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Here you'll get the latest newsletter, Building Connections,  from Vermont WoodNet.  The October 2003 newsletter is below.  You also have access to prior newsletters from the links below.

October 2003   July 2003    April 2003     January 2003     Spring 2002        Winter 2001     Fall 2001

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Vermont WoodNet

Building Connections

Vermont WoodNet is a coalition of small-scale woodworkers and wood-related businesses with the mission to strengthen business opportunities for Vermont wood product businesses based upon a commitment to the sustainability of the forest resource.

October 2003

Volume 3, Number 1

Mark your calendars

Oct 6 Governor's Table Presented

Oct 21 Quarterly Meeting, 7-9pm, Baynham Woodproducts in Shelburne

Feature Member

Marshall Webb

By Mary Beth Bouvier

Marshall Webb is one of six children in the distinguished Webb family from Shelburne. In the early 1970s his generation of Webb's presided over the transformation of Shelburne Farms from a private farm to a non-profit environmental organization. "The whole reason for becoming a non-profit was to have a positive effect on ourselves and the earth," said Marshall.

Shelburne Farms officially became a non-profit organization in 1972. Each of the Webb children chose their own areas of interest within the organization, such as crops or dairy. Alec, now president of Shelburne Farms, chose accounting and administration as his area. Marshall chose the woods because he enjoys the peace and tranquility. When the chainsaw stops, being in the woods is "pretty darn amazing", said Marshall. Besides, he didn't have to milk cows twice a day, 365 days a year!

Shelburne Farms is part of the Vermont Family Forest and in 1998 became "certified" by Smartwood and received a "green" stamp of approval. Educational programs began in 1970 with the start of a summer camp and continue to this day. Shelburne Farms takes into consideration both wildlife and recreation in its management of the land, and has a strong focus on clean air and clean water. One of the questions that Marshall Webb likes to ask visitors to the farm is "Can mankind live forever on this planet and if so, how are we to behave?" He admits the answer is not an easy one and depends on the individual's point of view, but he finds it fascinating to ponder this question.

Shelburne Farms has 400 acres of timberland, with 300 acres under an active management plan. Ten to twenty acres are harvested each year on a 20-year re-harvest cycle. Although Marshall purchased a sawmill (a Mobil dimension Mill) in 1974 and worked it through the 70s and 80s, advances in mills soon led him to hire someone to do sawing for him. He says "every time a board comes off the saw, it is high drama" for him. "You never know what the grain is going to look like." Although he has not done much actual woodworking since his middle school years, he hopes to someday have time to get back into making his own pieces of furniture.

For the last five years Marshall has been busy cutting logs to be used in the rehabilitation of one of the barns on the grounds that will become a new education center. The goal of this center will be to help connect people with good stewardship of the land and instill conservancy of land. Marshall's goal is to supply 100 percent of the lumber needed for the renovations from timber on the farm. Once this project is completed, within three years time, then he plans on selling 10,000-20,000 board feet of wood a year. This is where he hopes his WoodNet connection will really pay off. He has found that by being part of WoodNet he has gotten a lot of good information about marketing his business and has met a lot of really good people with whom he can share his joy of lumber.

Marshall and Shelburne Farms have generously donated lumber for several WoodNet projects, including the bases of the Heritage Tables and the new display cases being built for the two rest areas on Interstate 89. Marshall mentioned that "WoodNet supports good management of forests since members want good wood forever. It's an organization that supports my values and goals. Organizations such as WoodNet are critical to the Northern Forest so that land is managed in a responsible fashion."

WoodNet Logo

Vermont WoodNet has an official logo. It appears in the banner at the top of this newsletter. WoodNet members may use this logo in their printed material. Contact Mary Beth or Bob for details.

Inside this issue

Marshall Webb 1

WoodNet Logo 1

Quarterly Meeting 2

Administrator Change 2

Gifts to VT Info Centers 2

Steering Committee 2

Product Logo 3

Heritage Table Presented 3

Lincoln Wood Workshop 3

New Web Site 3

Membership 3

Woodworkers Warehouse 4

Building Connections

October 2003

Page 2

Vermont WoodNet Quarterly Meeting

When: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 from 7:00 to 9:00

Where: Baynham Woodproducts, Shelburne

Agenda: Insurance for the Small Business

Demonstrations: (bring earplugs) Cutting plywood cabinet parts on a Streibig Vertical Panel Saw, beaded inset face frame construction using pocket hole screws and Moroso hauncher

Directions to Baynham Woodproducts: Take route 7 to traffic light in center of Shelburne. Turn east onto Falls Road. Go straight through the 4-way stop onto Mt Philo Road. Go 7/10 mile to McDonald Farm Road. Turn right onto McDonald Farm Road. Shop is the second building on the right. Park in first 3 driveways on right.

Administrator Change

Dawn McIntyre has retired as the administrator of Vermont WoodNet. Thanks to her efforts over the past four years we function much better as an organization. Thank you for your help and support. We will miss you.

We welcome our new temporary administrator, Mary Beth Bouvier. She has a tremendous amount of administrative experience. We look forward to her association with our organization.

VT WoodNet Gives Gift to VT Information Centers

Steering Committee

Vermont WoodNet, through a grant provided by The John Merck Fund and a donation from the State of Vermont, Office of Economic Development, will be building and presenting 2 display cases to the Vermont Information Centers on Interstate 89 in Williston, Vermont. The Information Centers are managed by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce (LCRCC), of which Vermont WoodNet is a member.

The display cases will help to fulfill the grant's requirement of organizing a Forest Stewardship Council Certification educational display for the WoodNet network. This will be accomplished in part by using certified lumber and businesses to build the cases. Also, a plaque will accompany each case with information on certification, Vermont WoodNet, and the organizations involved in building them. The display cases will be used by the Information Centers to exclusively promote Vermont products.

John Cammarano of the LCRCC, who manages the Information Centers states, "These cases will allow us to promote various Vermont products, businesses, handcrafters, artisans and woodworkers from around our state."

The display cases have been designed to look like a Vermont sugarhouse (see drawing). Marshall Webb of Shelburne Farms has donated the lumber. Paul Koenig of Koenig Cedar has donated cedar shingles for the roof. Keith Deavitt of Country Side Glass has donated glass for one of the cases. It is expected that the display cases will be finished and at the Centers by mid-November. Thanks goes to Kelly Ault, Jim McCarthy and Nils Shenholm for getting this project off the ground, to Bob Bouvier for acquiring the materials donations for this project and to Randall Ouellette of R&K Woodworking, Sue McLam of Knox

Mountain Woodworking and Brian Jones of Brian Jones Woodworking for building the cases.

Vermont WoodNet members are encouraged to take advantage of the display area offered at the Information Centers. Space is not limited to the display cases and several members have already had their products on display with tremendous reaction from the public. If you would be interested in having your product displayed at either Information Center, contact John Cammarano at the LCRCC. His contact information is: email - jcammarano@aol.com, phone # 802-363-4684 or 802-863-3489 x212. John can explain all of the details that you'll need to know.

Bob Bouvier, Chairman
Wood U Believe
802-863-5644
wdubelieve@aol.com

Mary Beth Bouvier, Coordinator
802-863-3984
email us

Barry Genzlinger, Vice-Chairman
Chiroptera Cabin Company
802-951-2501
batcabins@aol.com

Brian Jones, Treasurer
Brian Jones Woodworking
802-878-4895
info@brianjoneswoodworking.com

Bill Baynham
Baynham Wood Products
802-985-9311
bbaynham@cte.k12.vt.us

Dale Bergdahl
UVM Dept of Forestry
802-656-2517
dale.bergdahl@uvm.edu

Derek Cohen
SBDC
802-658-9228 x13
dcohen@vtsbdc.org

Sue McLam
Knox Mountain Woodworking
802-439-6156
sue@knoxmountain.com

Randall S. Ouellette
R&K Woodworking
802-877-3930
sawdustvt@verizon.net

Building Connections

October 2003

Page 3

Vermont Wood Product Logo Now Available

Vermont Wood Products Marketing Council has created a logo designed to promote the quality and craftsmanship of Vermont wood products, so that residents and nonresidents may increase their awareness of the outstanding design of the products, the environmental sensitivity of the manufacturers, and their commitment to customer satisfaction. Any Vermont wood product manufacturer whose products meet the guidelines set by the Council can use this logo. You can download the guidelines and an application form online at www.vermontwood.org or request them by calling 802-287-4284.

Heritage Table Presented

On Monday, October 6, 2003 at 3:00 p.m. the two Heritage Tables and the podium that were designed and constructed by twenty-six Vermont wood products businesses were presented to the people of Vermont at a ceremony hosted by Governor James Douglas in the Governor's Conference Room.

The wall plaque commemorating the event lists the names of the businesses that worked on the project and the names of those who provided financial support. The text of the plaque reads as follows. "Presented to the State of Vermont October 2003. These conference tables and podium were presented to the Governor, and the people of Vermont by the Members of Vermont WoodNet. Each piece was created from rediscovered wood of an historic 146-year-old American-Elm, removed from the Statehouse grounds in 2001, and Forest Stewardship Guild Certified White Ash, harvested at Shelburne Farms."

Have You Seen Vermont WoodNet's New Web Site?

Vermont WoodNet has had its newly redesigned website online since last April. The address for the site is www.vtwoodnet.org. It has a completely new look and feel with easy menu navigation.

Our latest addition to the website is our online store, which went online in July. Here, our members have the opportunity to sell their products online, with a small commission going to Vermont WoodNet. However, we need more products to put in the store in order to make it a place that people want to visit. If you are at the small business level of membership ($50) or above, and you have product available to sell, please check out the online store for details on how to do that. Help yourself and Vermont WoodNet at the same time.

One of the most used resources on our website is the bulletin board. There you can find items for sale, items wanted, a listing of upcoming events hosted by several wood related organizations throughout the state, and other announcements. You can post a new item on the bulletin board right from your computer.

In addition, the site has a listing of current membership information; member names, contacts, member web site links, and if you are at the $100 membership level, your very own web page. (If you are at the $100 membership level and you don't find your own web page then you need to provide us information so that we can create a page for you.) Also on the site are past newsletters, beginning with the Fall 2001 issue, our Resource Guide, current Vermont WoodNet project updates, news about the Vermont wood industry, membership information, and links to several useful wood related resources. And, you can also always find important information about the next Vermont WoodNet event right on the home page.

So please, use this valuable resource that's available right from your computer. Again, it can be found at www.vtwoodnet.org. And let others know about it too.

Wood Workshop Draws a Crowd and Ideas For Local Wood Supply Links

Over 50 landowners, loggers, foresters, builders, architects, woodworkers and wood organizations gathered in Lincoln on Saturday, September 27th to share ideas and explore solutions that would build better connections between wood harvested from carefully managed forests and wood users looking for local, character or certified wood sources.

Middlebury Professor and Author John Elder kicked off the event, with reflections on the forest as both community and commodity and how valuing the forest for more than just board feet can support a myriad of uses including supporting soil health and wildlife habitat as well as human activities like recreation and maple sugaring.

A woods walk by WoodNet member Stephen Taylor of Vermont Heritage Wood and David Brynn of Vermont Family Forests explored how landowners and foresters make good decisions in the woods and the economics of forest management.

Discussions facilitated by the National Community Forestry Center addressed challenges to the wood supply chain and by the end of the day, participants had identified activities that individuals, businesses and organizations could do to address those challenges. Ideas included regular networking events on issues, increased education with youth and forest practitioners, the formation of a wood supply cooperative and developing an information clearinghouse on the web on sustainable wood activities and sources.

The event was cosponsored by Vermont WoodNet, Businesses for the Northern Forest and the National Wildlife Federation. For a copy of the event report or to be contacted about follow up activities, contact Nils Shenholm, Solhelm Sauna at 244-6460 or nils@saunavermont.com.

It's Time To

Renew or Join

To become a member of WoodNet or renew your current membership contact Mary Beth Bouvier by phone at 863-3984, by email at email us, or mail at PO Box 4562, Burlington, 05406.