In the November/December 2015 edition of My Take, Timber Harvesting magazine Executive Editor DK Knight remembers logging activist Earl St. John. Knight writes, "When I met logger Earl St. John in late August on the front steps of his lovely home in Spalding, Mich., he shook my hand and then put a piece of paper in it. The paper was a copy of a page from this magazine, dated exactly 10 years ago this month. On it was my photo beneath an editorial I had written, entitled, “If It’s That Bad...”"

Streamside Zones Expanded In Oregon; Biomass Plant Planned For Perry, Florida; Weyco Buys Plum Creek, May Sell Pulp Mills; Earl St. John, Jr. Was Logging Leader, Champion; Lawsuits Entangle Restoration Project; More Biomass Power Plants In The Works; Canada’s Canfor Purchases Anthony Forest Products; SD Thinning Contractors Must Pay Federal Fines

Timber Harvesting magazine Associate Editor Jessica Johnson visits Gladson Logging in New Bern, North Carolina. The year 2015 was a big one for North Carolina’s Gilbert Gladson in that he officially started doing business as Gladson Logging. After working in the woods for over 25 years, 18 of them in the challenging lowlands of the central Carolina coast, the pieces fell into place for Gladson, thanks in large part to support from Enviva Biomass.

Timber Harvesting magazine Associate Editor Jessica Johnson travels to New Galilee, Pennsylvania to visit Industrial Timber and Pulp. att Sokoloski, 40, admits when he first started out, he had not a single clue about what he was doing. Everything he’s learned about logging has been self-taught, filled with ups and downs and in-betweens. “The first few jobs I did, I got burned on the log prices,” he says. The prices were so bad at first that Sokoloski had nearly convinced himself to quit, that he wasn’t cut out to be a logger. Then it seemed like all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and two years ago Sokoloski’s business, Industrial Timber and Pulp, based in New Galilee, Pa., hit its stride. “I was happy because I made a couple bucks,” Sokoloski recalls.

Timber Harvesting magazine Senior Associate Editor David Abbott has the opportunity to visit Ezzell Trucking, Inc. in Harrells, North Carolina. t’s been a long road for Ezzell Trucking, Inc. since James Ezzell started the company with one truck in 1951. For most of that 64-year stretch, the trucks weren’t hauling wood products—the first commodity he transported was live turkeys. Nearly two decades later in 1969, Ezzell expanded into the refrigerated food business, and later into the dry van business. It wasn’t until 1990 that the trucking entity made its first turn towards wood fiber when it started a relationship with International Paper, hauling wood chips. Twenty years later Ezzell Trucking began transporting 100% forest products.

With another safe, well attended show in the rearview mirror, sponsors of the Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo are already discussing how to improve and expand the next event, set for early fall 2017. However, they continue to savor the success of the September 18-19 event, held again near Selma-Smithfield, NC. which drew a record crowd of 3,500 and tons upon tons of advanced equipment, new technology and supplies. “I did not hear anything but positive comments,” said Expo Coordinator Jack Swanner. “The weather was beautiful; the attendance was outstanding, and we had higher vendor participation than ever. It was a huge success!”

Ponsse North America Celebrates 20th Year; Tidewater Opens Fifth Parts Depot; Morbark Opens Door For Manufacturing Day; Ponsse Appoints Director Of Supply; Andringa New Vermeer President And CEO

Timber Harvesting magazine contributor Wendy Farrand discusses defining your company’s culture. Farrand writes, “There are thousands and thousands of logging contractors around the world working hard every day to supply the world’s insatiable demand for wood. Have you ever thought about what sets your company apart? A mission statement serves as a guide for the decisions you make and helps to define the culture of your company. A company without a mission statement is a company that fails to communicate the core purpose of what it does and why."

Tigercat 822D F-B; Doosan Log Loader; Komatsu Harvester Lineup; Timken Lube System; Southstar Processor Grapple

As We (ALC) See It: Maintaining The ALC Course; Forestry Mutual Honors C.K. Greene; Appalachian Award Goes To Humphreys