Milestone event for CMA

The Cabinet Makers Association (CMA) hosted a national conference on Mar. 8-10 to celebrate its 25th anniversary at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville, Tenn. The event featured guest speakers, local plant tours, and networking opportunities.

Since its founding in 1998, the CMA has grown to include hundreds of small- to medium-sized cabinet, millwork, and furniture shops across the U.S. and Canada. About 150 members attended the conference. “When woodworkers all over the country come together as a group, each one becomes stronger,” says, Amanda Conger, the CMA’s executive director.

Kevin McNulty, a leadership strategist and coach, delivered the opening keynote address on “Future-Proofing Your Mindset”. Tim Coleman followed with a talk about maximizing the bottom line from his experience in the home storage business.

Other presenters included Paul Downs, owner of Paul Downs Custom Conference Tables in Bridgeport, Pa., on developing a company culture, and Kelly Victor-Burke of Burke Architectural Millwork in Livonia, Mich. and Lois Snyder of Periwinklers in Tarpon Springs, Fla., on “Finding Your Niche”.

The conference concluded with a pricing strategy workshop led by Ken Kumph of Premier Builders in Georgetown, Mass. and Matt Wehner of Cabinet Concepts by Design in Springfield, Mo., and a closing address by Doug Tatum, author of No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail.

Plant tours featured California Closets Tennessee, Cumberland Architectural Millwork, and Hartert-Russell in the Nashville area.

Event sponsors included Blum, CCF Industries, Crow’s Nest Software, DC Distributing, Federated Insurance, Hafële, Lockdowel, Original Saw, REHAU, Rev-A-Shelf, Renovar, Richelieu, ShopBot, Stiles, Weinig Holz-Her USA, and Williams & Hussey.

For more, visit cabinetmakers.org.  

This article was originally published in the May 2023 issue.