November 2021 Issue <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Vol. 6 Issue 5
In this issue you will be introduced to the OLC keynote speaker, learn who the 2021 Operators of the Year are, and take sneak peak at a few of the items to be included in the 2022 Oregon Logging Conference Foundation auction. 
Easy Quick Links to the 2022 OLC program schedule, panel and seminar topics, social events, competitions and other activities can be found on the last page of this newsletter. CLICK TO REGISTER NOW!
Blake Manley Selected as
Keynote Speaker at 84th Annual OLC
Fourth generation logger. Forestry and Natural Resources teacher at Sweet Home High School. Creator of "Manley Jobs," the career videos getting our younger generation interested in logging and other natural resource careers.
 
This describes Blake Manley, the keynote speaker at the 84th Annual Oregon Logging Conference. Manley's selection fits the OLC theme of Family, Friends and Forestry 2.0 to a T. He has a family history in logging. In fact, this is his dad's 50th year in the logging industry. He also has a very special connection with his students and has been bridging the gap between industry and schools throughout Oregon. He has been successfully encouraging students to pursue logging careers and has a creative ability to reach out to all youth who will be the next generation of natural resources workers.
 
“Forestry has given so much to me, that to not give back, I feel like I am robbing society, and there’s not that many people doing this,” Manley said.
 
Blake has accomplished this in a number of ways: through his classroom teaching and bringing industry representatives in to talk to the students at Sweet Home High School, coordinating the Sweet Home High School forestry program, and the video series he created called Manley Jobs.
His series of career videos recently earned him quite a bit of media attention, including a story in September on the FOX News program Fox and Friends. He has been interviewed by Oregon newspapers and on radio stations throughout the United States.
 
Manley epitomizes the 84th Annual OLC theme of Family, Friends and Forestry 2.0. It is that combination that has led to Manley’s success when encouraging students to pursue careers in logging, forestry, and other natural resource fields. He uses communication channels, such as YouTube, which the younger generation can relate to.
 
“Maybe some of these kids would not have graduated from high school,” Manley said, “but their interest was sparked, and a career choice was made due to this program.”
 
Oregon Logging Conference President Scott Melcher said, “The 2.0 (in the OLC theme) is the message that Blake is telling with his videos and reaching out to the kids and the next generation.”
 
Manley’s logging career, interest in teaching and connection with students have gone hand in hand since he graduated from Cove High School. After working elsewhere in forest products related jobs for a few years, Manley returned to his hometown and was a logger in the family business, while coaching high school sports and then as Athletic Director at Cove High School.
Both he and his brother worked in the family business, Manley Brothers Logging, started by his father Kevin Manley. Their dad got his start in Northern California logging with his grandfather.
 
After getting hurt in the woods and with the urging of his wife Miranda, Manley turned full time to the classroom. It not only allowed him to focus on his family but also share his experience and knowledge of logging and forestry to the next generation of workers. 
 
"It’s not every day you get to do everything you are passionate about. I love the forestry industry and teaching. It is the best career I could have ever wanted."
2021 Operators of the Year Named
Three logging companies representing southwest, northwest, and eastern Oregon have been chosen as 2021 Operators of the Year. In addition, five logging companies will receive 2021 Merit Awards.
 
The 2021 Operators of the Year are:
  • Northwest Oregon: All Around Logging LLC, Stayton, Marian County
  • Southwest Oregon: Plikat Logging, Winston, Douglas County
  • Eastern Oregon: H Timber Contracting, Hines, Harney County

The 2021 Merit winners are:
  • Northwest Oregon: F & B Logging, LLC, Seaside, Oregon
Marshall Logging, LLC, Tillamook, Oregon
Pacific Forest Contractors, Inc., Eagle Creek, Oregon
  • Southwest Oregon: Blaylock Timber, Coquille, Oregon
  • Eastern Oregon: Sisters Forest Products, LLC, Sisters, Oregon
 
Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Regional Forest Practices committees select the Operators of the Year and Merit award recipients from among nominees sent in by landowners, ODF staff, and others.
 
These awards recognize forest operators who, while harvesting timber or doing other forestry work, protect natural resources at a level that goes above and beyond the Oregon Forest Practices Act. The awards honor operators who consistently meet or exceed Forest Practices Act regulations.
 
The Oregon Board of Forestry will honor the recipients virtually at its January 5, 2022 meeting. ODF will also honor the recipients at the OLC gathering on February 24, 2022. More information on the 2021 winners is available here: https://www.oregon.gov/odf/Working/Pages/default.aspx or https://oregonforestry.wpengine.com/2021/11/17/odf-names-oregons-operators-of-the-year/
Jeff Plikat
Plikat Logging Inc.
2021 Operator of the Year Southwest Oregon
Aaron Silbernagel
All Around Logging
2021 Operator of the Year Northwest Oregon
Tony Hauth
H Timber Contractors
2021 Operator of the Year Eastern Oregon
2021 Operator of the Year Merit Award Winners
Charles Wilbur Heath
September 27, 1928 – November 12, 2021
Logger, aviator, and past president of Oregon Logging Conference, Pacific Logging Congress, and Associated Oregon Loggers, Wil Heath passed away on November 12, 2021 at the age of 93
 
Heath was born in Cottage Grove to parents J. Addison and Mabel (Wright) Heath. He was a lifelong resident of Cottage Grove.
His claim to fame, as he called it was a photograph of Heath with a spotted owl on his shoulder in the January 1991 issue of Life Magazine. His picture was part of the magazine’s 1990's year in photos and was attached to an article titled Endangered Species – an owl and a logger symbolize the Nation’s tough choice – jobs or the environment.
 
Heath grew up being a logger. He graduated from high school in 1946 and enrolled in Oregon State University to study Forest Engineering, but in 1950, he went back to work for the family logging business. That same year he married his high school sweetheart Catherine.
 
From 1951 to 1953 Heath served in South Korea during the Korean War doing surveying, claiming even overseas he put his forestry training to work. In 1953 Heath was logging again with the family business, eventually taking over Heath Logging.
 
Besides logging, Health had a passion for aviation.
 
Heath was president of the 56th Annual Oregon Logging Conference in 1994, a two-time president of the Associated Oregon Loggers, and past president of the Pacific Logging Congress. He also received the Logger of the Year award in 1985.
 
Heath was preceded in death by his wife Catherine and his son Jeffrey Lynn Heath in 2017, brother Addison Heath Jr., and sister Cathy Levings.
 
He is survived by his son Charles “Craig” (Julie) Heath of West Linn, younger brother Richard Heath, brother-in-law Milt Levings, and two grandchildren Laura C. and James C. Heath.
 
A celebration of life is planned for January 2022.  
Interactive School Tours at
Oregon Logging Conference

4th and 5th grade students will learn about Oregon forests and have a field trip to remember when they visit the Oregon Logging Conference (OLC) on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Approximately 250 students are expected, about one-quarter of the students that usually attend, due to school district field trip restrictions.
 
There will be a three-prong focus for the student groups. First is an introduction to careers in the woods, presented by Talk About Trees educators, where students learn about the many jobs available in the forest. Second the students break into small groups and meet professional foresters and learn about some of the tools of the trade, like how to age a tree with an increment borer. Third is a tour of the equipment on display at the OLC, where students will see state-of-the-art machines and learn how they are used in logging operations.
 
An exciting addition this year is the offering of a separate field trip that will complement what the students learn at the OLC With funding from the Autzen Foundation, tree farm tours for participating classes are being hosted by Forests Today and Forever. Teachers will be invited to bring their students to the woods in early spring to see sustainable forestry in action. More information is available from Forests Today and Forever Director Beth Kristo (541-767-9078).
 
The elementary school tours are sponsored by OLC, Oregon Women in Timber, and Forests Toady and Forever, and provide a fun and comprehensive look at forestry for both students and teachers. Many teachers bring their classes every year. One teacher said, “It is engaging and there is something for everyone, interest-wise.”

The tours are coordinated by Beth Krisko, Forests Today & Forever Director. For more details contact Beth at coordinator@foreststodayandforever.org or call her at 541.554.1342.
Talk About Trees facilitator teaches students about trees and the value of trees and forests in our daily lives.
Students participating in the School Tours are always excited to view the big machines.
OLC Foundation Scholarship Auction
A number of useful and fun items will be available for purchase at the annual Oregon Logging Conference Foundation auction, scheduled for February 24 and 25, 2022. The auction takes place both mornings after breakfast (at approximately 8 a.m.) at the Wheeler Pavilion on the Lane Event Center and Fairgrounds.
 
Here are a few of the items donated


The money raised will fund scholarships for deserving students, many who have received financial assistance in the past and have gone on to be leaders in the logging industry. During the 2021/2022 college year, OLCF awarded $42,000 in scholarships to 20 students
 
Visit the OLC website for updated auction donations. If you are interested in donating auction items to this charity event, please contact the OLCF office at 541-686-9191.
Log Loader Competition will Determine
Operator with the Best Skills
 
SIGN UP EARLY AND RECEIVE A 84th ANNUAL TEE SHIRT!
Calling all expert log loader operators! Sign up for the 12th Annual log Loader Competition, show off your skills, and compete for cash prizes. Sign up early (before January 25, 2022) and receive a free 84th Annual OLC tee-shirt (to be presented when you compete). Competitors will be assigned a day and time for demonstrating their skills


This event is sponsored by Triad Machinery and Link-Belt Forestry Equipment. It takes place on Friday, February 25 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and Saturday, February 26 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Click here to learn more.
RESERVE YOUR EXHIBIT SPACE TODAY!
There's a few inside booths available Click here to download exhibit information.
Editor - Publisher - Writer

Mary Bullwinkel
Freelance Writer

Rikki Wellman
Conference Manager
QUICK LINKS TO EVENTS
If you have photos or an article you would like to submit for future newsletters call 541.686.9191