|
|
2003 Oregon Logging Conference Review
The
65th annual Oregon Logging Conference went off smoothly and successfully.
Comments were positive from both participants and exhibitors. For those who
weren’t able to attend here are some of the highlights.
Education
As education continues to play a larger role in the industry, attendees look for
a variety of topical subjects and knowledgeable speakers. They found both at OLC,
as hundreds turned out for the numerous seminars and panels — several of which
were standing room only. On an possibly historical note, fire fighters scheduled
to speak at the Women’s Roundtable were pulled away at the last minute. They
were called out to help locate and recover wreckage from the space shuttle
Columbia.
Machinery
As always, state-of-the-art equipment was on display. New pieces were unveiled,
by Hakmet, Cat, Acme, Boman Industries, Eagle, Peterson, Pierce, Timberpro and
Blount. Although some folks grumble that attendance hasn’t been the same due to
downsizing of the industry and company consolidation, the bright side is that
gone are many of the tirekickers. This year hundreds of professionals attended
to make serious equipment decisions. Ray Ulmonen of Hakmet, U.S.A. said that
technology has definitely impacted buyers’ habits. In past years they would come
to buy. Today, with the Internet and other information at their fingertips,
people come to check out the machinery firsthand, talk, and gather facts. They
go home fully informed and then make their decisions.
Speakers & Fundraisers
The OLC has always been as much about inspiration as information. On
Thursday, the fundraising auction for the Talk about Trees program brought
in approximately $65,000, which included a $10,000 cash donation from the
Ford Motor Co. And messages, like the one from keynote speaker Jim
Peterson, Executive Director of the Evergreen Foundation and Evergreen
Magazine, were aimed at encouraging people to take action and help
President Bush’s Healthy Forests Initiative move forward.
Fun & Family
The OLC-hosted Sawdust Bowl was packed Thursday and Friday evenings as
folks relaxed with spirits and good friends. It was definitely worth
working your way through the line to get in. There were events for the
loggers-to-be, too. On Saturday, OLC hosted a high school logging
competition. And at the Wheeler Pavilion younger children learned how to
walk a rope bridge, and got an up-close look at eagles, owls and a
two-year-old wolf, as well as learning a few forest facts. Yes, the
logging industry has changed over the past 65 years. And a new generation
of logger has arrived — a professional who not only knows how to harvest a
tree, but can also run a business, work within government guidelines and
deal with a variety of public concerns. But the new logger needs the same
things every logger has needed since the first OLC in 1938 — knowledge,
the right equipment and a connection to community. And all of those things
were found at this year’s OLC. |
|
|
Partek Forest Donates
$1715.00 to Log-A-Load for Kids
|
|
During the Oregon Logging
Conference, Partek Forest sold a large number of detailed model toys of
the 911 Valmet harvester and 860 Valmet forwarder. Over the course of the
three days, over $1700 was collected from sales of these models. On
Saturday, the last day of the Oregon Logging Conference a check for the
entire amount ($1715.00) was donated to the Log-A-Load For Kids charity.
Seen here Dan Long and Sharon Crawford, Log-A-Load For Kids Foundation and
George and Gerri Schmidt, Partek Forest. |
TW
 |
This
service is temporarily unavailable |
|
