The Rough Cut
by Christine McGowan,
Network Coordinator
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Dear Network Friends,
I hope this inaugural
Vermont Forest Industry Network
newsletter finds you healthy and safe. I’ve started to write this many times in the last few weeks, only to have the world change – again – and make me strike it all out and start over. Such is life in a COVID-19 world.
We’ve been meaning to launch a newsletter for some time, and given that our Network is challenged by not getting together physically for a while, now seems like the right time to create a place to post updates, share industry stories and use technology to stay connected as best we can.
My hope is this will become a regular newsletter that keeps us all apprised of changes happening throughout Vermont’s forest economy – from forest management, logging and processing to woodworking, building and biomass, and all things wood in between. It can be a place for all of us to share market news, ideas and resources that can help strengthen our industry and our connections to one another.
The next several months will be a challenge for everyone. Markets are uncertain, the economy is shaky and, until a vaccine becomes readily available, our collective priority will be staying healthy and safe and protecting one another. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that we truly are all in this together.
No virus can stop us from helping help each other out, making new business connections and working together to solve problems that will improve the state of Vermont’s forest economy for everyone. So please enjoy this first edition of The Rough Cut, and
let me know
if you have ideas on how to improve it.
I wish you all health, and hope to see you in the woods or on the shop floor sometime soon!
-Christine
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Dispatch from the Forest
Network News and Beyond
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Summit Update
The
Vermont Forest Industry Summit
has been postponed due to COVID-19. We are hoping to hold the summit at Burke Mountain Resort on
September 10-11, 2020
and will be monitoring guidelines around in-person gatherings as they evolve. If you have an idea for a panel or topic you'd like on the agenda, please
let us know
. Up to date information and registration will be posted
here
.
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Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
Regional Market Assessment
FPR recently (April 30) released a market assessment for hardwood, softwood, pulp and biomass markets in the region, based on a survey and interviews with businesses coping with COVID-19 or other market disruptions.
This assessment
will be updated in coming weeks.
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Connecting the Forest to Green Building
Network Coordinator Christine McGowan recently joined the board of the
Vermont Green Building Network
, whose mission is "t
o advance the environmental, economic, community, and health benefits of green design, construction, and building operation practices." Christine intends to make stronger connections between Vermont's green building community and our forest and wood products industry.
Learn more about VGBN here
.
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The Overstory
Our industry has a story to tell, so settle in and enjoy some good news from around the Network. Have an idea for a feature?
Let us know
!
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From Cutting Boards to Cutting Face Shields: JK Adams Responds to
COVID-19
As stay-at-home orders rippled through Vermont’s business community last month, one of the state’s oldest manufacturers, J.K. Adams, began to experiment with cutting plastic instead of wood. “We have five Computer Numerical Control (CNC) routers and an amazingly talented workforce,” said CEO Dan Isaac, “so the question we were all asking was ‘what can we do to help?’”
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COVID-19 Resources
- Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) Quick Response Support for Working Lands Businesses: COVID-19 Resources.
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Upcoming Events
- May 7-8 - Living Future 20, a green building 'un-conference' by the International Living Future Institute.
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Vermont Forest Industry Network Steering Committee
Trevor Allard, Allard Lumber;
Liz Gleason, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board;
Dave Frank, Sunwood Biomass;
Paul Frederick, VT Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation;
Charlie Hancock, North Woods Forestry;
Lucas Jenson, Treehouse Hardwoods and Mill Shop and Vermont Wood Works Council;
Ricky McLain, Woodworks;
Joe Short, Northern Forest Center;
Tim Tierney, VT Agency of Commerce and Community Development;
Allan Thompson, Consulting Forester
Network Coordinator:
Christine McGowan, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund
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