Companies Benefit Log A Load for Kids – A Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Partner

Recently, Minnesota timber industry businesses came together to help local kids treated at St. Paul’s Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, with a clinic in Duluth. The collaborative timber harvest, north of Duluth, netted over $33,500 for Gillette, adding to the Minnesota Log A Load for Kids effort which has raised $604,000 for Gillette since it began in 1997.                                                                                                                                                               

The harvest, organized by Tom McCabe of McCabe Forest Products, was supported by seventeen different companies and individuals. “It was a team effort,” McCabe said. “It’s been fun organizing the whole thing. It’s a great cause and we’re glad to help out the kids.”

All of the time, labor, equipment, and fuel was donated by the participating businesses. Waste Wood Recyclers managed the felling and slashing. Watters Excavating provided the delimbing while logger Rick Olson provided the skidding. Several companies hauled the wood including Demenge Trucking and Forest Products, Al’s Excavating, Kimball Enterprize, Shermer Logging, Rieger Trucking, McCabe Forest Products, Jerry Donek Trucking, and Vandoren Trucking.

Minnesota Power purchased the biomass. Mills purchasing the timber included Hedstrom Lumber, Louisiana Pacific, SAPPI, UPM Blandin, and Lester River Sawmill.

Log A Load is able to use funds from a previously awarded grant from Compeer Financial for a reoccurring process of purchasing a county stumpage sale and then carrying out a harvest through the generous participation of timber industry businesses and mills. Log A Load for Kids then replenishes the grant to its full amount, prepared to purchase another timber sale that will generate more harvest proceeds to benefit the mission of Gillette.