It’s been a fast ride for one of the nation’s youngest logging associations. The North Carolina Professional Loggers Association, Inc. (NCAPL) pulled out of the station just over two years ago and has already made an impact on behalf of its members and those on the national scene.
A charter group of 12 logging businesses started meeting in the summer of 2007 at local restaurants to discuss logger training, trucking and tax regulations, a need to reduce spending on fuel and operating supplies, and focusing on state and federal politics where you take the initative instead of dodging bullets and avoiding ricochets. Keith Biggs and Jimmie Locklear of Forestry Mutual Insurance had just returned from their first American Loggers Council national meeting and were impressed with a 100% dedicated logging association working at the national and state levels. “It was loggers dealing with logging issues at their table,” Biggs recalls.