This week (out of) the Woods + a Fundraiser + Special Award!
Are you bored yet with our Spring time down time? Well, we do have a fun story to tell this week.
My wish came true and baby Kimball stayed put through the week! Phew. He can come any time now that the coast is clear. You watch though, he will come right when we are back to work in the woods. Sorry, hunny. You’re on your own. Just kidding. I may be a work-aholic but I’m not a jerk. We spent the whole week last week working on equipment. The old man is busy fulfilling firewood orders and I even got mine delivered. I am sure my brother-in-law, Jeff would really like to come help me and the boys stack the 12 cords. (That was my way of publicly shaming him into coming over to help… doubt it will work). We are starting to get to work on building an equipment garage on my property so the old man can have his garage back. The kids and I had some fun bulldozing fill and staking out where we (or should I say Chrissy) wants the garage.
The real exciting part of the week was on Friday. The PLC held their annual meeting at the Oxford Casino which I certainly appreciated because it is conveniently located 5 minutes from my home. We have been trying to be as involved as we can within the industry because we know how vital it is to the future of logging. We are in our 30’s and intend on being in this business a long time, so it is very important to us to ensure we have a stable future. The meeting starts in the morning and then various speakers present throughout the day. Much to my surprise, I was nominated by Andy Irish to become a member of the board of directors of the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine. Being on any “board” is always a commitment that takes you away from the thing that brings home the bacon, so to speak, but it is an honor and a privilege to be able to have a voice at the table, so I obliged.
Took the kids to Roy’s driving range so I could work on my golf game.
The highlight, of course, is the fundraiser for Log-A-Load for kids in the evening. It is an auction that raises money for children’s hospitals in Maine. Before becoming involved with the PLC, I had actually never been to an auction fundraiser. Last year was our first year going, and I am so glad we went. This is not a typical auction where you try to get something for less than its value. This is the type of fundraiser where a fellow logger (Scott Madden), whom you hardly know, will pay $450 for 3 baby onesies and then give them to your expecting wife. This is the type of auction where everyone is family and we all work to support a phenomenal cause. Most of us know someone who has been touched by one of our children’s hospitals in the state. One of our own children was born with a condition that fused his skull bones together before he was born and at 7 weeks old had a huge surgery to repair it at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. To say we are grateful for the care is a significant understatement! The Log-A-Load event raised over $50,000 to donate to the hospitals that care for our littlest people. I guess I am going to have to work on my golf game so I can participate in the golf fundraiser that will be coming up this summer. Maybe I can raise a bunch of money by being the worst golfer…. I’ll keep you posted on that one.
The night was capped by the biggest surprise. Kimball & Sons Logging was recognized as the Logging Contractor of the year. I had absolutely no idea that we would be getting this award. There aren’t many “awards” in the logging business so it was truly an honor to be recognized. I know I’ve said it a billion times, but thank you again to Mallory Bussell, a forester from Prentice and Carlisle for nominating us and for the PLC for choosing us!
Gard is demolishing a brownie while we teach people about logging!
In other news, we spent a rainy Saturday at the Poland public library promoting sustainable logging practices in honor of Earth Day. We were able to speak with a few landowners and chat with the town forester. There was a presentation on invasive plants and we learned more about some Poland public walking trails. It would certainly be beneficial to those public trails to do some active forest management. This was the first year that they held this event in Poland. We may have self-invited ourselves, but we would like to see it continue and grow into an event where the community can come and learn about the various efforts and businesses in the community that promote sustainability.
This makes me smile
I have spent much of the last week and a half evaluating woodlots. Not only do we look for woodlots to harvest, but we look for woodlots to invest in. Neither are easy to come by, but its an addiction. Literally, one of my favorite things to do is to walk woodlots with foresters or alone and create a strategy for a successful management plan. There is nothing better than staring up at a big ole’ tree (or lots of them)
PS. The posted roads signs are down in Poland and we should be headed back to the woods next week!