A grant from the USDA Forest Service and administered by Land-of-Sky Regional Council is allowing me to launch a new initiative focusing on the development and promotion of Appalachian Designs' use of local forest products. The grant will go to building a concentration yard and kiln, and marketing initiatives to expand the regional awareness of and demand for small diameter wood products.

A grant from the USDA Forest Service and administered by Land-of-Sky Regional Council is allowing me to launch a new initiative focusing on the development and promotion of Appalachian Designs' use of local forest products. The grant will go to building a concentration yard and kiln, and marketing initiatives to expand the regional awareness of and demand for small diameter wood products.

See the full press release from Land-of-Sky Regional Council here. Below are excerpts from the document to give you the general idea behind the program.

"Asheville, NC (June 2, 2010) – Land-of-Sky Regional Council (LOSRC) Chairwoman Letta Jean Taylor today announced that the organization will provide grants, totaling $253,600, to three local businesses to produce jobs and stimulate the economy of Western North Carolina (WNC).  The funds will generate jobs by helping forest producers improve their marketing skills and production methods for their forest-based businesses.

The selected businesses, funded through the WNC Forest Products Cooperative Marketing Project, include Appalachian Designs, Bark House Supply Company, and the Boggs Collective.  These companies will use the funds to expand and diversify their businesses while providing an estimated total of 15 jobs to under- or unemployed forest producers. These are the first of 10 to 15 contracts that LOSRC expects to award to stimulate the region’s economy. LOSRC will award the remaining contracts and funds in the near future."

This blog is intended to highlight the opportunity I have been given to create some local jobs and hopefully sustain them through our current slow down. I plan on talking about the beautiful place where I live and its role in everything I do. No doubt some of you will find parts more interesting than others, but I hope you will stay with me and become a part of the discussion.