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| Bob Franklin accepts Leadership Award |
Champions of family tree farms from across the Palmetto
state gathered in Columbia on Thursday February 25. Every attendee wears a
green button-down shirt with a Tree Farm logo so that the group is easily
identified. The annual lobby day takes tree farmers into both sides of the
General Assembly to show lawmakers that they have budget priorities and take an
interest in other legislative decisions.
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| Wood, Water, Recreation, Wildlife |
Readers of
this column in the Colletonian can recall an article in November of 2013
detailing the
S.C. Tree Farm system evolving into a fee-based
membership. There is an umbrella organization in Washington D.C. for the
American Tree Farm System, but while the nation’s economy was in recession, the
amount of funding available became greatly reduced. The 2016 lobby day also
served as proof positive the new model in S.C. is working just fine, and it
appears that the almost 90-percent retention among dues-paying
tree farmmembers will continue into the future.
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Senator Chip Campsen listens as
Tree Farm Proclamation is read aloud |
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| Representative Chip Limehouse welcomes me |
The last
S.C. Tree Farm lobby day I attended was five years ago in
2011, and the format
for the day remained largely unchanged. The day begins with a briefing at 9
a.m. in an office building next to the state capital, so for those traveling
from destinations like Walterboro, it required an early wake up call and travel
day. Another Colletonian in attendance, Bob Franklin, is no stranger to the
Tree Farm system. He began with introductions of those who would coach the group
on what issues to support, and later in the day he accepted an award for his
Leadership. I appreciate how Franklin has served as a mentor both to me and to
my family's tree farm.
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| Group Photo by Doug Wood |
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