During Blake's absence, we've invited a guest host, Mickey Panayiotakis, of Infamia as we welcome our guest Patrick Atagi from the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association. Wooden pallets are one of those unique items that many people do not think about often but without which, the hauling of freight of all varieties would not be possible. There's nearly two billion pallets in the United States at any given time but they are in a constant state of use, degradation, rebuilding, and recycling to keep the wood in circulation and used again and again until it's not possible to remake into pallets. It has had a sustainable business model since the beginning and besides being good for the environment, pallet construction and recycling is labor intensive which creates and maintains jobs. Learn more about this often unconsidered but essential item and the association that advocates for it's members on Through the Noise.  Atagi is a long time Washingtonian and a senior association executive with experience on Capitol Hill and as a presidential political appointee under George W. Bush. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has an MBA from the University of Maryland, and a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). The National Wooden Pallet & Container Association (NWPCA) is the largest organization of wood packaging professionals in the world, with more than 670 company members in 28 countries who manufacture, repair and distribute pallets and wood packaging in unit-load solutions, or who supply products and services to the industry.