Austin Family Business Program Honored for Effort in Woodland Owners Project
Oregon State University's Austin Family Business Program is part of a team receiving the 2008 Forestry Extension Cooperator of the Year Award for their involvement in Ties to the Land, a collaborative outreach program that helps woodland owners plan for succession.
The award honors Ties to the Land's successful development and implementation of the program-- a workbook and accompanying CD -- that assists woodland-owning families as they undergo succession planning and make decisions necessary to achieve their legacy objectives. A training video for facilitators supports the delivery of the Ties Program.
"The goal of the program is to preserve forest land and ease the difficulty, time, and effort in transferring land to the next generation," explained Robin Klemm, director of the Austin Family Business Program. "It's an amazing program that has received national and even international attention."
Jim Johnson, the OSU Extension Forestry program leader, said the Ties Program provides exemplary service to families within a critical industry. "Ties to the Land is a truly innovative educational effort and the first of its kind in the nation," he said. "The Ties approach is very interactive and engages multiple generations of the family in deciding what is best for them and their forest. It is far beyond mere estate planning, and goes to the core of family values and environmental ethics of all generations."
In addition to gaining success on a local front, the Ties to the Land educational framework has been adopted in neighboring Washington state and over a dozen other states throughout the country. New funding from the American Forest Foundation will allow the program to expand national delivery.
For more information on Ties to the Land and the organizations involved, visit http://www.familybusinessonline.org/resources/ttl/home.htm
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