Celebrating the best of 2023

PLC Impact Awards: Each year, the PLC recognizes individuals from the public sector who have demonstrated a commitment to the industry and made a significant impact for its improvement. In 2023, the award goes to two recipients: The Maine Forest Rangers and Maine State Senator Brad Farrin of Norridgewock.

The Maine Forest Rangers mission is to protect Maine’s forest resources and homes from wildfire, respond to disasters and emergencies, and to enhance the safe, sound, and responsible management of the forest for this and future generations. Like loggers, they are in the woods every day, and they have become a valued and reliable partner for the PLC.

relationship to develop between the enforcement agency and those operating in its area of responsibility. This is not the case with the Rangers and loggers.

The Rangers have gone out of their way to go the extra mile to work with Maine loggers and not against us, all while still fulfilling their duties in a professional and diligent manner. As the relationship between the PLC and the Rangers has developed and strengthened in recent years, the Rangers have stepped up their efforts on our behalf in many ways. These include:

*Participating in PLC’s Annual Logger and Fleet Safety Trainings to teach wildfire prevention and suppression.

*Stepping up asset security checks on patrols to protect contractors’ logging equipment from theft and vandalism.

* Making Rangers available to meet with contractors to discuss ways to better protect their equipment and workers in the woods.

* Partnering with PLC to offer multiple online Zoom trainings focused on what the MFS looks for during Timber Harvesting Inspections to help loggers better manage their businesses.

* Contributing articles to the PLC’s quarterly magazine, The Logger’s Voice, focused on fire safety and logger protection.

Finally, it needs to be said that the loggers truly appreciate the work the Rangers do every day to protect the forest and those that work there from fires and other hazards, their role in rescues and emergencies, and their willingness to do a dangerous job well. Thank you, Maine Forest Rangers, from all of us.

Rangers are responsible for enforcing laws related to conservation, forestry and the environment in Maine, and in any enforcement scenario it is easy for an adversarial

Senator Farrin is currently serving his third term in the Maine State Senate. He represents the people of District 3, which was reapportioned this year to include municipalities in both Somerset and Penobscot counties as well as the Kennebec County communities of Benton,

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Clinton and Unity Township.

Prior to serving in the Maine Senate, Sen. Farrin served District 111 for two terms in the Maine House of Representatives. While there, he served as the ranking member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Transportation Committee. He continued his service on both of those committees as the Senate Republican Lead in the last two terms.

With more than 30 years of experience in construction and project management, Sen. Farrin is the Corporate Facilities Manager for Milton CAT, as well as Milton Rents, a construction equipment rental company. In this role, he is responsible for property management, regulatory compliance, facility maintenance and the start-up of all major capital projects for 27 facilities across six states.

Prior to his legislative service, he was the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the Maine Air National Guard before retiring in 2013 as its highestranking enlisted airman after serving for nearly three decades. He deployed to Iraq in 2008 in Operation Iraqi Freedom and to the Horn of Africa in 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sen. Farrin has more than 18 major awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal.

Locally, Senator Farrin served as a captain with the Norridgewock Fire Department until 2004. Sen. Farrin lives in Norridgewock with his wife, Lynn.

In his time in the Maine Legislature Senator Farrin has emerged as a strong and dependable advocate for Maine loggers and the issues that matter most to our industry, including efforts to lower taxes and spend taxpayer dollars responsibly.

Senator Farrin’s support was critical to the creation of the “Put ME to Work” job training program in 2015, which was the original funding source for the Mechanized Logging Operations Program in the Maine Community College System. Since that point in time, Senator Farrin has bird dogged funding for logger training at all levels of education and for that we are grateful.

As the Republican lead on the Transportation Committee, Senator Farrin has also championed several initiatives which have been incredibly helpful to Maine loggers and truckers. In 2019, he helped with a compromise on posted roads with the Maine Dept. of Transportation. In 2020, he put a bill in that would correct an issue with trailer lengths for our membership that quickly became law. And also in 2020, Senator Farrin helped our membership permanently remove an exemption for Canadian trucks to enter the United States with more weight than a Maine contractor could haul.

Lastly, Senator Farrin has been at the forefront of the Hinckley Dam issue that could have had a detrimental impact upon the Sappi mill and has essentially been resolved as a result of his perseverance.

In recognition of his steadfast commitment to this industry, we are pleased to recognize Senator Farrin with our 2023 Impact Award.