posted 09-08- 09:04 PM            

For Immediate Release
September 1, 2005

Tom Thomson is the 2005 Forest Landowner of the Year

“Tom Thomson (left) is presented the 2005 Forest Landowner of the Year Award by Forest Landowners Association President Harry Haney.”

The Forest Landowners Association is pleased to announce Tom Thomson, of Orford, New Hampshire, as the recipient of the 2005 Forest Landowners Association’s Forest Landowner of the Year Award. The award was made May 5, 2005 at the 64th Annual Forest Landowners Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The Forest Landowner of the Year Award is traditionally given to someone who has precipitated a great advancement to our cause of sustainable forestry in the last 12 months.

Tom resides in Orford, New Hampshire with his wife Sheila; their son, Stacey and his family live nearby. Together the family runs and operates the Thomson Family Tree Farm. The Thomsons have been managing their 2,800 acre forest with an emphasis on demonstrating to others the true meaning of a “working sustainable forest.” Tom and Sheila's son, Stacey, began cutting firewood when he was 12 years old. He built up his firewood business over the years and now at age 27 he owns and operates Thomson Timber Harvesting and Trucking, LLC, cutting and hauling wood products for landowners in the Upper Valley area. Tom and Sheila believe that some of the most important benefits of owning forest land is families working together on the land, learning a good work ethic, and passing on good land stewardship practices to the next generation.

In addition to managing his forest land. Tom has served as past vice-chair of the Tree Farm National Operating Committee and Chair of the Tree Farm National Policy Committee and today he serves on the National Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB) Resource Committee representing Family Forest Landowners. He is also regional Vice President for National Woodland Owners Association and a member of the Forest Landowners Association (FLA). This past summer he was asked by President George W. Bush to chair the New Hampshire Sportsmen, Forestry and Conservation Coalition for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign. He has received numerous state and national forestry awards. Tom was also the subject of a recent Landowner Profile, printed in the March/April 2005 issue of Forest Landowner magazine.

Tom encourages all landowners in the New England region to attend the Maine Forest Landowners meeting on October 5, 2005 in Portland, Maine. The meeting will feature some of the most notable speakers in the nation on eminent domain, property taxes and other private property issues. Make plans to attend by visiting http://www.forestlandowners.com/ or calling (800) 325-2954. All attendees will receive a one-year membership in the Forest Landowners Association, lunch, and refreshments.

Created in 1941, the Forest Landowners Association is a proactive, progressive and hard-hitting grassroots organization of both large and small timberland owners who own and operate millions of acres of land in the U.S. It is the only organization created for the specific purpose of speaking for private family forest landowners at the local, regional and national levels. For more information visit www.forestlandowners.com.

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