The national forest industry periodical Wood Business Magazine has put a spotlight on youth in its latest edition and Prince George shines through.
In the first known Top 20 Under 40 list for Canada's forest industry, three are located within 90 minutes drive of downtown P.G. They are Sinclar Group Forest Products boss Greg Stewart, O'Brien Training/Taylor Professional Driving proprietor Dan O'Brien, and West Fraser Timber's silviculture co-ordinator in the Cariboo Jean Christie.
"It certainly is a testament to how important northern B.C. and Prince George in particular is in the forest industry," said Andrew Macklin, an editor with the magazine and the main writer of the Top 20 Under 40 feature. "As we have seen the biomass and bioenergy industries emerge, P.G. has become the hub for that; P.G. attracts some of the largest trade shows and conferences in the forest industry; it had a long history already with pulp and lumber, so having so many people on our first-ever list like this just shows how central Prince George is to the forest industry."
Other areas of focus that emerged from the list were rural Quebec and Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) with some reference also to Ontario, Alberta and other areas of B.C. (Grand Forks and Campbell River).
The jobs covered by those on the list were also scattered over the professional map: lumber production, fire suppression, silviculture, energy, research and development, mill construction, sales, resource management, corporate leadership and industrial education.
"These are great leaders and role models," Macklin said. "The young people considering or just entering the industry have a lot of great examples to set the agenda for years to come. The most amazing thing was just seeing how diverse the younger generation is in the forest industry. It's an awesome thing to see people of this generation excelling at every level of the industry from coast to coast."
Stewart said he too was inspired by the others listed.
"It would be great to actually get to meet these other individuals, because there are so many quality people on the list. A lot of interesting people. It is gratifying to be included with them," he said, although he stressed that what the list did not do was provide the broader context for each individual. He said his own position in the forest industry was supported and accommodated by a large number of people within and outside of his company, and yet his lone name was circled by the magazine. He was sure it was similar for others on the list.
Christie said she didn't even know she had been nominated when she found out she was in the nation's Top 20.
"I was quite honoured. The people on the list have accomplished a lot, so it was gratifying to be surprised like that," she said. "Everyone at West Fraser has gotten behind my career and they do that a lot with their employees. It hadn't occurred to me that I was young for my position. I actually felt like a late bloomer finding my career path but looking around at things, I do see that I'm young in some ways. I feel really fortunate to be doing this job. I am excited about the forest industry and the role silviculture plays. The future looks interesting."
She knew Stewart and O'Brien by reputation and called them each "shining examples of the forest industry leaders we have right in our own region."
This will be the only time Wood Business Magazine issues a Top 20. The magazine will do an annual list but henceforth it will be a Top 10 collection for the nation's best under the age of 40.
To read the profiles of all 20 on this year's slate, especially the three from the local region, visit www.woodbusiness.ca/harvesting/top-20-under-40.
