Edison Motors - Co-Founder & CEO
Solar Energy Logistics - Co-Founder & Owner
Chace Barber is Co-Founder and CEO of Edison Motors and Co-Founder and Owner of Solar Energy Logistics. Chace and Eric Little started their own trucking company in their 4th year of university by restoring a 1969 Kenworth.
The trucking company transitioned to hauling and installing electrical generation systems to designing and engineering hybrid diesel electric power systems.
Never letting go of his passion for trucking, restoring classic trucks and driving Chace was the one who came up with the idea of Edison Motors by combining their hybrid power systems with the classic trucks they restored.
Caterpillar - Forestry Division
Mike has worked at Caterpillar in the forestry industry for over 20 years, primarily in Western Canada and the Northwest USA. Throughout his career at Caterpillar Mike has held positions in the machine manufacturing group, marketing division, and in-field dealer and customer support throughout the company, including new product development on forestry products as a global product specialist.
Schaeffer Manufacturing
Jim has worked for Schaeffer Manufacturing for 20 years. He's been a top 25 producer since 2013 and a consistent million dollar producer since 2014. Jim works exclusively for Schaeffer Manufacturing; he does not represent any other lines.
Jim has been a member of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) since 2008. In 2010 he received the accredited designation of Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS) from STLE. As a tribologist, Jim has the ability to analyze lubrication, friction, wear, and how they all relate to each other.
Associated Insurance Services (AIS)
Forest Products Director
Bryan Graham is the Forest Products Director for Associated Insurance Services (AIS) in Boise, ID. He began his insurance career working for Associated Loggers Exchange in 2006. After graduating from Boise State University in 2010 he became one of the agency’s primary producers for logging insurance in Idaho and Montana. After helping to establish AIS as the premier logging insurance agency in the Intermountain region, Bryan was successful in creating a partnership through Lloyd’s of London for their own exclusive logging and log hauling insurance program called Axe Insurance Group (AXE) established in 2022. Axe Insurance Group has just concluded its second full year in business and we’re very proud to report that the program has been renewed through 2025! AXE is also exploring the opportunity of expanding into Oregon and Washington in the near future.
Bryan and his wife Shannon have a three-year old son, Jack. They enjoy attending sporting events, playing by the river with their dogs, and spending time with family in Boise.
Bureau of Business & Economic Research
Senior Research Forester
Steve Hayes is a Senior Research Forester at the Bureau of Business and Economic Research.. His focus is on the forest products industry and manufacturing in Montana and other Western states. He is an active member of the Society of American Foresters and has been a Certified Forester since 2000. Steve earned his B.S. in forest resource management and M.S. in forestry from the University of Montana-Missoula. Prior to working at the Bureau, he spent 30 years working in private forest industry as a forester for Plum Creek Timber Company and Champion International Corporation.
Kodama Systems - CEO & Founder
Merritt Jenkins is CEO and co-founder of Kodama Systems, a forest management technology company developing tools to help loggers treat more acres. Kodama is leveraging breakthroughs in satellite connectivity and machine autonomy to improve the safety and efficiency of logging operations.
Merritt has technical expertise in outdoor robotic systems, and he has spent the past two logging seasons on the Stanislaus National Forest. He has a BS from Dartmouth College, an MS in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MBA from MIT.
USDA Forest Service
Regional Program Lead - Wood Innovations Program - Northern & Intermountain Regions
In this position, Julie provides technical and financial assistance to wood and biomass product manufacturing and use throughout the states of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, North Dakota, and portions of western Wyoming, eastern California and northwestern South Dakota. Her work involves administering a very active grant program, tracking new technologies, markets and entrepreneurs, and networking to foster partnerships and project development. Julie enjoys working with forest products industry and land managers to explore and invest in opportunities for both traditional and emerging markets that are essential to the resilience of our forests and communities. Prior to joining the Forest Service in June 2016, Julie served as Forest Products and Biomass Program Manager for Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for nine years. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana. Julie resides in Missoula, Montana where she and her family spend their time outside enjoying our public lands
With sawdust in her DNA, Heidi Krueger is an industry expert deeply rooted in the forest products industry with a background in logging, trucking and heavy equipment.
Having navigated roles as a business owner and key positions in operations and finance, she offers a comprehensive understanding of company challenges.
As a financial advisor with Edward Jones, Heidi specializes in assisting business owners, focusing on areas such as cash flow management, employer retirement plans, and tailoring exit strategies.
In her spare time, Heidi continues to channel her passion for the timber products industry into research and support for industry-specific success.
Blake is currently the Program Manager of Workforce Development at the University of Idaho. This job entails a couple things. First part of this job is to help instruct and manage the student logging crew. These young people will get an up-to-date look at the logging industry. The Second part of the job is to develop a curriculum for the Idaho K-12 students. After being a part of a successfully developed model in Oregon, he is striving to create something similar and successful for the students in Idaho as well.
Blake has a family history in logging. He was previously the Forestry and Natural Resources teacher in Sweet Home, Oregon. He had been bridging the gap between industry and schools throughout the state. He was successfully encouraging students to pursue logging careers and has a creative ability to reach out to all youth who will be the next generation of natural resources workers.
“Forestry has given so much to me, that to not give back, I feel like I am robbing society, and there’s not that many people doing this,” Manley said
Blake had accomplished this in a number of ways: through his classroom teaching and bringing industry representatives in to talk to the students at Sweet Home High School, coordinating the Sweet Home High School forestry program, and the video series he created called Manley Jobs.
His series of career videos recently earned him quite a bit of media attention, including a story in September on the FOX News program Fox and Friends. He has been interviewed by Oregon newspapers and on radio stations throughout the United States."
Dirk has been working with logging contractors and forestry professionals across North America for over 20 years. Upon completing his forest engineering degree back east, Dirk started his career with the Caterpillar forest product group out of Lagrange, Ga. working with Caterpillar dealers selling and supporting logging equipment. In September of 2019, Weiler purchased the Forest Product group from Caterpillar and all 250 people moved over to Weiler. Working for a smaller, privately held and family business has been a fun opportunity and exciting challenge for Dirk. He gets to see firsthand the product line expansion and model growth that Weiler is bringing to the forestry product offering. Cat dealers and customers have been great to work with during the transition and the future of new product is exciting.
Modern Machinery
Falcon Product Manager
Russ has over 44 years of experience in Forestry Product sales and customer service.
Russ joined Modern Machinery as a territory manager in 2008, working out of the Modern Machinery Rochester branch, he serves many different markets. He offers a broad range of equipment including Mining, Construction, Material Handling, Crushing and Screening, Drilling, Road Maintenance and Forestry Steep Slope Equipment
Prior to joining Modern Machinery, Russ was a senior Factory Rep at Madill, where he excelled in Yarder Equipment Sales and Service. His 14 years of experience at Madill, along with his past experiences working at Ross Equipment, Timber Harvest Equipment and Cascade Loggers Supply has made him an expert in Logging and Forestry Equipment.
Russ Smith grew up in Washington. He is Happily Married to his wife Tami for 30 years, He also has a 17 year old daughter Kylee. Russ has received Bronze, Silver, and Gold Komatsu Sales Certification and is currently completing his continuing education certification. When he is not out selling equipment, Russ enjoys spending time with his family and attending industry trade shows as well as logging conferences.
Forisk Wood Fiber Review - Associate Editor
& Western Region Representative
Vickie Swanton is an Associate Editor of the Forisk Wood Fiber Review and is also Forisk’s Western Region Representative. Vickie is based in Kennewick, Washington. Prior to joining Forisk, Vickie served as a Region Manager for the Forest Resources Association (FRA) for sixteen years in the U.S. West and Lake States. Prior to FRA, Vickie held roles with International Paper and Champion International. Vickie earned a B.S. in Business Administration from California Coast University.
Technical Forest Solutions (TFS)
Product Support and Sales manager
Vince joined TFS in 2016 as the Product Support and Sales Manager to help grow and support the TFS business. Vinces’s duties consist of managing day-to-day operations, manufacturing, operational training and product support. Vince is directly involved in getting customer feedback and applying that to the development of control system improvements or new products. Vince works directly with the EMS factory in New Zealand to bring the best solutions for the PNW market.