Board Member Profile

Tom Gerow – Owego, NY

Head of Procurement for Wagner Lumber Company and Wagner Hardwoods, LLC since 1996, Tom started with Wagner as a procurement forester in the summer of 1988. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Tom received his BS in Industrial Forestry Operations from Virginia Tech in 1984.

An active member of the Society of American Foresters, Tom served as the Industrial Forester representative for the New York SAF Nomination Committee. He has also served on the Region 7 Forest Practice Board, co-chaired the Newfield Visioning Group, and currently serves on the Tompkins County Planning Advisory Board.

“I am impressed with ESFPA,” Gerow said, “This organization proves that with a cooperative, persistent effort positive change can be brought about.” He added “There is also a lot of follow-up required. Once a legislative initiative is passed, that is just half the battle. Helping to educate people about new rules and regulations is the other half of the battle.”

“I look forward to working as a part of this group. The people serving on the Board of Directors of this organization are very knowledgeable people at the top of their fields. I hope I can contribute with the broad perspective of my experience as an Industrial Forester working with landowners, a log buyer and a harvesting supervisor working with loggers.”

Regarding his priorities as a member of the board Tom, stated that he “would like to see a greater effort to keep the ESFPA website current. I feel this adds credibility to the organization.” Other areas he would like to focus on include “Education; it’s a big part of acceptance in this world, so keeping the emphasis on educating different groups about our industry is also a high priority as I see it.” After attending the December Board Meeting as an observer Tom added, “I am glad to see the organization increase its effort to bring more loggers and landowners into the Association.”