November 2024

The Issues: Women Are Making Waves

Article by Jessica Johnson, Senior Chief, Timber Processing

One of the things I really hate is the misconception that forest products manufacturing is a man’s world—and that the only females you see are “ladies in the office.” Sure, there’s way more dudes out on the production floor of your average dimensional lumber mill, but time and time again I see women in control rooms, at ma- chine centers and driving rolling stock. My first sawmill visit, a sticky day in the middle of an Al- abama summer to Dixon Lumber, I’ll be honest—I don’t remember if I saw any fellow females. Mainly because I was too busy making sure I could navigate the grounds without getting hurt, or getting somebody else hurt.

But as I grew more comfortable on catwalks, I did start to notice. We’re not alone, us ladies in lumber. We’re also in management—just look at the innovative and exciting things being done by Emily Baker at Vaagen Brothers, or KayCee and KelCee Hallstrom carrying on their family’s legacy at Zip-O-Log Mills. There are others, too, like RPM’s Lori Fehr and USNR’s Sonia Perrine on the machinery side of the industry. When I first started, I got the rundown in a baptism by fire kind of way, using my “sparkling” personality to open doors and make friends. Editors Rich Donnell and Dan Shell having my back didn’t hurt, either. I wish I had known some of these women from the beginning.

As I started thinking about how I wanted to make my own TP&EE Portland show experience impactful, I thought about how I wanted to network with other ladies. I wanted to have a dedicated chance to meet women I didn’t know so well. We all have different backgrounds, and different perspectives, but I wanted to cre- ate a space to just celebrate each other and mingle with one another. Make new connections and possibly meet a new friend or two.

Friday morning of the show, I hosted Coffee & Conversation, an event solely for the women in our world. I fiercely guarded my food spread from the guys with growling stomachs and enjoyed chats with those who were able to make their way over to the center of the TP&EE floor. People trickled in and out as their plans would allow, but I so enjoyed it. I’ve got a new industry friend in Breanne Baker, who just recently joined the Yates American team. It was refreshing to see younger ladies like her mingling, and hopefully I did for her what I set out to do—show that while it might not always seem like it, the ladies in lumber are a force to be reckoned with. And there are lots of us.