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Partnerships in Forestry: North Carolina
North Carolina Forestry Association
LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS MAKE THE BEST PARTNERSHIPS
By John Hatcher, North Carolina Forestry Association Executive Director
53 Years of Dedicated Partnership
The North Carolina Forestry Association’s (NCFA) partnership with Forestry Mutual Insurance Company (FMIC) began in 1971 with the inception of the North Carolina Forestry Association’s Self-Insured Fund. The mission then was to provide affordable workers' compensation insurance for the forest products industry and develop safety programs to keep loggers safe and stabilize insurance rates. Over time, the Self-Insurer Fund evolved to become Forestry Mutual Insurance. While the structure has changed over time, their mission and partnership with NCFA has remained the same.
In 1994, the NCFA and FMIC teamed up with the North Carolina Department of Labor, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and the North Carolina Forest Service to develop the ProLogger Program, which promotes business, safety and environmental stewardship in the logging sector.
The ProLogger Program – which celebrated its 30th birthday this year! –continues to be first in class thanks to the data-driven insights that FMIC brings to the table each year. Their analysis of claims and current incident trends in the industry helps guide NCFA’s development of content that is timely, relevant and will help our members reduce
accidents and costs every year. With FMIC’s involvement, the ProLogger Program consistently sees success, adding approximately 100 new members to its ranks and providing continuing education to approximately 1300 loggers per year.
In addition to FMIC’s contributions to the ProLogger program, their team remains active on the NCFA board of directors as well as its safety, logging and transportation committee, and they have played a huge role in the production of the Mid-Atlantic Logging, Biomass and Landworks Exposition.
The NCFA is proud to be celebrating 53 years of partnership with FMIC. Long-term relationships really do make the best partnerships, and we see the proof every day. Here’s to 53 more!
