Page 9 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2022

Every year, the NCFA’s Annual Meeting draws members
from across North Carolina for three days of forestry presentations, exhibits, and networking events. This year was the first since 2019 that the Annual Meeting has taken place in-person and the NCFA staff could not have been more
excited. With 165 attendees (including sponsors and exhibitors) and lots of fantastic events, the Annual Meeting made a roaring comeback.
FFPAC
Wednesday, September 28
The meeting kicked off with a welcome address from NCFA President Nancy Thompson, director of government affairs at Weyerhaeuser. Thompson was followed by a keynote speech on “Workforce Development” from Josh Dobson, commissioner at the North Carolina Department of Labor (NCDOL). Commissioner Dobson has served in this role nearly two years and
was a long-term public servant in North Carolina. Before his appointment, he served as a county commissioner and House of Representatives member.
The president of Campaign Connections, Brad Crone, followed Dobson with a presentation on the November election and what to expect this election cycle. Crone has 27 years of experience in regional politics in North Carolina and surrounding states. After a short break, the vice president of operational excellence at Forest2Market, Inc., Pete Coutu, presented on “Evolving Forest Markets.” Coutu is a
32-year forest industry veteran. Prior to Forest2Market, he spent the first 15 years of his career in a variety of roles including forest operations, fiber procurement,
log and pulp sales, and as a market analyst. Closing out the presentation portion of the agenda for Wednesday, Burt Tasaico, director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Program Support in the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), spoke about the 2021 Infrastructure Bill and the federal funding update that came with that bill.
Wednesday evening was a celebration, including a welcome dinner for our members. The Friends of Forestry Political Action Committee (FFPAC) also held its reverse raffle Wednesday evening and it was another success! Thank you all who contributed. We raised $23,000. Bruce Evans sold the most tickets again this year: 111. The final drawing was held at the Annual Meeting.
Bruce Evans, right, was this year’s top seller of FFPAC raffle tickets.
NCFA staff members Mike Powell, Amanda Murphy, John Hatcher, Communicator of the Year Blair Bishop with Amanda Murphy, Jill Bite, and Jessica Ireland. Nancy Thompson, and John Hatcher.
FIVE JACKPOT
WINNERS
Mike Marks Boyd McLaurin Fred Taylor Shane Kennedy Alissa Cale
ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2022 7
FFPAC