MFA 2007 AWARD RECIPIENTS Outstanding Service to Forestry
R&S Logging of Millington, MD
Roy and Shawn Goad receive the 2007 Logger of the Year plaque and chainsaw
L-R: MFA President John Foster, MLSC Chair BillCheesman, Atlantic Tractor General Manager Doug Green, Mrs. Roy (Ivadell) Goad, Roy Goad, Shawn Goad, Mrs. Shawn (Kelly) Goad, nominating forester Jim Klunk.
The Goads were presented with a laser engraved oak plaque and a Stihl Pro Chain Saw, by MFA President John Foster and MD/DE Master Logger Program Chair Bill Cheesman. R&S Logging was nominated for their outstanding work byJim Klunk, a consultant forester on the Eastern Shore. Further information about R&S Logging and their nomination is online at loy2007.htm
Nominations for MFA's Logger of the Year award are reviewed and judged based on site visits by MFA's Master Logger Steering Committee. The MD/DE Master Logger Program is a voluntary program. Loggers who have gone through the program have done so out of their personal desire to become the best they can be in an often misunderstood profession. Information on the award and nomination process is online at http://www.mdforests.org/loy.htm.
2007 Outstanding Legacy Award Presented to
Robert and Anne Hess of Somerset County
The Outstanding Legacy Award was created by MFA in 2005 to celebrate the kick-off to Maryland’s Forest Service Centennial and was presented to the heirs of Fred W. Besley, Maryland’s first State Forester. MFA proudly continued this new tradition by presenting this award to Robert and Anne Hess of Somerset County for their steadfast commitment to the guiding principals of forest conservation as evidenced by their being named Maryland’s 2007 Tree Farmer of the Year, and their legacy of service to Maryland’s forest community.
Hess, who previously owned a seafood business, started his tree farm in 1977 when his wife inherited land in Kingston, which sits along the Annemessex River between Westover and Marion Station. "My grandchildren will make the seventh generation to make footprints on this land," he said. During the years, Hess bought more land adjacent to the original family parcel, plus more east of Princess Anne -- totaling 684 acres of forest. He ended his seafood business in 1998 to devote all his time to tree farming and now takes part in the Conservation Resource Enhancement Program.
Increasing forest production but not affecting water quality was one of the key issues surrounding the use of biosolids that was discussed at a forest landowner field day held this past September at the Hess' Tree Farm. Those in attendance also heard about federal programs that can help forest landowners. The three programs he detailed were EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program), WHIP (Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program) and WRP (Wetland Reserve Program).
Robert also serves on MFA’s Board of Governors.
Larry Walton Receives Outstanding Service to Forestry Award
Larry Walton has spent more than three decades managing a variety of corporate, private, and public forestry operations on the East Coast. Today, Larry is co-owner of Vision Forestry LLC, based in Salisbury, Maryland. The emphasis at Vision Forestry is on meeting landowner goals through sustainable forest management, to ensure that wildlife habitat, water quality, woodland recreation, and a healthy forest economy continue on the Eastern Shore.
When Chesapeake Forest Products sold 58,000 acres of its Eastern Shore forestland in 1999, Vision Forestry evolved from the transaction. Larry participated on a committee to help The Conservation Fund develop a management plan for the 29,000 acres that came under its ownership. In the process, Larry met Neil Sampson. They partnered to create Vision Forestry, and one of their first projects was to manage The Conservation Fund’s portion of the forest. This land, later donated to the state, is now part of the Chesapeake Forest.
Larry is a long-time member of MFA, a board member of the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance and a member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He serves on the Research Advisory Committee for the Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. “Most of us have the same core values. What led me to a career in forestry is often the same thing that leads people into environmental work,” Larry says. “It's a matter of finding shared perspectives. We can all learn a little bit from one another, if we take the time to do it.”
Nominations for 2008 Awards now open.
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