George “Sid” Ketchum, cofounder of the Wood Truss Council of America (WTCA), and an exceptionally generous man, passed away peacefully on November 11, 2024. Sid had a long and distinguished career in the truss business, beginning in 1973 when he took over PDJ Components, a lumberyard’s roof truss business in Chester, NY. Early in his tenure, Sid realized that the key to growing his small business was gaining knowledge from his peers, and that led him to become increasingly involved in the Component Manufacturers Council (CMC), which at that time was part of the Truss Plate Institute (TPI). Seeking to advance their collective knowledge and voice, in 1983, Sid joined with a small group of CMC members in creating WTCA as an independent association, despite considerable controversy. Later, he helped establish the New York Chapter of WTCA and was elected its President.
Under Sid’s leadership, the New York Chapter’s members came together and successfully countered restrictions on the use of trusses that were proposed by New York Fire officials. Sid was also active in the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association and was chosen its Man of the Year in 1999. And, all the while, Sid was fostering the growth of PDJ Components, detaching it from his lumberyard, and enabling it to become an important supplier in the Northeast, through good times and not so good.
While Sid gave much to the truss industry, his greatest impact was upon the people he worked with, both in his business and his community. One of his managers from decades ago, Jim Smith, recalled recently how both Sid and his wife Pam came down to the truss plant daily to greet and engage each worker in conversation, creating a warm family atmosphere at PDJ. That was how Sid treated everyone he encountered. And he was such a humble, giving man. We knew he was devoted to his family, but none of us who worked with him had any idea of the extent of his devotion to the needy (see his obituary for more on his good work as well as the Celebration of Life planned for December 15). Sid Ketchum truly lived for others, and in the process, he changed so many lives, including Jim Smith’s, mine, and so many more.