Tom Cushman, President of The Professional Logging Contractors of Maine and the Trust to Conserve the Northeast Forest announced that it’s long time Executive Director, Sandra E. Brawders is retiring. Citing the extensive accomplishments made during her ten-year service, Tom said her uncanny ability to see into the future resulted in the Maine loggers creating the first in the world, Northeast Master Logger Certification program.He said, “Doing it before it was needed was tricky, however Sandy has a knack for planning for the unexpected, and in doing so, she has helped us influence the future.”
The Northeast Mast Logger Certification Program (NEMLC) offers third-party independent certification of logging companies’ harvesting practice. The certification system is built around standard that have been cross-referenced to all of the world’s major green certification systems. Http:www.masterloggercertification.com
Tom continued, “Her leadership allowed us loggers to keep focused firmly on production, the weather, the environment, equipment, our employee’s safety, and immediate day to day of business.
In response, Sandy shared, “I first became involved with the Maine logging association when asked by Tim Gammel of the American Pulpwood Association to develop a handbook for the “train the trainer” model for the Northeast and I fell head over heels with the smart, ethical discussions loggers and foresters were having at the workshops. And so it began. As an outsider to this industry I immedialy saw in 1999 that the loggers were not at the tables as the valuable voices in the changes that were already being documented. So I asked , myself how could we really and profoundly change that The answer? Create performance standard expected of high performing, viable , sustainable company, whether that company was one person with a chainsaw or a 60 employee mechanical operation. High performance is high performance!
So as a partnership of many interested people who respected the logging profession, Maine PLC developed the Master Logger Third Party Certification program, the first in the world to define what the world could expect from professional logger in the forested landscape. To tell the story about this remarkable group for professionals who wake up every morning with a plan to make a living for themselves and their employees and who hung in there for ten years with a vision to be ready for the unexpected instead of facing change with constant crisis and survival strategies is proving true. I know of no other profession so prepared for what the world is about to ask them to do.”
She continued, “Forward thinking like this takes a leap of faith, I thank the NEMLC companies who applied for the program for good business reasons and in the early days out of complete faith that it was the right thing to do, those first 27 companies have my deepest prayers for prosperity in the days ahead. My admiration and respect is undiminished after ten years of working with, and for all of you . I now look forward to the time to write the articles and a book about the importance of third party certification including the complete supply chain”