Page 17 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2020

foot race. Sophomore year, Gregg earned the nickname “grasshopper boy” when
he scored first in the broad jump. In
1958, Gregg became the Assistant Rolleo Chairman and President of the Forestry Club. That year, Gregg was a quadruple threat. He was victorious in log rolling, retained his first-place title and nickname in the broad jump, sprinted the fastest in the Flat River bridge dash, and secured second place in the rock-throwing contest. By his senior year, Gregg was a skilled competitor. He won the bow-sawing contest by sawing an 8-inch log in 35.3 seconds and scaled a 20-foot pole in 10 seconds.
However, Gregg would be remembered for more than his athletic prowess. In 1958, he was a founding member of the First Annual Conclave of Southern Forestry Schools. Stewart, along with eight other men, traveled to the University of Georgia School of Forestry to compete against 150 students from eight forestry schools in the South. Gregg wrote the following article in the 1959 Pinetum, the NC State University College of Natural Resources student journal:
Foresters’ brawn, beards, and brains were well demonstrated May 10, 1958 at the First Annual Conclave of Southern Forestry Schools. The University of Georgia School of Forestry sponsored the Conclave, which was held at Camp Rock Eagle State Park near Eatonton, Georgia.
More than 150 students representing eight forestry schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Texas participated in the weekend of forestry events.
The University of Georgia won first place as Conclave Champions. Louisiana State University was second, Stephen F. Austin was third and North Carolina State College placed fourth.
Members of our team were Leon Bonner, Phil Glass, Stewart Gregg, Glenn Hampton, Archie Pierce, Roy Stoneycypher, Jack Sturgill,
Lloyd Swift, and Dick Welch.
One of the main objectives of the meet was to introduce professional practices to the students and to promote fellowship among Southern foresters.
Stewart Gregg wins NCFA Educator of the Year Award in 2001.
Jenifer Grantham (left) and Stewart Gregg (right) at camp.
During the business meeting following the Conclave banquet eight students were named to a committee to work out plans for future conclaves. Stewart Gregg and Jack Sturgill represent North Carolina State College.
The 1959 meet will be held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with the Louisiana State University acting as host.
Sixty-two years later, the Conclave has become a rite of passage for forestry students, and has now grown to 15 Southeastern schools, with 250 students participating in the annual tradition. However, despite the new faces and modern amenities, students understand the event’s original goal instilled by Gregg and his classmates: to build fellowship and promote the elevated standard of ethics among students and professionals.
When asked how he felt about the long-standing event, Gregg said, “As a veteran, I was older than most of the students. I saw something that would be good and wanted to get it accomplished. I wanted to leave some things better than I had found them.”
During his time at State, Gregg saw many changes to the college. In 1957, Gregg attended the Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest dedication. Schenck was a pioneer of forest management in North America and led the Biltmore School of Forestry in the mountains
of North Carolina from 1898-1913. In 1952, shortly before Schenck’s death, the college awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Forest Science. “I was so impressed with his forestry background,” Gregg recalled about Schenk. “He was
a great guy and helped so much to start forestry in western North Carolina.”
Building a Legacy
After graduation in 1959, Gregg started his career in the forest products industry. His first job was working as a forester for Rome Kraft Company. For the next three years, he would become a Senior Forester in the Wood Procurement Division and later a Forest Manager, caring for 33,000 acres of company timberlands. In 1963, he began working as an Area Forester with West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company.
In the alumni news section of the
1963 Pinetum, Gregg was quoted as saying, “Most of my work so far has been concentrated on making timber resources surveys of our southern Pennsylvania wood procurement area. Timber volumes in this general area are 90-95% hardwood. Our company as well as our competitors are discovering that quality fine printing papers require about 30-35% pine pulp.”
Gregg was later transferred to a mill
in Maryland, where he would begin working with fellow wolfpack alumnus and best friend Jack Sturgill. By the late 1960s, Gregg made another career change, founding Carolina Land & Timber in Stokesdale, North Carolina. There he served not only as a forester, but also a wood supplier and a timber manager.
In 1984, he shifted to focus more exclu- sively on forestry consulting and launched Gregg Forestry, a company that he still operates today. When asked what he likes about consulting, Gregg said, “I can do more for landowners than I could with the other organizations I worked for. I also enjoy the variety of work and talking with people.”
Teaching the Next Generation
Gregg joined the NCFA in 1995 and has had an impressive volunteer record in his 25 years with the nonprofit. He has served as an educator and instructor for the Forestry and Environmental Camps for 15 years. The camps teach practical applications of math, science and critical
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