As many of you learned last summer, in early July F&W Forestry Services of Albany, Georgia acquired Two Trees and our commitment to our clients. Jon, Ian, and I remain fully onboard, and our work for landowning clients continues uninterrupted. Our name remains the same, as are addresses, though you may notice that our email addresses now end with @fwforestry.com.
To help transition ownership, I’ve agreed to remain for at least three years. F&W approached me in early 2024 and since then I’ve gotten to know and work with numerous of their folks and found them aligned with our style and remarkably welcoming. But we’ve also found that a company of 250 is a bit more bureaucratic than one employing only three. Documenting our work and expenses needs forms new to us, for every new project two employees, one in Vermont and another in Georgia, need to be notified, and email traffic has tripled, as “respond all” buttons are often pushed. Admittedly the largest change for me has been transitioning from a cash accounting system to an accrual one, where hours worked, a.k.a. unbilled revenue, and invoices submitted, seem almost more important than cash earned.
Nonetheless, we are off to a good start. But with those small hurdles has come a host of good wishes, managerial support, and even a few clients. F&W has managed upward of 40,000 acres in Maine, with its Vermont staff, so we will be picking up that work load as needs arise. Those existing F&W clients, who I’ve met, appear quite similar to those we’ve worked with for years – considerate individuals who care about their woods. So far it’s been a pretty compatible match. With my likely retirement now set, I’ve settled into a comfortable stretch run, during which time many of you will be introduced to either Jon or Ian or both, as we demonstrate the complementarity of our manners and philosophies.