Let the Sawdust Fly: October 2023
Jimmies’ logging career began 60 years ago, working with his father’s logging operation at the age of 14 when out of school for summer break in southeastern NC. The business grew from a father-son logging operation to a company that employed 10+ workers. Jimmie managed the business’s trucking side, consisting of three tractor-trailers and one tandem to keep the wood moved to the mills.
In late 1988, Jimmie and his father decided to sell the logging business so his dad could retire, and Jimmie could move on to trucking full-time. Mid-1990, Jimmie had an opportunity to take a job working with the North Carolina Forestry Association's Self-Insured Fund as a loss-control engineer for logging and sawmill risk. The NCFA-SIF later transitioned to Forestry Mutual Insurance Company.
Jimmie’s experience working for and then managing his father’s logging and trucking operations gave him an experience-driven understanding of logging and the problems loggers face daily. FMIC management asked him to develop a chainsaw safety program. Later, he transitioned to working as an insurance agent specializing in insurance for logging operations for FMIC.
In 2001, he headed up efforts to form TEAM Fire, a group that had a significant influence on educating the forest industry about logging equipment fire prevention. In 2015, Jimmie was instrumental in organizing TEAM Safe Trucking (TST). Since the development of TST, Jimmie has given presentations for the American Loggers Council, The Forest Resources Association, and several forest product associations across the US, promoting safety and best management practices for logging and trucking operations. Jimmie retired from FMIC at the end of December 2019.
In May of 2020, Jimmie began working with Forest Insurance Center Agency, Inc. office in Michigan as a Risk Control Manager. His top priority was developing safety and compliance information for the wood products transportation segment of the forest industry. The recent completion of the Forest Products Transportation Truck Owner – Truck Driver Compliance & Safety booklet titled “The Road to Successful Trucking” continues to emphasize the relationship between compliance and safety as they relate to insurance and legal concerns. Compliance has become a significant consideration for insurance underwriters and significantly impacts an insured’s ability to get a competitive quote for their truck insurance needs.
Jimmie and his wife Ruthann maintain homes in Pembroke, North Carolina, and Frankenmuth, Michigan. They have seven children, ten Grandchildren and three Great-Grandchildren. Jimmie and Ruth love to travel and meet loggers to share Jimmie’s passion for the logging and trucking industries.
