August 2020 Issue <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Vol. 5 Issue 2
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In this issue read about the charity that has been selected to benefit from the Desserts for Dreams luncheon, highlights of the President's Field Trip, seminar and panel topics being selected for the 2021 Oregon Logging Conference.
Easy Quick Links to the 2021 OLC program schedule, panel and seminar topics, social events, competitions, and other activities can be found on the last page of this newsletter.
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Oregon Logging Conference President’s
Field Trip held in Lebanon/Sweet Home Areas
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Staying in compliance with current COVID-19 restrictions, the Oregon Logging Conference Board of Directors and families this month attended the annual President’s Field Trip and associated activities.
President Scott and Wendi Melcher hosted a fun and relaxing gathering, including a train ride and tour of Radiator Supply House.
At the Lebanon train station, the group boarded the Santiam Excursion Train, Operated by the Albany and Eastern Railroad, and enjoyed a round trip ride in an open top flat car to Radiator Supply House in Sweet Home.
The Albany and Eastern Railroad is privately owned and was acquired by the current owners in 2007. The new owners quickly went about re-vamping the company and the aging infrastructure and have heavily invested in upgrades of all the rail lines. The goal of the company is to revitalize the railroad business to offer a faster more efficient means for customers to move goods to and from markets. The company was first established in 1880 as the Albany-Lebanon Railroad, connecting those two communities with approximately 11 miles of track. Ownership changed multiple times over the years. The Sweet Home branch of the rail line was constructed in 1930 by the Oregon Electric Company. The line was constructed to connect the communities of Foster and Sweet Home with the then Southern Pacific line to Albany.
The open top flat car is 84-feet long, with benches running the full length of the car and railings all around. The OLC group was able to enjoy a nice lunch in the open air on the leisurely ride back to the Lebanon train station.
The tour of Radiator Supply House was hosted by Will Garrett, Vance Garrett, and Wes Collins. Radiator Supply House is a complete manufacturing facility for metal replacement radiators, steel tanks, all aluminum radiators, oil coolers, and charge air coolers. The business also features a large Icebox inventory for truck, agriculture, refuse, construction, RV, and performance. Not only did the group get a guided tour of Radiator Supply House, each person received a special hat with the business logo.
The day ended with an outdoor, open air, socially distanced dinner and concert by Trevor Tagle and band at a private location.
The next morning, the OLC Board of Directors met to discuss the 2021 Oregon Logging Conference and continue planning for the event. Multiple options are being discussed, should COVID-19 restrictions still be in place and impact the ability to have the gathering at the Lane County Fairgrounds. The 83rd Annual OLC is scheduled for February 25, 26 & 27, 2021.
Photos courtesy of Mary Bullwinkel and Carol Moody.
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President's Field Trip &
Meeting Logo
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President Melcher
Welcome's the group
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Past President Bob Magathan shows off his talent |
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Group enjoys 'open air' car |
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Albany Eastern Railroad & train enthusiast Blair Moody |
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View from the open air car |
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Santiam River view
from the train
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Glenda and Scott Melcher
(mother and son)
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Tour of
Radiator Supply House
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Enjoying the open air dinner |
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Rocking out with
Jason Vaughn
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Melcher Logging office
view from the train
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83rd Oregon Logging Conference
Seminar and Panel Topics Possibilities
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Following the theme “Family, Friends & Forestry,” topics being considered are Your Voice & Vote Counts, Logging Safely Under Power Lines, Smart Logging: Using Your Numbers to Improve Your Bottom Line, and Maintenance and Best Practices for Operators, to name just a few.
Oregon Logging Conference committee chairs are hard at work selecting top quality topics and speakers to address current rules and regulations, the latest in technology in the industry, and forest practices.
Check back frequently on the OLC website for updated information on topics and speakers.
As in previous years, up to 10 Professional Logger (Pro Logger) credits may be earned by any paid and registered member of the Oregon Logging Conference. These credits are earned by attending panel discussions, hands-on seminars, and presentations at OLC, and are applicable toward Pro Logger certification and fulfillment requirements as outlined in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Attendance is verified by a punch card system, and a punch card is included in the registration packet of every paid registered OLC member. Cards are punched at the end of each session attended.
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The Oregon Logging Conference is closely monitoring the large gathering COVID-19 restrictions that are in place in Oregon, regarding the possible impacts to the 83rd Annual OLC scheduled for February 2021.
Current COVID-19 restrictions prohibit gatherings of more than 250 people, along with requirements to stay socially distanced and wear face coverings.
At this time, no final decision has been made on whether the 2021 OLC will be cancelled, and OLC management is keeping an eye on current and new regulations and how this would affect the quality of the show. The Oregon Logging Conference Board of Directors is expected to make that decision, based on the COVID-19 regulations at that time, later this fall.
Even though a final decision has not been made, multiple options and alternatives are being explored for ways to have some type of an 83rd OLC, if the annual event at the Lane County Events Center and Fairgrounds as usual, cannot take place.
Ideas are being formulated on ways to keep the Oregon Logging Conference in the public eye, and details will be forthcoming in future issues of the OLC NEWS, on Facebook, Twitter, and the OLC website, www.oregonloggingconference.com.
At this time, renewal contracts have been emailed to all inside booth exhibitors, offering vendors the opportunity to reserve their same booth space as in the 82nd Annual OLC. These contracts must be returned by September 3rd, to reserve the same booth location. In the event the 2021 OLC equipment show is canceled, exhibitors will have the opportunity to carry over their 2021 contract to the 2022 OLC. All exhibitors will be contacted after a final decision is made by the OLC Board of Directors, in early December 2020.
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2021 OLC Exhibit Contract Packet Now Available |
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The 2021 exhibitor contract packets are now available.
Click here to download the 2021 Exhibitor Contract packet.
The 83rd OLC booths will be on display in more than
95,000 square feet of exhibit space in the main Convention Center, Auditorium, and sections of Expo Hall.
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3rd Annual Future Forestry Workers Career Day Reaches Out to Younger Generation
The 3rd Annual Future Forestry Workers Career Day is planned (COVID-19 permitting) to take place February 21, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
High School students will learn about four specific logging-related topics: forestry, firefighting, heavy equipment, and diesel mechanics. If possible, the students will also participate in guided tours of the annual OLC state-of-the-art equipment on display and talk one-on-one with industry professionals.
More than 1,200 high school students have attended the past two career events at the Oregon Logging Conference, learning about current employment opportunities and the skills required to start working in these well-paying jobs These students represent current and future employees in the logging and forestry industry.
The plan is (COVID-19 permitting) again this year to hold the event in the livestock arena at the Lane County Fairgrounds.
Photos: The 2nd Annual Future Forestry Workers Career Day event Feb 2020.
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Video Project Seeks to Connect Students to Forestry Through Social Networks |
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As many know, workforce development has been an ongoing topic of discussion – sometimes concern – in the forest industry for many years. National, regional, and state associations have tried multiple ways to assist members in finding new employees when they have open positions in their companies.
The Forest Resources Association began a pilot project in early 2019 in the West, called “Workforce Connections.” The main goal of this project is connecting industry companies and individuals looking for employment. We wanted to ensure that all stakeholders were seeing as much information as possible to encourage more dialogue throughout the hiring process. Many young professionals are not aware of the all the career opportunities in the forest industry. Students, graduates, and professors should be able to see what jobs are available currently, and what the job markets will look like in the future.
A big part of this was connecting with educational institutions throughout the region. FRA’s job board was shared with educational representatives across the region.
Since Workforce Connections’ launch, FRA has shared pertinent information via social media each week. These include virtual learning opportunities, forestry professional profiles, leadership opportunities, and multiple videos that other organizations have produced on working in the industry.
Pivoting Outreach Methods
However, when the pandemic hit, we knew things were not going to be the same for the next months, years, or longer. A few of us jumped on Zoom and discussed what we could do differently to continue the Workforce Connection’s mission of promoting the industry – and the jobs within – to a generation now learning primarily in an online setting.
The need was identified to get in front of younger students to ensure the industry’s story was being heard positively and EARLY. We felt that a video contest for high school students could open up an opportunity to tap into skills relatively unused in this arena to promote the forest industry
The Forest Resources Association reached out to state and regional associations within a four-state region (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana) to see if there was any interest in collaborating to create a video contest to promote the forest industry. The response was tremendous and the following are organizations who have representatives on the planning team:
- Associated Logging Contractors, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Forest Resources Association, Kennewick, Washington
- Forests Today & Forever, Eugene, Oregon
- Idaho Forest Group, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Idaho Forest Products Commission, Boise, Idaho
- Montana Logging Association, Kalispell, Montana
- Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Portland, Oregon
- Oregon Logging Conference, Eugene, Oregon
- Oregon Logging Conference Foundation, Eugene, Oregon
- Oregon Women in Timber, Dallas, Oregon
- Pacific Education Institute, Olympia, Washington
- Pacific Logging Congress, Eatonville, Washington
- Project Learning Tree / Idaho, Boise, Idaho
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative/Project Learning Tree, Washington, DC
The outcome of this collaboration is a video contest called Thru the Trees: Today’s Forest Careers. Students ages 13 to 18 are eligible to submit videos and the contest will be launched in conjunction with National Forest Produces Week (October 18 – 24, 2020). Winners are slated to be announced in December. Three finalists from each of the four states will be selected and will compete for cash prizes, to be awarded for the top three videos
The planning team envisions this as an annual event with a different theme each year. We hope to extend the age limits to include middle school students and widen the geographic areas.
One of the great things about having so many organizations represented on the project is that we have a very large network of people who we know, respect, and have worked with on many other projects. Many of these folks do have the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure we are covering all those bases.
We will also be requesting sponsorship of this great effort soon. We are all very passionate about this endeavor and think it will bring much to the industry. If you have any questions about the contest, would like to be included in the planning process, or would like to be a sponsor, please contact Vickie Stanton, Western Regional Manager for Forest Resources Association at vstanton@forestresource.org or (906) 282-6752.
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CHARITY SELECTED FOR THE 18TH ANNUAL
DESSERTS FOR DREAMS BENEFIT
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The Sweet Home High School Forestry Club has been selected as the charity to benefit from the 18th Annual Desserts for Dreams luncheon which is scheduled to take place February 26th, and is one of the activities each year of the Oregon Logging Conference (OLC).
OLC First Lady Wendi Melcher selected the Forestry Club as the organization to benefit from the proceeds raised at Desserts for Dreams.
"Growing up in Sweet Home, Oregon, a timber dependent community, I have been around the industry all my life,” Melcher said. “My husband and his family are 4th generation loggers, so it was only natural for both our boys to participate in the local high school forestry club,” she added.
She said the Sweet Home High School Forestry Club offers students who are interested in the industry an opportunity to grow and learn about other trade and career choices. “We have so much to offer kids who don’t want to go to a four-year school,” Melcher said. “It’s time we get back to our roots and teach kids how to work and be part of a great industry,” she added.
100% of the proceeds raised at the scheduled luncheon will be donated to the Sweet Home High School Forestry Club. This year the annual raffle will have a purse theme. The annual event features a light lunch and desserts donated by local restaurants and bakeries, and beverages. Tickets are $30 per person.
For more information, contact the Oregon Logging Conference office at 541-686-9191.
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INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS AND NEWS |
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Plan to attend the 83rd OLC - February 25-27, 2021. Read more.
Shasta College announces logging operations internship. Read more.
Opinion: True to our mission, OFRI tells the story of Oregon’s forests. Read more.
American Loggers Council cancels Annual Meeting in September. Read more.
Darrington Wood Innovation Center could bring jobs, economic opportunity. Read more.
Cellular Nanocrystals From Recycled Wood Waste Make Carbon-Fiber Composites Tougher. Read more.
Get Ready for Skyscrapers Made of Wood. (Yes, Wood). Read more.
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PUBLISHER / EDITOR / WRITER
Mary Bullwinkel, Freelance
Rikki Wellman, Conference Manager
Office 541.686.9191
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Quick Links To OLC Events
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