From the Executive Director

NHLA Executive Director Dallin Brooks reflects on leadership, tradition, and innovation as the association embarks on a new chapter, strengthening education, advocacy, and initiatives like Real American Hardwood™ to prepare the hardwood industry for a thriving future.

The global economy is a complex machine. I don’t pretend to know all the factors that make it run, much like modern cars, but I do know it doesn’t take much to break it down. When I was a kid, I used to work on old cars with my dad. Back then, you could tune a carburetor yourself, and there was enough room under the hood to crawl inside if you had to. Behind our barn sat eight or nine broken-down cars, each waiting its turn. We’d haul one out, fix it up, and send it back on t