Langdale named chairman of Georgia Forestry Commission
Published 12:17 am Saturday, October 13, 2007
- John Wesley Langdale III, president of The Langdale Company, is shown in May of this year with Gail Kimbell, chief of the United States Forestry Service, at a joint conservation and forestry conference in Lowndes County hosted by the company. Langdale was recently named chairman of the Georgia Forestry Commission, replacing the retiring Jim Gillis, who held the position for nearly 30 years.
VALDOSTA — A fifth generation Georgia forestry leader has been named chairman of the Georgia Forestry Commission Board of Directors.
John Wesley Langdale III, was elected to replace Jim L. Gillis Jr., who has held the position for 27 years.
“The Georgia Forestry Commission has benefited greatly from the leadership of Mr. Gillis, who will retain a position on our board,” said Robert Farris, interim director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.”Wesley Langdale’s experience, knowledge and progressive commitment to excellence will keep that momentum going and help us achieve new milestones in the years to come.”
Wesley Langdale, 37, is president of The Langdale Company, a southeast Georgia forest products company founded in 1894. Langdale studied forestry at Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College before transferring to and graduating from the University of Georgia. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Agribusiness Council and the Georgia Conservancy, and he serves on a number of other organizations concerned with forestry and environmental issues.
Langdale spent several weeks this year
assisting the state in fighting and controlling the massive wildfires that engulfed South Georgia. He has served for many years with GOAL, the Greater Okefenokee Association of Landowners, which has been instrumental in protecting and preserving the area around the natural and pristine state park.
The Georgia Forestry Commission Board of Directors is a seven-member panel created by the state legislature in 1921 to oversee forestry programs conducted by the GFC.
“I am honored to have been elected to this important post,” Langdale said. “This is an exciting time for everyone associated with forestry in Georgia. Our state has more privately owned forestland than any other state in the nation, and that provides tremendous opportunities for traditional and emerging markets. I’m looking forward to working with my board colleagues to support the Georgia Forestry Commission as it meets the challenges of the future.”
