Last month, Thom talked about the origins of The Advertiser as we reached its 10th anniversary. This month, it’s time to celebrate the start of our 11th year! The Second Decade and Beyond What better way to enter the magazine’s second decade than with a brand new website! As I...

It’s in my nature to always keep working to build a better mousetrap, and that’s what I was doing when I started the JobLine back in 1992. I had used recruiters as a candidate and as a General Manager, and I saw how the typical recruiting process could be improved. JobLine...

Ten years may as well have been a lifetime with so much water under the industry bridge; so to speak. I looked back and saw how our little weekly newsletter became what is now the largest, and only monthly, publication that focuses on the Truss, Wall Panel, and Building Components...

I get it—people are BUSY. I know life is jam-packed with all kinds of commitments and time constraints. Sometimes, we just don’t know how we’re going to finish all of the essential things we have to do, much less the optional activities. That’s the primary reason why I...

Occasionally, someone will ask me—do you have themed issues or an editorial calendar? To date, the answer to that question is—no. Every author is invited to speak their mind about the topic of their choosing, so our articles appear in the order in which they are submitted. With that...

When I wrote my first Advertiser Forum column, for the December 2015 issue, I concluded with the following statement, which is as true today as it was then: So we can’t promise that you’ll agree with everything you read here. We can’t promise that everyone will read...

As we bid farewell to last year and welcome the new year, I always like to reflect on accomplishments (and try to learn from mistakes) before heading back into the daily grind. Events of 2017 While a lot of us led fairly routine lives last year, I know a few people who did exciting things...

With the holidays over and everyone going back to business as usual, I’m drawn to a topic that may help a weary traveler this year. Even if you’re stuck 20,000 feet in the air like I was, you can still get lots of good information to soothe a worried mind. For example, I could see...

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2nd Holiday Favorites contest! With 9 questions and 3 options for each, the poll results showed a lot of variation in our readers’ Thanksgiving traditions. Cooking the Turkey in the oven was the clear favorite, but several went onto the...

I doubt I’m alone in this experience—you’ve just had a success of some sort and you’re feeling good about it . . . so something else goes wrong. After every high, a low will follow. The universe may be trying to keep things in balance, but it would be nice to be able to...