re a

T his week:

Getting away / from
the bottom line

rofessional forester Herby

P Squish and marketing

manager Syd Silver had

been talking over a few ideas for

their first quarterly management

plan for about 45 minutes when

sawmill manager Buzz Sawyer
finally entered Herby’s office.

Sawyer had spent the last three-

quarters of an hour with Milton .

Jovial and he looked a little frayed
at the edges from the experience.
Silver decided a little humour was
required and smiled as he quipped,
"You're late." It didn’t work.

“You knew I would be," Sawyer
growled back. "Now let’s get done
what has to be done and get back
to work."

"Sorry Buzz," Silver said sym-
pathetically. "You had a long
session with the boss. How did it
go?"

The dam burst, "Numbers, curs-
ing, more numbers, more cursing...

Then the bottom line. Profit and
loss. That’s how it went. At least
we agreed on one thing, though.
There is a bottom line. And it’s in
everyone’s best interest to make
that number as big as we possibly
can. It doesn’t matter how we do
it. Just as long as we do it.
Because that’s the one and only
number his lordship Milton M.

Jovial ever reads."

Squish groaned, “The bottom
line. The great and glorious bottom
line."

"That’s what we’ve been talking
about too, Buzz," Silver offered.
"But not in the same manner.
There are other things Jovial needs
to consider. The bottom line and
how it affects us... Buzz, it might
look great in the beginning. But in
the long run, it can prove disas-
trous. And Jovial has to learn that
before things begin going wrong."

"C’mon guys." It was Sawyer’s

Terrace Review —— Wednesday, August 21, 1991 7

turn to groan. “Jovial’s the boss
and his employees do what he
says. Now let’s get this meeting
over with. I've got a bunch of
trees sitting out there that need to
be tured into dollars... Fast."

Squish had been an observer up
to this point, but it was obvious he
had better place his thoughts on
the table and try to tactfully sway
Sawyer from Jovial’s philosophy
of life.

"Buzz," Squish began. "Syd and
I have come up with the basis for
a simple plan and if you'll just
listen quietly for a moment I think

Forestry
Insights

by Tod Strachan, in consultation with Rod Arnold and Doug Davies

you'll see why, in our opinion, it’s
important to gradually wean
Milton Jovial off the bottom line.

Because Syd’s right. It could prove .

disastrous to us all."

With that, Squish began to relate
1o Sawyer the conversation he had
earlier with Silver. But as Squish
began his argument against the
bottom line, Silver saw the pained
expression. that began to cloud
Sawyer’s face. Sawyer was in
pain, split between the view of his
friends and the demands of his
boss. After his 45-minute tongue
lashing from the boss, Silver

To the Editor;

I would like to respond to a letter
to the editor in your publication of
August 7, 1991 over the signature
of Brian Gregg.

Mr. Gregg quotes me several
times — rather, I should say mis-
quotes me — and to this date he
has not communicated with me in
person, by phone, fax or mail. He
may be well advised to at least
contact people if he wishes to
quote them.

There are several inaccuracies in
his letter. I only wish to respond to
those items as they impact on the
local White Cane Club, the Cana-
dian Council of the Blind and, of
course, the citizens of your com-
munity.

Thanks to

Letters to the Editor
Local club commended by national group

Mr. Gregg states that Mr. Felix.

Goyette was expelled from the
White Cane Club for misappropri-
ation of funds according to the
club constitution. If he had read
the constitution he would see that
no such clause exists. Had he read
the National constitution he would

find no such clause. However, in ~

the National constitution Article
15, section two does state that a
member may be expelled for be-
haviour unbecoming a member of
the Council. This is the section
that covers the dealings with Mr.
Goyette. A club may refuse mem-
bership in the local club but cannot
expel a member from the whole
Council. That is a Divisional or
National prerogative. A club may

parade

helpers from Legion

To the Editor;

_ On behalf of the Royal Canadian

Legion, Branch 13, in Terrace, I
would like to express appreciation
to all the people who assisted in
the building and decorating of or
participated in the R.C.L. Float for
Riverboat Days. In particular I
would like to thank Maury Thorn-
ton for the use of his truck and

Pifer === Continued from page 6

Parting Thought: It cannot
have been ah easy decision Mel
Couvelier made when he

‘announced he would not be seek-

ing re-election.

But given the stain and stress of
the past few weeks on him, on
his wife, Millie, and on his
friends and famity, coupicd with
another difficult election battle

~ looming in North Saanich, it was

trailer, Howard Cromarty for the
use of his shop, the merchants who
made donations, and Linda Hudson
for ali her work. We would all like
to thank the inspiration for the
multi-cultural and most appropriate
theme of "A United Canada" —
thank you, Joan Davis-McKenzie.
Richard Green,

Terrace.

the right decision.

Charismatic is not a word one
ever would use to describe Mr.
Couvelicr. Bul sincere, straight,
intense, and loyal are words
which fit him well. He will be
missed, and his departure from
the clection and from the "team"
of the woman he helped to make
Premicr, wiil hurt Social Credit...
and not just in Saanich,

suggest expulsion, however, the
Terrace White Cane Club made no
such recommendation, it was dealt
with by the Division executive.
This matter is under review by our
National president, and Mr. Goy-
ette will be contacted by the Na-
tional body shortly.

"Mr. Goyette has never been

accused or charged formally or
informally either verbally or in

writing of theft or misappropriation
of funds.

Presidents are elected by local
club members, not by Division
presidents and this club was no
exception. Mr. Goyette’s presence
as a delegate to our conference had
nothing to do with his presidency,
as any full member of a White
Cane Club can be delegated to
attend.

When the club was first formed
the Division issued a cheque for
$250 which is standard procedure
as start-up funding for new clubs.

After the conference in Prince .

George, I went to Terrace to for-
mally install the club. At that time
I sat down with both Mrs.
Comfield and Felix Goyette and
worked out a trial budget for over
one year, which again is standard
practice with new clubs until they
get their organization up and run-
ning. After this time has elapsed
and ongoing needs are reasonably
established, funding continues as to
need and Divisional ability.

We encourage clubs to be self-
reliant whenever possible, but do
not demand or pressure them into
any fund-raising activities. We will
assist or advise if asked.

No one in the Terrace White
Cane Club was pressured to raise
funds in any way. On the contrary,
when I worked out the trial budget
I Icft them a cheque for $1,400 to
assure they would not have to be
concermed about funds.

The failed fund-raising event that
Mr. Gregg refers to was in full
swing for at least two weeks
before I found out about it from a
concerned member who was sure
things were not right. I will not go
into the details of the messy hap-
penings — that has been publi-
cized enough.

As it was too late to stop the
program, all I could do was moni-
tor the situation and be prepared to
try to carry out damage control
where needed. At no time did Mr.
Goyette contact me about any
suspicions regarding ihe fund-raiser
— to the contrary, he assured me
that things were going well, which
I found not to be the case.

Lam only two thirds through Mr.
Gregeg’s letter to your paper. Suf-
fice it to say that the balance of his
letter contains similar errors.’

The Terrace White Cane Club is
a group of blind Canadians who
desire to be honourable members
of the parent organization and their
community. Understanding and
support from the community will
go a long way in helping them
achieve their goals of self-help,
supporting other blind and main-
taining their dignity.

What they don’t need is false
accusations based on mis-informa-
tion.

Personally, | am very sorry about
the whole matter. [ feel for Mr.
Goyette and am sure that our Na-
tional president will be in touch
with him with positive suggestions.
In the meantime, I wish Mr. Goy-
elte well.

Thank you for your valued space.

Stanley E. Bradshaw,
President,

Canadian Council

of the Blind,

~ B.C./Yukon Division.

thought, Sawyer needs a bit of a
break. He searched his brain for a
few tension casing words.

"Ever notice how all our last
names begin with the letter °S*?"
He finally cut in. "Wonder why?"

Squish was annoyed. "Syd," he
moaned. Silver’s attempts at
humour, as well intended as they
may be, were often distracting and
misplaced. Before he could repri-
mand him, though, Sawyer came
back with an answer of sorts.

"Smart starts with an °S’ too," he
said. "That's probably why."

"So does simple-minded," Squish
observed, as he glowered at Silver.

"How about rocket scientist,"
Silver replied, emphasizing the last
word,

"That you ain’t," said Sawyer.

All three men began to laugh.

"Sorry guys,” Sawyer apologized.
"T guess I am a little tense." Then,
looking at Squish, "Carry on
Herby.. I'll listen. But 1 won't
promise to learn.”

Squish grinned at Silver. Perhaps
this 280-pound sales whiz wasn’t
so simple-minded after all. It was
clear that Sawyer had relaxed a
little and a cool head was a pre-
requisite to good communication.

Picking up where he left off,
Squish first laid down the basics.
"Our plan has to be simple but
effective," he said. "We don’t want
any confusion or misunderstand-
ings. We do want a plan that will
work."

Squish then explained how there
were three distinct phases to
Jovial’s operation that must work
together as effectively as a Swiss-
made watch. He would have to
communicate with Silver to deter-
mine market needs. Find out what
sizes, species, and quantities of
fibre Silver would need to meet
expected orders on the order file.
With this information, he would
target specific cut blocks in order
do his best to meet Silver's needs.

While Squish and Silver were
busy sorting out the supply and
demand end of things, Sawyer
would monitor the situation to
make sure he could produce the
material Silver was selling. He
would have to organize his produc-
tion pian according to sales. He
would have to plan in advance,
figuring oul, for example, when
and how often he would need to
change blades on the head rig to
accommodate different species of
wood scheduled to go through the
mill, Because once confirmed,
orders would have to come off the
production line on schedule and in
an efficient and effective manner.
There was no room for error.

Next week, a second part to the
quarterly management plan.

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