Roanoke, Va. – On March 6, the Forest Resources Association’s Southcentral Region honored Melvin Dixon as its 2013 Forestry Activist Award Winner. This award honors an individual or organization for grassroots accomplishments in the legislative, media or educational arena to help promote the cause of forestry and the forest products industry.

Dixon is a farmer and a mechanical maintenance trainer at Georgia-Pacific’s Naheola tissue mill. His most visible service to the industry regionally and nationally has been through his leadership on the Pulp and Paperworkers’ Resource Council (PPRC).

PPRC describes itself as “a grassroots organization representing the nation’s pulp, paper, solid wood products and other natural resource-based workers. PPRC members recognize how vitally important the forest products industry is to our nation’s economy. We are people dedicated to conserving the environment while taking into account the economic stability of the workforce in our rural communities.”

Dixon is a founding member of PPRC, serving as its first Southeast Region Director, and he is a two-time PPRC National Chairman. Leading by example, he has:

*Developed position papers that explain the economic and environmental impact of specific legislation and regulations

*Met face-to-face with countless state and federal government officials to discuss critical forest products industry issues

*Educated co-workers industry-wide and motivated them to greater local and state activism efforts

*Managed grassroots letter writing, phone call, and legislative visit campaigns.

Dixon has been involved in PPRC’s Washington, D.C., fly-Ins for many years, where he has led the group to conduct congressional and administration visits, including hundreds of total visits annually.

The efforts of Dixon and the PPRC have had a direct impact on how key national policy issues are considered and finalized. PPRC’s motto is “Seeking a Balance.” He has been effective in bringing balance to the ongoing debate around environmental issues and their regulatory impacts on the forest products industry.