I hope those of you that were able to attend the 2024 Virginia Forestry Summit enjoyed it as much as I did. I received many positive comments about how excellent the content and speakers were this year, and I trust you will enjoy this issue reminding you of some of those great memories. As is the case every year, my annual, impatient wait for the time to arrive to visit with my old friends and colleagues at the Forestry Summit finally came to fruition. The subsequent time of fellowship somehow always exceeds my already elevated excitement and anticipation level, especially when you mix in the joy of meeting new faces. The Boar’s Head Resort proved to be one of the finest venues for our event, and even an old Hokie like me could not help but appreciate the beauty of Charlottesville and our time spent there. If only they had a Hokie House! This year’s Forestry Summit had a few firsts that made it even more special. Brothers Young, a bluegrass group hailing from Bent Mountain, Va., provided the perfect backdrop for our Wednesday evening social hour. Those young men were simply fantastic. Maybe we can get them to make an encore appearance next year and share their talents with us again in 2025, when the Forestry Summit is held in Roanoke! The first gathering of the Fellowship of Christian Foresters was held early Thursday morning, and there were so many attendees I feel quite certain Chris Harris B PRESIDENT’S COLUMN 3808 Augusta Avenue Richmond, VA 23230-3910 Phone: 804-278-8733 • Fax: 804-278-8774 vfa@vaforestry.org • www.vaforestry.org OFFICERS (2024–2025) President Chris Harris Pinecrest Timber Co. Prince George Vice President and President Elect Jay Phaup Greif Packaging LLC Amherst Treasurer Christina Hager Dominion Energy Richmond Past President Dan Hockenberger Virginia Forest Resources, LLC West Point Executive Director Corey Connors Richmond EX-OFFICIO OFFICERS Paul Winistorfer Virginia Tech—CNRE Blacksburg Rob Farrell Va. Dept. of Forestry Charlottesville DIRECTORS Term Expiring 2025 Ben Cole Cole Timberland Management LLC Appomattox Laurie Wright Wright Forestry LLC Blackridge Term Expiring 2026 Scott Barrett Virginia Tech Blacksburg Eric Goodman WestRock Clarksville Brian Irvine Roseburg Roanoke Rapids, NC John Reid Forest Resources Mgmt. Aylett Term Expiring 2027 Jason Critzer Gaines & Critzer, Ltd. N. Chesterfield Michael Harold Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, Inc. Harrisonburg John E. Jones, III Central VA Land & Timber Montpelior Steven Peter South Paw Forest Products Inc St Stephens Church Doug Pond Nutrien Solutions S. Chesterfield STAFF Corey Connors, Executive Director Sonnia Montemayor, Deputy Executive Director Chris Frost, Operations Assistant The Virginia Forestry Association, chartered in 1943, is a notfor-profit, non-governmental, privately-supported association of forest landowners, wood product industries and businesses, loggers, foresters, forest use groups, and conservation-minded citizens. New board members are elected annually by mail ballot to all VFA members. Any VFA member may be a candidate for the board. Spring 2024 5 —continued on page 28 Jay Phaup Vice President/ President-Elect Michael Harold Director Doug Pond Director Christina Hager Treasurer John E. Jones III Director Dan Hockenberger Past President Steve Peter Director VFA WELCOMES NEW OFFICERS & BOARD MEMBERS Jason Critzer Director Virginia Forestry Summit Always Exceeds Expectations
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