Dean Pepper of Fayette was named Maine’s Outstanding Logger and Keith Kanoti, formerly of Somerville, received the Abby Holman Public Service Award at the recent Maine Forest Products Council 55th annual meeting.

Jim Robbins Sr., president of Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, received the Albert D. Nutting Award, which recognizes leadership, integrity and “a commitment to the values, both public and private, generated from the working forest,” according to a press release from the MFPC.

Dean Pepper, of Fayette, was named Maine’s Outstanding Logger by the Maine Forest Product Council last week. Contributed photo

Keith Kanoti, formerly of Somerville, received the Abby Holman Public Service Award at the Maine Forest Product Council’s annual dinner last week. Contributed photo

The meeting was held at Sunday River Resort in Newry.

Pepper, of D.R. Pepper Wood Harvesting, was honored for “exemplary on the ground performance and a strong commitment to meeting the management objectives of the landowner through innovation and sound business management,” the release said.

“I’m very honored,” Pepper said, “and I would like to thank my parents for bringing me up around the forest industry and also my wife, Catherine, for helping me through the tough times.

Maine’s outstanding logger must meet high standards for “safety, protecting the environment, great employee relations, innovation, working with landowners and doing just generally great work,” MFPC Executive Director Patrick Strauch said.

Kanoti, now of Old Town, who served as the Maine Forst Service water resource forester, received the public service award for his “outstanding work with private landowners to improve fish passage and stream connectivity.” In June, he began a new job as forest manager for the University of Maine.

Other winners included Tom Whitworth, of Wallagrass, named Maine’s Outstanding Forester. Whitworth is former regional enforcement coordinator for the Maine Forest Service), for “a career of tireless, pro-active education and counseling on forest management practices while maintaining the respect of landowners within a regulatory framework.”

Lumbra Hardwoods Inc., of Milo, was recognized as Maine’s Outstanding Manufacturer in recognition of the firm’s “perseverance, ingenuity, and excellence in the sawmill business, and support of the Milo community and the forest products industry since 1952,” the release said.

Related Stories