Fuller is Virginia Forestry Association president
Published 12:05 pm Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Brad Fuller, of Prince Edward County, is currently serving as president of the Virginia Forestry Association.
Founded in 1943, the Virginia Forestry Association (VFA) is a non-profit, privately supported organization with the purpose of encouraging the wise use of forest resources in the commonwealth for present and future generations.
The organization is composed of over 1,400 members who are forest landowners, foresters, forest products businesses, loggers, forestry consultants and a variety of individuals and groups who are concerned about the future well-being of Virginia›s forest resource.
The Virginia Forestry Association is dedicated to sustaining, developing, protecting and promoting the forests and related resources of Virginia. VFA seeks to maintain a political and economic climate favorable for forest ownership and forest industry in the state. Its goal is to enhance the public’s perception of forestry through effective outreach and communications. VFA also administers the VA Tree Farm program and the Virginia Forestry Educational Foundation.
Forestry is the third largest industry in Virginia. It contributes more than $17.5 billion annually to the state’s economy and employs more than 103,000 Virginians.
During this year’s Virginia General Assembly session, VFA will lobby and support the governor’s matching funding of the Reforestation of Timberlands (RT) program. These funds provide financial incentives to landowners to grow new forests through land management activities. Funding for the RT program comes from a self-imposed tax paid by forest industry and a match by the commonwealth’s general fund. The governor’s proposal is to fully fund the general fund match for the first time since 1997.
Fuller is employed as senior wood procurement manager for Huber Engineered Woods, a manufacturer of specialty OSB products and systems for roofs, walls and floors. Fuller is a certified forester of the Society of American Foresters and serves as national operations committee chairman for the Forest Resources Association.