High Springs Chapter President Accepts National Forestry Organization Award
Press release from Association of Consulting Foresters
For exemplifying outstanding contributions to forestry, their local community, and the Association of Consulting Foresters of America, Inc. (ACF), ACF’s Florida chapter has been awarded its Small Chapter of the Year Award. ACF is a national organization of forestry professionals that help landowners address their land-use and forestry challenges.
Sponsored by STIHL®, the small chapter of the year award honors one of ACF’s 24 chapters with less than 20 members. As part of the honor, the Florida chapter will receive $500, which recognizes the chapter’s strength in membership and recruitment, continuing education, outreach to related organizations, outreach to landowners, and short-and long-term goals.
“Every one of our chapter’s members should be very proud of this honor,” said John Halvorsen, ACF, Jowertt & Wood, Inc., and ACF’s Florida chapter chair. “We are grateful to STIHL® for their sponsorship.”
The award recognizes the activities of the Florida chapter from June 2020 to June 2021.
“The chapter received the award for organizing a variety of chapter meetings, providing continuing forestry education through workshops, reaching out to organizations such as the Florida state legislature and academia, and creating an online member directory for landowners in an effort to attract more business to their members,” said Justin Miller, ACF, president of Green Timber Consulting Foresters, Inc., and president of ACF.
ACF’s Large Chapter of the Year award was given to the ACF Texas chapter for meeting similar criteria. The Large Chapter award of $1,500 honors an ACF chapter with 20+ members.
“On behalf of ACF members, we want to congratulation the Florida chapter for capturing the Small Chapter of the Year Award,” Shannon McCabe, CAE, Executive Director of ACF. “We want to thank STIHL® for sponsoring the two chapter of the year awards for the fourth year.”
The consulting foresters that comprise ACF membership are located across the U.S. Through their work with landowners, they enhance property values, increase the value of timber, produce a more sustainable timber harvest, protect wildlife habitat, and establish and protect a family’s forest legacy. Because of their vital role in the supply chain, ACF members have been deemed essential workers during COVID-19.
As a condition of membership, every consulting forester must have minimum education and experience levels, complete the Practice of Consulting Forestry course, and most importantly, agree to adhere to the organization’s stringent Code of Ethics.
For more information about ACF, log onto www.acf-foresters.org.