Month: November 2011

SHANNON JARVIS – LOG A LOAD VOLUNTEER CHAMPION, 2011

by stoute

The National Log A Load For Kids Campaign has selected Missouri’s Shannon Jarvis as the 2011 Log A Load For Kids Volunteer Champion.

Shannon Jarvis literally launched MIssouri’s Log A Load For Kids program by himself in 2009.   His love for children’s hospitals began with the birth of his triplets, who were born prematurely and needed the services of the CMN Hospital in St. Louis.   As a professional logger, he learned about Log A Load during a meeting of the American Loggers Council.  Then Shannon singlehandedly convinced the Missouri Forest Products Associatin (MFPA) Board of Directors to support Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals from Log A Load.

In 2010, with the support of MFPA and the Missouri Logging Council (MLC), Missouri’s Log A Load campaign raised $10,000 in its first year.   Since then, Shannon has pioneered some unique fundraiisng events for 2011 and challenged the MLC to double its efforts and raise $20,000!   Shannon is confident that they will reach that amount, as they are already close to $18,000 raised, of which he drummed up over $8,000 of the total himself.

Shannon promotes Log A Load every opportunity he has.   As Missouri Logging Council chair, he is helping to expand logger participation by helping to establish local logger chapters.   By organizing these local groups, he hopes to increase the level of ownership and participation by Missouri’s logging professionals.

As the first certified Master Logger in Missouri, Shannon commands respect throught the entire forest products industry.   He is able to motivate others to follow his lead and make generous donations, due to his easygoing style and persistent persuasion.   He’s a hard man to say not to.

Missouri’s Log A Load For Kids Program is run totally by volunteers, with MFPA and MLC providing organizational structure– led by a large man and a large heart, Shannon Jarvis.

North Carolina: Columbia Forest Products Raises $1,816

by stoute

Columbia Forest Products hosted its annual supplier appreciation dinner on Thursday, August 25 at Tom Johnson’s Camping Center pavilion in Marion, North Carolina.   Over 400 log suppliers, chain saw dealers, equipment and safety vendors, friends and family attended the event.   As a major part of the evening, a Mossberg 12-gauge over/under shotgun, valued at $600 was raffled.   The raffle raised $1,816, which will be donated to Log A Load For Kids.   The Log A Load For Kids raffle has been a popular part of our appreciation dinner for many years.   This year’s winner was James Maynor from Fairview, NC.

KENTUCKY: LICENSE PLATE PROGRAM RAISES FUNDS

by stoute

A special license plate will soon be available promoting forestry in Kentucky.   The plate has already been approved by the state, and the Kentucky Forest Industries Association is in the process of collecting the 900 forms required for the plate to be made.   Not only will the plate promote forestry, but eventually each plateholder will be presented with a solicitation to donate to Log A Load For Kids at every annual renewal.   For more information on how you can apply for a plate, call Michelle Brewer, KFIA Foundation, Log A Load For Kids at 502.695.3979.

A Word from National Log A Load Chairwoman, Lisa Medici, Fall 2011

by stoute

Welcome Winter!

For a lot of us it has been a very short season in the timber industry, with the late start to the season and early onset of winter at least in California.   We had snow in June this year!   The economy, too, has made fundraising difficult, and it looks like it will be some time before we Americans will be back on our feet.   When people are apprehensive about their future, they hold on to things very tightly-and that includes their hard-earned money.

John Forno and Laura MacGregor had a beautiful granddaughter, Alicia Rose Fiore, who left this world on January 14, 2011.  She was almost 14.   She was born with spina bifida and received care from the Spina Bifida Association of Arizona in Phoenix.   John and Laura have always had a generous heart for Log A Load For Kids® and would donate every year to auctions, raffles, or anything that raised funds for “The Kids.”   In July 2011, they had trees at their residence that they wanted removed.  John and Laura decided to donate the money from the logs to the hospital where their granddaughter received her medical care.   When John and Laura’s neighbors found out about that project, they donated trees off their property, too, to make sure there would be a full load.

We also want to thank Ray and Bernadine Adams and Dan and Debbie Harr, along with their children, Allison and Alex.   When we picked up the logs from the Harr family, Allison handed me a flower and said “thank you for helping sick kids.”   This is why I donate my time!   The load raised $1,340.50, and my brother Jack Medici, my boyfriend Joe Mason, and I bucked, bumped the knots, and then picked up the logs with our self-loader.   We then asked an aspiring photographer, a 2011 graduate from our community, Jim Vega, to take pictures of the event.   He did a wonderful job.   Jim, too, has had a rough year, as he lost his father, Jamie Vega, to a car accident just over a year ago.

With all of the calamities in life that we just can’t understand, we still have to give way to hope-hope keeps us going, along with our wonderful memories of our lost loved ones.

My thoughts and prayers are with those wonderful people that donated their time and heart for Alicia Rose Fiore and her family.   This will be my last column and I am eternally grateful and honored to have had this opportunity.   I am so proud to say that I have been California Chair for almost seven years and I have loved every minute of it!   The wonderful part about going to the National Log A Load For Kids® Conference is that everyone is motivated in high gear to make a difference for the children of their state.

It is now time to hand the gavel to man that has an abundance of great ideas, Rich Palermo from Amherst, Virginia.   Rich is a very enthusiastic man with lots of energy and a big heart!   Together with others in his state, he purchased a Harley Davison motorcycle and talked Bruce Springsteen and the G Street Band to autograph the bike!  It raised tens of thousands of dollars!   It is an honor to know this man, as he will be an inspiration to Log A Load For Kids®!

Thank you for letting me be a member of this wonderful charity,

Lisa Medici, National & California Chair
Log A Load For Kids