce Bernard,  president of Bernard Building Center based in Hale, Mich.  

According to LMC, the event delivered on all of the expectations of a physical in-person event without the cost of traveling. Attendees could visit Exhibitor Booths daily, take advantage of exclusive show specials, and schedule meetings with suppliers and their  LMC Team to discuss new products, and plan their purchasing strategy. 

“The LMC network has shown tremendous support at our large virtual events and our successes over the last year far exceeded our expectations and would not be possible without our strong dealers,” said John Somerville, LMC president and CEO. “As the world slowly opens back up, I hope that we will see everyone in person at next year’s Annual  Meeting. I truly believe there are brighter days ahead for all of us.”  

Somerville will retire in June and the buying group announced yesterday that he will be succeeded by SVP of Finance and Technology, Paul Ryan.

The 2022 LMC Annual Meeting is scheduled for March 23 to March 25 in Tampa, Fla.