OLC 2021 DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

Oregon Logging Conference Board of Directors announced that the 2021 Oregon Logging Conference (OLC) at the Lane Events Center and Fairgrounds in Eugene will not be taking place in February as planned.

“After much discussion and based on the current and anticipated COVID-19 related restrictions, the Board of Directors has made this decision,” says OLC President Scott Melcher. He said it was a difficult decision to make. “We looked at a number of ways to have the conference as usual in Eugene, but just could not make it work with the restrictions in place.” On a positive note, even though the conference in Eugene is canceled, there will be an 83rd Annual OLC with some of the traditional conference activities. “We will celebrate our conference in February of 2021, but in new ways,” Melcher adds.

Plans call for a series of sawdust bowls, which will offer multiple opportunities for OLC supporters to socialize and network. “We hope that members of the OLC, friends, and family will join us at the location most convenient to them,” Melcher says. “We know there are in-person gathering limits, so by having more than one sawdust bowl in more than one location, we can adhere to those guidelines, but still get together.”

A tentative schedule of the sawdust bowls to be held in February 2021 in Sweet Home, Prineville, Roseburg, Philomath, Coos Bay, and Eugene, Ore., as well as in Vancouver, BC can be found on oregonloggingconference.com.

Several seminars and panel discussions are being scheduled. A Hands-on-Seminar will explore New Products and Practices for Cable Assist Logging. Other topics include the Oregon Forest Practices Act, Better Ideas/New Technology in Logging, the Three C’s (Communication, Coordination, and Cooperation) around High Voltage Facilities, and Your Voice – Your Vote Counts.

To kick-off the celebration of the 83rd Annual OLC, a fundraising dinner is planned with proceeds raised to benefit the OLC Recovery & Repair Fire Relief Fund. This dinner is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 6 at the Sweet Home Supper Club in Sweet Home. This will be a limited attendance event and will take place in compliance with any restrictions that are in place at that time.

The 84th Annual Oregon Logging Conference will be held February 24-26, 2022.