Great Lakes Log Crafters Association, Handcrafted Log Homes, Log Cabins, The Best Log Home & Cabin Builders on Earth, GLLCA, Forest Lake Minnesota 55025, 651-464-6506

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GLLCA
CONFERENCE SPEAKER
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The Great Lakes Log Crafters Association is chartered as a non-profit organization in the State of Wisconsin, USA.

The Board President, Board Members, and Officers are elected by the general membership and serve as stewards for running the association

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Eugene Wengert President The Wood Doctor's Rx, LLC	Gene Wengert is president of his own consulting company. The Wood Doctor’s Rx. He has been involved with the practical aspects of wood processing for 50 years, having worked with the U.S. Forest Products Lab, Virginia Tech Extension and University of Wisconsin Extension. He is author of numerous books on drying, sawing and furniture manufacturing. He writes monthly articles for Cabinet Maker magazine and Sawmill & Woodlot. He is a volunteer at the Internet site, WoodWeb.com. click here for Gene's Presentation List
Joe Miller Fire Tower Engineered Timber	Joe Miller is a principal with Fire Tower Engineered Timber, a structural engineering firm with offices in Providence RI and Calumet MI FTET specializes in the design and engineering of all things timber and wood related, with a significant nod towards traditional and hand crafted connections. Joe is a licensed engineer in 10 states and provinces, and, resides here in the Keweenaw. He can be reached at joe@ftet.com and 906-379-0520. click here for Joe's Presentation List
Rob Kenel President	I have always liked the outdoors. I was in the Boy Scouts when I was younger and achieved the highest rank of Eagle Scout and the God and Country Award. I am an avid hunter and woodsman, as I was taught by my father and grandfather in the woods of Michigan. I have been building log homes since 1976. I love my work as a log builder as it brings me close to nature. I have volunteered my services to the GLLCA as a member, director, and President for multiple terms. I am dedicated to the excellence of log building and have represented the GLLCA for the ICC Code Council, and the Standards Committee. More recently the ICC consensus committee. I am also a member of the following organizations: Michigan Home Builders Association, Remodelers Council, International Log Builders Association, Life member of Safari Club International, Community Education Instructor, Associate Degree in Residential Construction; and I am a lifetime member of Cambridge Who's Who. Bob will be doing a Demonstration on Log Restoration.
Zack Jacobson Foxwalk Log & Timber Builders	Foxwalk Log & Timber Builders of Menomonie, WI I am 31 years old and have been building with logs and wood working since I was in high school. I currently operate a log building yard and sawmill specializing in custom homes and fine wood products. I am also a consulting engineer for a tool company in Minneapolis , MN. My free time is spent building tools , scuba diving or collecting lake superior agates. Dovetail Log Building: • History of the dovetail • Variations and uses • Live demonstration of log selection, tools, layout, cutting and tips • Open commentary Zack and Nate Heim will be doing a Notch Presentation
Nate Heim Director	I am proud to be the second generation to continue fine log building tradition in my family. I worked with my dad, Ron, from the time I was old enough to peel a log, then began fitting them, and eventually completed a construction management degree at Bemidji State University in 2005. I also attended the Ron Brodigan School of log building in 2004. I gained invaluable hands-on knowledge and expertise from master log crafters, and I have a never ending desire to learn about other styles and methods construction, which brought me into this association. My passion for building and living in handcrafted log homes leads me to pursuing building for others and continue the outstanding craftsmanship and personal attention that the Great Lake Log Crafters Association has provided for the past 30 years. Being apart of the board of directors only adds to the exciting knowledge that this association has to offer! Nate and Zack Jacobson will be doing a Notch Presentation
Mack Magee Fire Tower Engineered Timber	Raised in Chicago, Mack attended Illinois Institute of Technology before transferring to Stanford University for his junior year. Postponing graduation, Mack joined the Job Corp and moved to, where he completed a pre-apprenticeship in carpentry at a USDA CCC facility in the Umpqua National Forest. Mack worked as a union carpenter in Washington D.C. Charlottesville and his native town, Chicago, in both high-rise commercial and residential projects. He returned to Stanford in 1983 to complete a Masters and Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering. For his Masters Thesis, Mack investigated tension strength in pegged mortise and tenon connections. After graduating in 1986, Mack joined Owens Corning where he held a number of positions including project engineer, construction manager, production manager, global manager of facilities engineering, global safety leader, research laboratory leader and global sourcing leader. After Owens Corning, Mack was the Director of Operations for Riverbend Timber Framing in Blissfield MI and the General Manager of Cascade Joinery in Bellingham, WA before starting Fire Tower Engineered Timber with his partner Ben Brungraber, Ph.D., P.E. in 2006. Besides managing Fire Tower, Mack also is a partner in FraserWood Industries, a Squamish, BC manufacturer of timber products and a timber fabricator where he focuses on business, market and product development. Mack will be talking about Heavy Timber Engineering - click here for his Presentation List.
Jon Strom Instructor North House Folk School	Jon did his first wood carving during the 8th grade in Worthington MN. After a BA in art education he learned conventional house construction by working with a home town friend. An opportunity to purchase some land brought him to northern MN in the early 1980's where meeting Ron and Rose Heim turned into learning log building when hired to help finish their new log home. Jon teamed up with Dudley Parkinson to build themselves each a log home; Dudley's was an octagon and Jon's was an irregular 6 sided with a sod roof. Dudley found a note in his pickup one day asking him to build an octagon for someone else. This started a string of log building jobs for us and when we heard about the new log builders getting together to share ideas, knowledge, and tool sources, we were in on the second meeting. Jon being more interested in art, did log building on and off, some chain saw carvings for the town of Embarrass MN, occasional carving inside a log home, and relief carving for the state of MN at Thistledew Camp, Togo MN among other things. In latter years Jon worked for Ron Heim and then Nathan Heim until last year moving to southern Michigan Jon is currently an instructor with North House Folk school in Grand Marais, MN where he teaches traditional Scandinavian carving of bowls, spoons, other kitchen ware, and introduction to log building. Jon's presentation will be on Chainsaw Carving.