Cardinal O'Hara Lecture Series

Fall 2002--Upcoming Speaker

Milton Cole, CEO, Cole Hardwoods
Lecture title: Business Ethics in a Time of Crisis
Tuesday, September 24, 7 p.m., Jordan Auditorium

Milton Cole was born on January 20, 1935, in Drummonds, Tennessee, and he was one of eleven children.

He graduated from Munford High School in 1952, and from the John W. McClure Lumber School in Memphis, Tennessee in 1956.

Mr. Cole married the former Doris “Jean” Rhodes on December 3, 1955. He and Jean have two sons: Keith and Randy, and four grandchildren.

Mr. Cole began working for the John I. Shafer Hardwood Company, Inc. in 1956, and he was the general manager for many years. He purchased the John I. Shafer Hardwood Company on November 17, 1986, and he changed the name to Cole Hardwood, Inc.

MILTON COLE'S CURRENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:

• CEO of Cole Hardwood, Inc.
• CEO of Indiana Dimension, Inc. (Cole Hardwood’s sister company)
• CEO MKR Farms, Inc.
• CEO Cole Farms, Inc.
• Lumbermen’s Underwriting Alliance Advisory Board, in Boca Raton, FL
• Board of Directors at Salin Bank & Trust, in Logansport, IN
• Advisory Board of Evergreen Magazine, in Medford, OR
• Member of the Rotary Club, in Logansport, IN
• Member of Calvary Presbyterian Church, in Logansport, IN
• IUK Foundation Advisory Council, in Kokomo, IN

• Past President of The Hardwood Manufacturers Association, in Pittsburgh, PA
• Past President of The Logansport Chamber of Commerce, in Logansport, IN
• Past President of The Hardwood Distributors Association, Inc.
• Past President of The Indiana Hardwood Lumber Association
• Past President of The El-Tip-Wa Building Trades, in Logansport, IN
• Served on Board of Directors for The National Hardwood Lumber Association
• Served on Steering Committee for The Forestry Department, Purdue University
• 1992 Fund Raising Chairman on The Cass County United Way Board

Milton and Jean own Cole Farms, and Milton and his two sons operate the farms.

REGARDING THE COLE HARDWOOD, INC. FIRE:

On Saturday, June 13, 1998, approximately 3:00 PM, I received a telephone call at my home that there was a fire in one of our sheds at Cole Hardwood, Inc.

When I arrived at the lumber yard, I felt that the fire was under control as it was contained in just one building. Somehow the fire got into the lumber shed west of the one that was burning, and within 30 minutes the fire was ablaze in the second lumber shed. Shortly after that, the fire was totally out of control. We had 30 different fire departments, and 250 firemen, and 5 tanker trucks fighting our fire.

We lost eleven buildings, and 8 1/2 million board feet of inventory of hardwood lumber.

The insurance company settled with us for 14 1/2 million dollars. We used all of that amount, plus two more million dollars to rebuild our company.

We are a much better and bigger company today.

Milton Cole
CEO Cole Hardwood, Inc.
CEO Indiana Dimension, Inc.

On November 17, 1986, Milton and Jean Cole purchased John I. Shafer Hardwood Co., Inc., and they changed the name to Cole Hardwood, Inc. Milton has worked for Mr. Shafer for 30 years before he and his wife purchased the company.

When Milton and Jean purchased the company, Shafer’s had seven kilns and 225,000 feet kiln capacity Today we have 20 kilns, and 1,250,000 feet kiln capacity.

John I. Shafer Hardwood, Inc. had 80,000 square footage of warehouse storage. Cole Hardwood, Inc. has 250,000 square feet of warehouse storage.

We do business in forty plus countries in the world, and all of the continents in the world, except Antarctica. At present, we have 16 million board feet of inventory at our facility.

We also have a Retail Store on our property which specializes in moldings, custom-made doors, and hardwood flooring. Any individual can purchase just one board, up to one thousand feet of hardwood lumber at the retail store. When customers purchase one thousand feet or more of hardwood lumber, they receive wholesale prices through our salesmen at the main office.

We have also built Indiana Dimension, Inc. (IDI) which is our sister company, and Roy and Tender Rentschler are our partners in this company. IDI makes cabinet component parts, furniture component parts, moldings, and hardwood flooring. IDI has the capability to run almost any profile that a customer wants. Indiana Dimension, Inc. has 90,000 square feet under roof with the latest technology in the industry.