 |
Board History
A Brief Overview of Forty Years
ALABAMA BOARD OF REGISTRATION FOR FORESTERS
Prepared by Harry E. Murphy, RF
Registered Forester #299
On September 13,1957 at 8:22 PM, Governor
Jim Folsom of the State of Alabama signed
into law Act No.533 of the 1957 Alabama
Legislature, authorizing the establishment
of the Alabama Board of Registration for
Foresters (ABRF). The Board was organized
and held its first meeting on January 27,
1958 at the Alabama Forestry Division
office, 711 High Street, Montgomery,
Alabama. In this year of our Lord 1998, ABRF
begins the 40th year of service to the
Alabama public.
In the summer of 1950, the Alabama Chapter
of the Society of American Foresters,
meeting in Florence, Alabama, gave the first
formal consideration of having a bill to
provide for the licensing of foresters. Ivan
R. Martin was Chapter Chairman and he
appointed a committee to draft a legislative
bill. By the 1954 meeting of the Alabama
Chapter, a final draft of a Bill was
adopted. It was introduced in the 1955
Legislature, but did not get on the calendar
that year. It was not until 1957 that the
Legislature passed the Act providing for the
Registration and Licensing of Foresters. A
big push for enactment by the Alabama SAF
Chapter occurred in 1957, when Jimmy Owens,
Chairman, appointed another legislative
committee consisting of Bill Sizemore
Chairman, John Bradley, John Corbin, E. E.
Hale, John Kirpatrick, Earl Porter, Nicholas
Stallworth and Jake Stauffer.
Each member was to be assessed a dollar to
help defray the cost of advising the
membership of the legislative action. The
assessment was disappointing. Bill Black,
Secretary/Treasurer of the Chapter, reported
only 113 members contributed. Chairman
Owens, in his letter to the Committee said,
"This will not defer our action. Less than
44% of our members have contributed."
As I researched out the history of the
development of the Act No.533 in the Auburn
Archives (Earl Porter of I.P. provided to
the Archives an excellent Forestry file on
Alabama SE SAF as well as Owens and Waiter
Mills). In reading the correspondence I was
impressed with the dedication of the members
in pursuing the establishment of the Act.
They were not a bit discouraged by not
getting the Act through the 1955
Legislature, but planned to try again in
1957 and succeeded.
A number of interesting correspondence(s)
were generated by our SAF members with
regard to trying to pursue the Bill through
the Legislature. They should be remembered
for their determination, persistence,
tenacity and service. Jake Stauffer, State
Forester of Alabama, Professor Wilbur B.
DeVall, Vance Mills, Jimmy Owens who was
Chapter Chairman in 1956-1957, Ken Seigworth
of TVA, Bill Black who was
Secretary/Treasurer, Jimmy Haynes, Secretary
of the Auburn Forestry Alumni Association,
Ken Stallworth, E. E. Hale who was Executive
Director of the Alabama Forestry Association
or in those days Alabama Forest Products
Association, Dr. Bill Sizemore, and of
course the ole and faithful workhorse, J.
Hilton Watson, assistant to Mr. Hale.
In a letter from Mr. Hale to Bill Sizemore,
who was Chairman of the Committee, said,
"There are certain Legislators who were
especially helpful on the forester licensing
bill." And I think we should name them;
Gerald Bradford of Grove Hill, Sim A. Thomas
of Eufaula, Ralph Windle of Aliceville,
Jesse Brown from Vernon, Rankin Fife from
Hamilton, W. E. Oden from Russellville,
Brian Davis from Cullman and of course, one
of our great friends now deceased, Hugh Kall
(who actually brought the word to Hilton and
Sizemore the day on which the Bill was
signed by Governor Folsom.)
Following the bill being signed, Bill
Sizemore, Chairman of the Alabama Chapter,
submitted a list of names to Governor Folsom
to be Board Members Governor Folsom selected
Jake Stauffer, Alabama State Forester, Vance
Miles of Gulf States, Professor DeVall of
Auburn University, John C. Mitchell of TVA
and C. T. Prout of SCS.
Now the Board was as poor as paupers were.
The Legislature did not appropriate any
money and never has. The Alabama Chapter did
not have any either. However, the Alabama
Forestry Council at their January 28,1958
meeting took note of the problem. Vance
Miles suggested that $250 be donated to the
newly formed State Board of Registration for
Foresters to purchase supplies, "as the
Board has no funds with which to get started
and it has immediate need for such items as
an official seal, letterhead designs,
certificates, stationery, and clerical
assistance." Some of this money came from a
sale of the forestry handbook the Council
had published. Ike Martin moved that the
balance of the money remaining in this
handbook account be transferred to the
Council general fund and that the Council
donate another $200 from moneys in the
treasury to the State Board of Registration
for Foresters, when requested by Stauffer
who became the Secretary of the Board. The
motion was seconded and carried and
approximately $450 was given.
As we reflect back, there was some
opposition even by members of the SAF
Alabama Chapter to having a licensing bill.
Imposing was the great unity within the
Alabama Forestry community to have this
bill. They saw a need. A need to protect the
public from fraud, chicanery, deceit, hoax,
et.al. and other types of treachery. But
there was an important serendipity value
that Jake Stauffer, State Forester
understood. That was to assure those
positions in public service requiring the
supervision and management of forest and
natural resources be managed by qualified
individuals. The licensing of foresters
would help him in obtaining for the Alabama
Division of Forestry, qualified people that
served and advised the public on Forestry
and Natural Resources. That was no small
matter because in those days there was a
great deal of political patronage of public
service positions.
Organizations such as the Auburn Alumni
Association, the Alabama Forestry Council,
the Alabama Forestry Association (Alabama
Forest Products Association in those days)
and most of the management of the forest
products industry supported the bill
recognizing it would be of importance to the
general welfare of the Alabama public.
Since 1957, there have been 1,694 licenses
issued and 671 certified forestry interns.
The basic law has been amended six times and
the Board has promulgated thirty-one Rules &
Regulations. Forty members have served on
the Board, all of them foresters. There have
been thirty-three members who have assisted
in the oral exams given to applicants. We
should also take note that the Alabama
Forestry Division now the Alabama Forestry
Commission allowed the Board to meet in
their offices and provided assistance with
physical material and clerical help. The
organizational meeting was held at the
Alabama Forestry Division's offices at 711
High Street, Montgomery, Alabama.
The first clerical administrator was the
wonderful Mary Autry. Many of us have fine
memories as to her dedication to the Board.
Following Ms. Autry, Pamela B. Sears became
the office manager. The position of Office
Manager is now a full time employee paid by
the Board, and the Board now has its own
offices and boardroom at 513 Madison Avenue,
Montgomery, Alabama. The expenses are
self-sustaining by the ABRF from license
fees.
The Newsletter was first issued in August
1971, edited by Professor Wilbur B. DeVall.
Charles Tomlinson is currently editing it.
Through the usual thoughtfulness and
dedication of Prof DeVall, he listed a
number of significant items under Background
Information. These vintages represent a
tremendous expression of the direction,
purpose, value, and dedication of people
associated with and of the Alabama Board of
Registration for Foresters.
One cannot help in reflecting that over 40
years, especially in the beginning, of the
dedication, conviction, and commitment of
people and the permission by the employers
of these people to allow them to take time
from their job to contribute to this
undertaking. One company stands out, Gulf
States Paper Corporation. The leaders, Vance
Miles, Jimmy Owens, Jim Haynes, Jimmy Black,
and John Kirpatrick, provided were
tremendous. Even today the current chairman
of the Board, who acts in the great forestry
tradition of Gulf States Paper Corporation,
Phil Sasnett, is Director of Woodland
Management of this very fine civic and
forestry-minded company of Tuscaloosa,
Alabama. We are indebted to the leadership
support from its owners, especially Mrs.
Westervelt and Jack Warner.
From the files of Professor DeVall is a copy
of Vance Miles' proposal for ABRF seal. A
copy of his statement, dated February
24,1958, is found in the. The seal is
modeled from the Chinesedesign of perpetuity
and the symbols within the seal represent a
factory building, the trees represent the
forestry sources, the stream represents the
water source, the chemistry apparatus
represents science, the Aladdin's lamp
represents the magic of knowledge, the
silhouette represents the State of Alabama,
and the gearwheel represents that of the
wheel of progress.
As we begin the fourth decade of service by
the Board of Registration for the people of
the State of Alabama, they are reasonably
assured that those who would practice
forestry in Alabama and licensed by the
State of Alabama, have the knowledge,
experience, and education.
Of first importance, may be the fact they
are protected from fraud, deception and
chicanery by the embodiment that each
licensee is required by law to follow, a
Code of Ethics.
To hold an Alabama Registered Forester
License is more than obeying the law. It
expresses a personal responsibility for the
protection of the public. This is a true
measure of the meaning of a profession and
one of the distinguishing features of
learned professionals.
Past Board Members and
Officers |
|
