Hope is a Dangerous Word

“The one who says nothing good can come of this, is not yet listening.” - Clarissa Pinkola Estes

No matter who you are right now, your hope is being tested. I think every single one of us has some sense of fear hovering over our hearts. Some are afraid of a virus. Some are afraid of a vaccine. Others are afraid for the future of their careers and their industry. Many are afraid of what the future looks like for our children. It is incredibly easy to fall into the constant negativity and we are most definitely guilty as charged. But then something happens; something that changes the channel in your brain. This weekend we found the clicker under the couch, and changed the channel.

The PLC annual meeting and Log a Load for kids fundraiser never fails to renew my spirit and hope on so many levels. Given I am not an actual logger, my husband waking me up at 3:45am to get headed to Bangor was a bit of a challenge, but one I was willing to over come in order to reap the benefits of this special day! The day starts with some coffee and chatting with the other professional logging contractors. There is always a lot of sarcasm about going to work for free, poor profit margins, and increasing prices of everything we buy but nothing we sell. But we all keep showing up. There is no denying that these are real challenges and it does test your faith in the future of the industry, but we have no choice but to keep charging forward. I am determined to not be a follower on the path of hopelessness, but a leader on the path of unwavering hope. We have three little boys studying our words and actions and we refuse to let them down. The morning was sprinkled with so much great news. We were honored to have a guest appearance from US Senator Susan Collins who has truly been a strong voice for our industry. Whatever your political view point, Senator Collins listens and protects the forest product industry and recognizes that those closest to the stump are the foundation of the entire supply chain. She believes it is an industry worth fighting for, and we appreciate that more than she will ever know. Next on the docket was a presentation that truly lifted my spirits to know that not all hope is lost. Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls…. finally, someone is brave enough to invest in manufacturing in our state and is bringing a new product to be produced from wood fiber at the shuttered mill in Madison! It is down right exciting to me. Someone had to be brave enough to go first, and lucky for us a chemist and an architect put their brains together and are optimistic enough to just go for it. I loved listening to the story of how TimberHP got started right in the middle of a pandemic when everyone lost hope and investors were stagnant… they have preserved and are almost ready to get going. TimberHP is going to be producing a competitively priced, superiorly performing wood fiber insulation for residential and light commercial applications. I am a crazy lover of all things Made in the USA, local jobs, and cheering on the people who make the things and I am so excited about this! Josh Henry, the chemist, the president, the founder of this project, thank you for investing in our people! Him and his partner Matt, the architect, have a dangerous, unwavering amount of hope and it is contagious.

Lunch time brought us another inspiring speaker in the form of Scott Dane, the newly appointed executive director for the American Loggers Council. He is the man that stood on the stage at the RNC with a “Make Logging Great Again” hat and gave loggers a national voice. He has been pivotal in giving loggers a seat at the table allowing us to have a say in how policy affects us. During his speech, he told the story of how he came to the position he is in. He explained that just prior to the pandemic, he announced his retirement from the executive director position of the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota. Immediately, after his announcement, Covid became a thing and he decided he wouldn’t abandon the loggers at this time and rescinded his resignation. From there, he ended up speaking at the RNC and being appointed as the Executive Director of the ALC. He has had incredible opportunities to be an advocate for us, all happening just as he was ready to give up. His lesson- don’t give up. I won’t give up, if you don’t give up.

Randy and I are hopeless optimist, and as such, we decided to stop being terrified and are adding another crew to our team. We’ve been a single crew our whole lives and we’ve always wanted to give growth a shot, but with such pessimism constantly surrounding us, frequent reminders that there is no money in this, mills being shut down, etc. we have been repeatedly told to not do it. We don’t listen well. One thing about me, I hate to be told what to do and when someone says I can’t or I shouldn’t, I say, “Watch me.” We have been close to making this move a couple of times. We get almost to the finish line and then Randy has a panic attack! But this time, it stuck, and his determination is inspiring. During our walk out to the truck after the morning events, we were lucky to walk along side one of my favorite optimists, Scott Madden. He is on the opposite end of his career and working towards slowing down and downsizing, but his hope has serious stamina and he told us, “I just have too much fun doing this to stop now.” That’s just it, I thought. If you’re not having fun then it is easy to get stuck on the treadmill of getting behind and getting ahead, getting behind, getting ahead. In that moment, Scott reminded us to stay on the path, keep going one foot in front of the other, breathe in the fresh air, and enjoy it!

After a nap in the hotel, we ventured back to the event for the absolute highlight of my year. The log a load for kids auction is literally an experience like no other fundraiser you will ever attend. Regardless of the financial position of our people, loggers and supporters of our industry will literally give the shirt off their backs to support the children who need our help. They understand that a suboptimal balance sheet is no comparison to the pain and challenges faced by sick children and their families. Within 3 minutes of opening the auction, we raised $13,500 which was paid for an item that has a “value” of $750. It simply doesn’t stop all night long. People pay over $1,000 for a whoopie pie, $2,500 for a camping trip but then turn around and give that trip away to a child survivor and their family. Then we raise stupid amounts of money to give to them as spending money on their trip. Nothing fills our cup more than helping someone in need. Everyone of us has been touched by someone with a serious, life threatening health condition, and those kids remind us, that if we can still see the sky, there is still hope!

Happy Halloween! Go trick or treating tonight and remind yourself that your community is your best asset!