Occupation: “Manager at Bowman’s Stove & Patio.”

Special Interests/Hobbies: “Hiking, Travel, Snowboarding, Reading.”

Problems Facing the Hearth Industry: “Excessive government regulations are a big threat to the hearth industry. We need to be constantly on guard and fight back against government regulators with no common sense; they could do great harm to our businesses.”

Forecast for Hearth Product Sales in 2016: “I think gas fireplace, stove and insert sales will increase for 2016 and continue to be the best selling category in our store, as long as the price of propane and natural gas continues to stay very low, which seems likely. Sales of wood stoves and inserts will probably be down again, or about even with the slower sales of this past season. If there’s a sudden spike in oil prices or a very cold fall/winter 2016, then wood stove sales will be up.”

Problems Facing the Patio and/or Barbecue Industries: “Long lead times on custom-order outdoor furniture, and some furniture manufacturers not providing honest ship-date estimates are big problems. Manufacturers need to be honest and upfront about shipping delays rather than just giving retailers a random ship-date estimate and then missing that estimated date by weeks or months.”

Forecast for Patio & Barbecue Products in 2016: “I think patio furniture and grill sales will be up for 2016. We’ve seen higher than normal traffic of people looking at patio furniture and grills over the winter; we hope that translates to increased sales in the spring/summer. Average ticket sales will continue to go up. People seem to be building bigger and bigger patios and decks. So there’s a lot more space to fill with furniture and accessories.”

Years Reading Hearth & Home: “I’ve been reading Hearth & Home ever since I started working in the industry over 10 years ago.”

Reasons for Reading Hearth & Home: “To keep up with what’s new in the industry. To learn from the articles written about other successful stores around the country. To see sales trends.”