New leadership has brought a new approach to World Millwork Alliance’s (WMA) 60th annual trade show and convention this week in Cleveland. In her first year as WMA executive director, Renee Hornsby told [DWM] she was reorganizing the schedule, dedicating the first day solely to networking and education. As of 8 a.m. Monday morning, that plan appeared to land well with attendees, as the ballroom and conference areas of The Hotel Cleveland filled with millwork professionals. The historic hotel serves as a perfect back drop for the event, with its elaborate mouldings and millwork. Attendees filed in as early as 7 a.m., networking over coffee ahead of the first session.
WMA’s programming exudes business, starting with key insights amid a Women in Millwork Breakfast focusing on sustainable leadership. The association has hosted its share of Women In Millwork groups and events over the years, an effort that began with prior CEO, Rosalie Leone, and continuing under new leadership.
“Your presence here today matters,” Beth Monts De Oca, executive vice president for Worldwide Door Components Inc. (the session sponsor) told around 40 attendees, before handing it over to Gabrielle K. Gabrielli, Ph.D., of Gabrielle Consulting Inc.
A survey conducted by Gabrielli ahead of the event showed that a third of the women attending the session have been in the industry for 20 or more years—the majority reporting they were at the event primarily to network.
“My goal today is to have you all connect,” she told those in attendance at the breakfast.
In her talk, Gabrielli discussed the challenges faced by women in millwork and other industries, including burnout.
“How many of you are good at compartmentalizing and leaving work at work?” she asked, eliciting just two to three hands. “You must take care of yourselves,” she advised the group.
As the session turned to work-life balance, among the practical techniques provided were an Eisenhower Matrix, which helps to identify which tasks are critical and those that “really don’t matter,” Gabrielli said. She spoke about “to-do” lists and “to-don’t” lists, urging attendees to prioritize, while focusing on personal health.
Following the breakfast, in the event’s opening session, Hornsby said the past 12 months for the association have been about more than just new systems and updating technologies. Her first year at the helm has also been about “trust and belonging,” she said. So far, the results are promising, as the association has added 75 new member companies over the past year, she said, adding, “The more we listen, the stronger we become.” Midway through the first day, Hornsby told [DWM] she expected that number to now be somewhere between 75 and 80.
Nuts and Bolts Predictions
Keynote speaker Connor Lokar, of ITR Economics, gave attendees an idea of what to expect from the housing market and economy in the coming year.
“How’s everybody feeling out back?” Lokar asked across the ballroom, followed by cheers and applause. “Well, I can take care of that pretty quickly,” he joked.
A “bomb” of uncertainty was dropped on the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2025, Lokar said, leaving a lot of companies locked in indecision about changes. At the same time, while tariffs have presented issues for some, they “haven’t been fatal to the economy,” he assured. Instead, the economic growth trend is about where it was at the start of the year, he said.
“Just because I don’t like or prefer a particular policy set does not mean that it kills the economy,” Lokar told attendees. There are problems in some areas and with some businesses, while others lose, he said, others have benefitted. “But, at a high level the economy is growing,” he assured. “And we expect it to grow next year.”
At the same time, Lokar, who described his firm’s approach to reporting as “no B.S. economics,” said the housing market continues to struggle and is expected to do so in the months ahead. Recent measurements show the domestic millwork industry is currently up, he said, but “You’re going to have to fight for business next year,” he warned. Those primarily serving the single-family sector, “will have to fight,” he said, adding, “Unfortunately, for another year, we’re going to have to embrace the struggle. We’re not going back to 2021 … when the market did the work for us.”
With the single-family market currently in recession and retracting, Lokar doesn’t see a reversal happening until late next year, with better expectations for 2027.
Among other positive indicators that will bring change, income growth is continuing, he said, while home prices are declining.
Those discussions spilled over to the peer-to-peer exchanges in a business roundtable session, following Lokar’s presentation. Around 100 attendees gathered around tables to discuss everything from tariffs to how their companies are adjusting to current market conditions.
Regarding the event’s education-first focus, “I think it’s good,” said Tony Casey, with Composite Technology International. From an exhibitor’s perspective, “I think it’s going to work well,” he said.
The event unlocks the doors to its trade show Tuesday.