My daughter, Katie operates her own business and she built this custom boardroom table for my friends at Port Blakely Companies. I’ve served on diverse boards including Wilcox Farms, International Dairy Foods, Master Dairies and many commodity groups.

Between relationships with vendors and customers, business acquisitions and my time in the House of Representatives as House Republican Floor Leader and budget negotiator, I’ve been around a lot of conference tables, both formal and informal. Negotiating is a learned skill…

I’ve built up extensive forestry contacts and we work together to select the best contract loggers and the highest-paying log buyers. We follow that up with solid forest practices to begin growing the asset again immediately. I even do a little sawing myself, which has provided me with a much more comprehensive understanding of timber value…