Pilot-Independent Staff Report CASS LAKE — This has been a big year for Scheff Logging and Trucking. In April the Marcell-based company was named the “Logger of the Year” by the Minnesota Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee (MN SIC). That recognition has now led to logger Jim Scheff having the honor of cutting the white spruce that will light up the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The Chippewa National Forest, in partnership with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and Choose Outdoors, will provide the 2014 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, an 80-foot plus white spruce. Scheff Logging and Trucking will cut the tree during a public ceremony Oct. 29. After the ceremony, the tree will be loaded onto a flatbed truck and begin the nearly 2,000-mile cross-country expedition. “As Minnesota’s 2014 ‘Logger of the Year’ and owner of an outstanding family-run business, Jim Scheff is the perfect choice to cut down this year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree,” said U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. The Logger of the Year Award recognizes outstanding independent logging contractor performance and honors Minnesota’s competent, professional and independent logging contractors. Founded in September 1977, Scheff and his family established a thriving business in Scheff Logging and Trucking. The business includes five timber harvesting crews, one wood chipping operation, a fleet of 17 wood-hauling trucks and a complement of heavy equipment to build and maintain roads and landings. The family-owned enterprise supplies wood fiber to Minnesota’s forest products economy, while harvesting trees in an environmentally sensitive manner. “Not only are Jim Scheff’s standards for his operations above the norm, he is a volunteer with several professional programs and associations that meet the challenging demands of the logging profession,” said Tim O’Hara, coordinator of the Duluth-based MN SIC. Scheff serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association and the Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers of Minnesota. Scheff’s certification as a Minnesota Master Logger recognizes his professionalism as an individual logger, earning Scheff Logging and Trucking the seal of approval as a logging business. Events are scheduled in over 30 communities along the tree route, and the tree lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C. will take place in early December. For news, updates, tour information and to track the tree cross-country, visit capitolchristmastree.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 02:41:48 +0000
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