Industry News Roundup

As We See It: Get In the Wheelbarrow

By Scott Dane

Super Bowl champion quart erback Kurt Warner sent a letter to the American Loggers Council that was shared at the Annual Conference. In it, Kurt conveys a story re garding a symbolic reminder to the 1999 Super Bowl champion, St. Louis Rams football team during their practices. Their coach Dick Vermeil had a blue wheelbarrow on the sidelines. It was a visual motivational reminder to inspire the team and was based on the following story:

Dane

There once was a man who traveled from town to town performing a tightrope act. In one town he proclaimed that he would walk on a rope spanning a nearby wide river canyon. He boasted he would do it pushing a wheelbarrow.

Townsfolk didn’t believe him, so he practiced flawlessly just five feet off of the ground on a rope tied be tween a pair of trees. After seeing the tightrope walker practice one farmer said he believed the man could cross the river canyon. He even bet $10 to prove his faith in the man’s skills.

The man asked the farmer if he really had faith that he could do it? The farmer said, “I sure do.” The tightrope walker said, “Okay, get in the wheelbarrow!”

“Success in any field begins with faith. Faith in yourself. Faith in your teammates. Faith in coaches. And in my case faith in God.

The championship teams that I played with had faith. We climbed in the wheelbarrow together. So –

Keep the Faith.”

Kurt Warner was an American underdog who got his chance to play for the St. Louis Rams in 1999 after having been passed over by other teams. The American Loggers

Council got its chance in St. Louis,

Mo. in 1994 when the “team” was formed by a bunch of American underdogs who had faith – faith in themselves, faith in each other and faith in God. They got in the wheelbarrow together and over the past 28 years crossed many canyons while building a championship team. They didn’t stand on the sidelines, they got in the game. They took the hits, but they carried the ball and scored! The American Loggers Council is a championship team!

Kurt also autographed a poster titled “Legacy” that said:

“Legacy – Live a Life that

Inspires Others to Dream Bigger,

Try Harder, Do Better and Accomplish the Unexpected.” Those who came together to form the American Loggers Council in Missouri in 1994 have left a legacy because they inspired others to dream bigger, try harder, do better and accomplish the unexpected.

They had faith and got into the wheelbarrow. Today’s American

Loggers Council is their legacy.

Some of them were in Branson and were recognized. Representing the first President, Earl St. Johns, was his grandson, Jordan St. Johns, and his great-grandson. Also present and recognized were inaugural representatives Jim Carey (MI), Eric May ranen (MN) and Charles Johns (FL). Representing Marvin Zuber (OR) was his son, Bruce Zuber,

Western Regional Representative of the American Loggers Council. The legacy of the American logger has been recognized. It was announced at the conference that a resolution was introduced in the

U.S. Senate to designate October 12 as National Loggers Day. This reso-

lution honors the American logger for their role in building America; producing products for Americans from the renewable timber harvested; creating jobs; and forest management that results in healthy forests that provide recreational opportunities, animal habitat, clean water, carbon sequestration and reduction of wildfires. The designation of this National Loggers Day was achieved because (team) members of the American Loggers Council worked together to garner this overdue national recognition. So loggers, on October 12, take a moment to proudly reflect on what you do, on what your fathers and grandfathers did, and how it contributes to building America every day. Without loggers, America would not be the great country it is today. You are an American legacy. Kurt Warner and his wife Brenda run the First Things First Foundation which is dedicated to impacting lives in a lasting way by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences, and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put “first things first.” When Kevin Smith, American Loggers Council Director of Communications and Marketing, contacted the First Things First Foundation and explained to them that the American Loggers Council is the national sponsor of the Log-A-Load For Kids program and that we would be holding a fundraising auction at the conference, Kurt responded with the letter and autographed Legacy poster. With great success comes great responsibility. Kurt Warner accepts this and so does the American Loggers Council. The ALC has been blessed with success, and, like Kurt, appreciates the responsibility to help others and impact their lives in a positive way. The Log-A-Load For Kids auction raised over $56,000! In addition, an impromptu auction to support a logger dealing with cancer was conducted. The two items (autographed Duck Dynasty duck calls and Stihl chain saw) that were donated were auctioned – donated back – then re auctioned - numerous times, raising a total of $38,000.

The outpouring of support and generosity demonstrated by loggers from across the country for children in Missouri and a logger in Louisiana was a testimony of the character of the logging community and family.

Two-hundred and fifty timber industry representatives came to

Branson, Mo. from across the country to represent the American logging industry. They met to discuss and explore “Tomorrow’s Timber

Industry.” To share ideas and thoughts, much like loggers did 28 years prior when they formed the

American Loggers Council, to en sure that there is a viable future for the next generation. They came to gether to be responsible corporate stewards and support their communities. They came together to be part of a team, a winning team, and to make a difference – and what a difference they made! The American Loggers Council now represents loggers in 38 states.

If you are reading this, and you are not a member of your state logging association or the American Loggers Council, don’t be a believer that stands on the sidelines, be a believer that gets in the wheelbarrow. Be a part of the team!

Scott Dane is Executive Director of the American Loggers Council. ALC is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests of timber harvesting and timber hauling businesses across the United States. For more information visit www.amloggers.com.

TimberPro Announces Facility Expansion

TimberPro is making a significant expansion to its current operation in Shawano, Wis. Working with Keller Inc. as the construction contractor, the new addition will add 48,765 sq. ft. to TimberPro’s existing facility. The company ex pects to spend $8 million on the expansion project.

“Forestry is very important to our state’s economy and expanding our operation will enable us to provide more good family-supporting jobs in northern Wisconsin,” says Lee Crawford, CEO, TimberPro. “This expansion will also allow us to enhance our R&D capabilities and

significantly increase our production of existing and new products.”

The expansion will enable TimberPro to double the company’s production capacity to help meet market de mand for the equipment and attach ments manufactured at the facility. In conjunction with the ex pansion, the company anticipates adding new pos i tions for assemblers, welders, mach inists and office staff. The expansion project should be com pleted and ready for occupancy in the summer of 2023.

Established in 2002 and founded by the Crawford family, TimberPro is a manufacturer of purpose-built forest machines and attachments, offering tracked feller-bunchers and harves ters, forwarders, wheeled harvesters,

U Of Ga. Researchers Will Reengineer Poplar

A multidisciplinary team of re search ers at the University of Georgia and two partner institutions have been awarded a $15.8 million grant over five years from the U.S. Dept. of Energy to reengineer poplar trees to be used as a sustainable energy source. The researchers will use state-of the-art biotechnology approaches to breed the trees as a multipurpose crop that can be used for bioenergy, biomaterial and bioproduct alternatives to petroleum-based materials.

“Poplars are among the fastest growing trees in the United States and are important for both carbon sequestration and global carbon cy cling,” says Robin Buell, principal investigator on the grant and the GRA Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics at the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The team will start by measuring mRNA transcripts in single cells— mRNA transcripts are portable strands of RNA that encapsulate the information contained in a gene — and will look at how the 3D DNA changes in single cells. From this, they will create a cell type-specific gene expression and regulatory map of poplar that will provide new information on gene function. Ultimately, the project aims to fabricate new types of poplar through genetic modification. “What we propose is to genetically engineer poplar to make it a multipurpose crop by changing its architecture and engineering it to produce different things in the leaves and wood,” Buell says, adding that the team will try to engineer several different types of poplar trees in the study to take advantage of different plant materials—such as the wood or the leaves—for different uses.

Through biotechnology, plant ma terials from reengineered architecture of the tree will be used to create products that have the potential to re place petroleum-based products.

Center For Forest Business Starts Up

University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Arkansas Center for Forest Business, housed in the UAM College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources building on the Monticello campus. Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony, where Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson served as the keynote speaker.

The center was created to provide market-based economic solutions to forest resource issues. It aims to im prove business practices for forest enterprises and enhance the economic competitiveness of Arkansas’ forests in a global economy. Gov. Hutchinson provided seed funds of $450,000 to establish the center in June 2021.

Dr. Matthew Pelkki, professor, and George Clippert, Chair of For estry in the UAM College of For estry, Agriculture and Natural Re sources, serve as the directors of the Arkansas Center for Forest Business. During the ceremony, Dr. Pelk ki highlighted the origin of the center, explaining, “About 12 years ago, Dean Emeritus Phil Tappe and I came up with a simple concept: healthy forests, healthy forest economy, healthy forest businesses, and vibrant rural communities are really complementary. They all work to gether, and it is a win-win-win situation for the forest, the people, and the economy, so we put to gether a proposal for the Center for Forest Business with the help of a long list of people.”

Dr. Peggy Doss, chancellor of UAM, said the center will partner with programs at the UAM Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee to provide additional educational opportunities to those pursuing for estry-related careers.