I held my nose, took a deep breath and dove right in.

"What's that?" I said, pointing to a huge clump of yellow iron headed towards us through the trees. "A grapple skidder" my boss said. "Grapple skidder, grapple skidder, grapple skidder" I said it over and over in my head. My heartbeat picked up as it kept lumbering towards us dragging a clump of trees behind it. I scrambled out of the trail up onto a large rock. A small chuckle burst from his lips as he told me not to worry, it wasn't coming down this trail.

Tom Cushman of Maine Custom Woodlands hired me for my people skills and my sales ability. Now he had the task of teaching me about forestry and logging so that I could, with a team of people to support me, work with landowners to help them meet their goals while upholding the standards of a Master Logger Certified Company.

I came from corporate America, helping businesses solve their business issues as a Training Consultant. We all know that consultant is a fancy word for salesperson and we also know that everyone has something to sell, whether it's a product, a service or an idea. I sold myself and my ability to connect with people to Tom, and let's hope he doesn't ask for a refund.

I wanted a challenge, something new, something where I could prove to myself and those around me that the same principles apply whether in banking, management or moving timber. So now I am a Procurement Manager, procurement is a term that's common in the energy industry as many retailers must procure gas, electricity and/or other energy sources. It's just a fancy title for "I buy timber" and that is a simple way to explain a larger process, and to be perfectly honest, a much larger process than I could have imagined.

Now my life is an adventure every day. I wake up early, throw on my jeans and head out in the early morning mist. The women in the coffee shop love to see me coming in my "@#$%kickers", ( that's what Connie likes to call my boots). I took my stash of over 15 suits and gave them to my cousin. She called me on her way to a presentation and said that my suit made her feel stronger, as if some of my presentation skills "eeked" out into the fibers of the material. What I want to know is, does anyone out there have any flannel shirts they can give to me, to help me feel stronger in my job?

Learning new things makes you feel alive and man if I was anymore alive, I'd be living my next life. Logging isn't what it used to be, and the knowledge base just to move timber can feel overwhelming. With third party accountability, attention to the environment is tantamount, and it is our responsibility to adhere to the standards that not only protect the environment but protect the generations to come. Maine was the first in the world to set up a third party monitoring system with the birth of The Master Logger Certification Program
(http://www.masterloggercertification.com/). I am proud to know that the company I work for is Master Logger Certified, and that my state is a pioneer in the logging industry.

I never imagined that logging would encompass so many variables, it makes perfect sense, but why would I bother to think about it? I just thought that buying timber would be way easier than selling a product. Hey, we are offering landowners' money and making their woods healthier! In reality it isn't that simple. Some landowners don't understand that to maintain a healthy forest one must weed it like a garden.

Moving wood is not easy, we have to work with the mills and the public, while scheduling jobs and praying for the ground to freeze. We fight the weather, check soil maps and road postings while paying attention to the clients needs. We have to accomplish all this and uphold the standards that protect the environment. We are on the forefront of great change, Maine is on the cutting edge in the world of timber harvesting, as we so often are when it comes to environmental issues.

There lots of great stories to share, some just for fun and some that will enlighten. Hopefully I can make a difference for the loggers, who are struggling to make a living and for you, the reader who will learn a little more about the great tradition of logging.

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