Article by DK Knight
Executive Editor/Co-Publisher
James Edward (Jim) Mooney’s family and many of his friends and associates gathered in Charlottesville, Va. on November 1 to bid him farewell. Jim, well known and passionate logger advocate and logging industry activist, a former logger, and community volunteer, left this life at 7:41 p.m. on October 27, about 14 months after he was informed that he had lung cancer. He was only 55.
My wife Jane and I were privileged to be part of the assembly, and I had the double-edged honor of assisting in his eulogy. Fortunately, we had visited with Jim and most of his family just a week before. At that time, he was sitting up, talking, and even laughing. We had anticipated a sad visit but it turned out to be just the opposite. Jim intended for it to be that way.
My friendship with Jim didn’t span that many years but it developed into a deep, enduring bond. It began to accelerate in 1999 when Jim, then president of the American Loggers Council (ALC), hosted the organization’s annual meeting at Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A year later, at the ALC’s annual meeting in Beaumont, Tex., and several months after he had exited the logging business, I approached him about writing a column for this magazine, surmising that his logging experience and ongoing appreciation for loggers and logging would benefit a large segment of our subscribers. The first Mooney’s Corner appeared in May 2001.
Jim The Writer
Jim’s writing skills were not that refined but it was clear he poured his heart and soul into the effort and longed for improvement. He was easy to coach and soon his work advanced and became more polished. Over the years he wrote about a lot of timely topics, some serious and some not so much. One of his most creative and memorable pieces, titled On The Horizon…A Logger Union, was a fictional account of events that led to the development of a logger’s union in the Southeast.
He loved it when his work resulted in subscriber feedback, which was often the case when he wrote about controversial topics. He soon learned that praise and criticism came with the territory, and he handled both with the grace of a Virginia gentleman. His work helped make this magazine more valuable and useful to many subscribers. At the same time, this writer-editor pathway fueled our friendship and deepened our respect for one another.
Jim’s loyalty to Timber Harvesting corporate parent Hatton-Brown Publishers manifested itself in other ways. For almost a decade he interviewed loggers and sawmill owners/managers and wrote feature stories for several of our publications, in effect serving as a noble ambassador for our organization. On a few occasions when I could not make it to the annual meeting of the ALC, he ably stood in for me in presenting the Timber Harvesting Logging Business of the Year Award.
The writing arrangement was cut short by the dark economic clouds of late 2008, which forced us to quickly cut costs. I remember making that painful call. Jim did not welcome the news but understood. While our communications became less frequent, we remained steadfast friends. It turned out to be a positive development for him, who devoted more time and effort to his role as executive director of the Virginia Loggers Assn. (VLA).
Jim The Leader, Giver
Of all Jim’s attributes, his ability as a leader was perhaps the most pronounced. John C. Maxwell, the best selling author and speaker on leadership, defines a leader as “one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” That description fit Jim to a T.
Jim became an Eagle Scout at the minimum age of 13, some two years earlier than the average Boy Scout achieves this status, as I understand it.
After earning a forestry degree at Virginia Tech in 1982, the next year he co-founded Piedmont Thinning and Harvesting, Inc. and operated the company for many years. Piedmont was a thinning specialist, rare for its day in the area, but developed a good reputation among private landowners for the conscientious work it performed.
A quick review of his life’s journey reveals that in a world of takers, Jim was prone to be a giver. He joined the local volunteer fire department and rescue squad, became an EMT, helped organize and later captain a swift water rescue team, and once rescued a couple trapped by rising creek waters. He always traveled with rescue and first aid paraphernalia at the ready, and pushed the importance of safety and first aid training on logging operations.
Jim The Organizer
Jim was also known for his calm demeanor, self-confidence, commitment, and ability to get things done. An active member of the Virginia Forestry Assn. (VFA), he served on the group’s Logger Committee and encouraged other logging contractors to get involved with the VFA. He was instrumental in getting the forestry association to form a logging council, of which he was the first president. This group was the genesis of the Virginia Loggers Assn., of which he was also the first president. He later was hired as VLA’s first executive director, serving with only partial compensation for several years. He remained at the VLA helm at the time of his death.
In 1994 Jim was one of 44 loggers and logging association executives who hammered out the framework of a new national group, the American Loggers Council. He helped write bylaws for the ALC, was a member of its first board of directors and rose through the ranks to serve as the group’s fifth president. He was also one of three loggers who represented the national logging community on the SFI Logger’s Forum.
Unlike most former ALC presidents, Jim remained steadfast in his commitment to the organization after his years as an officer were behind him. He wanted to see the ALC continue to develop and mature. He attended most spring and summer board meetings, at times taking his kids along, and never missed an annual meeting until 2013. Perhaps more than any other member of that core group, he remained an active part of the ALC leadership, at his death serving as chair of its communications committee and as a member of its membership committee. Moreover, he was a strong advocate on legislative issues and led the Virginia contingency during the ALC’s annual lobbying visits to Washington.
At the same time, he was a huge supporter of Log-a-Load for Kids, serving the cause in local, state and national capacities.
He dearly loved—practically revered—his alma mater, Virginia Tech, where during his early post graduate years he often returned to address forestry students or agreed to host them on his logging turf.
They say a good friend is a person with whom you can have no contact for weeks, but when you do phone them, it seems like you talked with them only yesterday. To me, Jim was that kind of friend, that kind of person.
Whether family, friend, or associate, we will all miss him, perhaps more tomorrow than today. Let us fill the void he left by remembering the passionate person and leader he was, his giving spirit, what he stood for, and what he accomplished.
Survivors include his children, Maggie, Jonathan, and Emily; one grandchild, Levi Mooney; one brother, Bob Mooney; and his parents, Bobbie and Russell Mooney. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to either the Hospice of the Piedmont, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300, Charlottesville, VA 22911; or to the Jim Mooney Scholarship Fund, Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. Checks for the latter should be made payable to the Virginia Tech Foundation Inc. and sent to the Office of Gift Accounting (0336), University Gateway Center, Virginia Tech, 902 Prices Fork Rd., Blacksburg, VA 24061.