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TheBuzz

BY ERIKA ENGLE

Conference fit
to be framed

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As conferences go, some are sexier than others. L-headers and top load-bearing jack and king studs are alluring enough to bring 250 to 300 people descending on Waikiki a week from today for the 2003 Pacific Rim Steel Framing Conference.

The four-day conference at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider -- expected to be attended by folks from Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the mainland -- will be chock-full of seminars, hands-on training networking, job site tours, day tours, an industry expo and the requisite golf tournament.

The conference is being staged by the Hawaii-Pacific Steel Framing Alliance whose "big hairy audacious goal," is "to be the preeminent worldwide steel framing resource for designers, managers, estimators, suppliers and contractors." At least, that's according to its Web site at www.hawaiisteel.com.

The original board of directors gets the credit for that goal, according to Executive Director Mardie Torres.

"The national organization also follows that kind of B-HAG thing," he said.

Of the seven affiliates of the national Steel Framing Alliance, "we're the most active," Torres said.

We also have construction-friendly weather pretty much all year.

Adding to the allure of the conference, results of studies will be presented by teams of researchers, including some from the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, Georgetown University and the University of Hawaii.

New boss for New Wave

New Wave Broadcasting LP's five Honolulu stations get a new general manager Tuesday when Dan Manella arrives from Milwaukee.

"He's been here several times," said New Wave President Dex Allen, "he's very well prepared."

With a background in radio sales in Midwest markets, Manella most recently served as general manager of the three-station Milwaukee Radio Alliance, stations operated together but under separate ownership. New Wave owns KQMQ-FM 93.1, KPOI-FM 97.5, KHUI-FM 99.5, KDDB-FM 102.7 and KORL-AM 650.

Manella replaces Jeff Schatz, hired in 2001 as New Wave's first general manager since its purchase of the stations in 1998. Schatz is no longer with the company.

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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com